In search of a better translation icon
A few years ago I wrote about the translation icon and its many variations at that point in time. I thought now would be a good time to revisit this icon. Let’s …
Global gateway fail: Qualcomm
Qualcomm supports a mobile-friendly website but doesn’t (yet) support a global-friendly website. Particularly if you’re a visitor who does not speak English. The home page, shown here, includes no evidence of a …
On the importance of date display localization
The proper display of dates for each locale has become relatively trivial with libraries such as Globalize and yet I still encounter websites that don’t get it right. Case in point, I …
When will more global websites support Arabic?
I read a brief report on digital Arabic content produced by the Wamda Research Lab, in partnership with Google and Taghreedat. A few data points jumped out at me, such as: By …
You Say .Sucks, I Say .Global: The flood of new domain names isn’t pretty but will create a truly global Internet
I sympathize with Internet old timers (such as myself) who look back wistfully at the good ol’ days, when the only decision you had to make when registering a new …
Global gateway fail: DeWalt
DeWalt greets visitors with a pull-down global gateway shown here: This type of landing page is not ideal in this day and age. Using geolocation (see Geolocation for Global Success), DeWalt …
Country codes are maturing — but not retiring
Country codes are still adding registrations but the more developed markets are seeing a decline in growth rate. Shown below is a visual from the registry behind the .FR domain: …
No Ordinary Disruption: It’s time to reset intuitions
I was given a review copy of No Ordinary Disruption: The Four Global Forces Breaking All the Trends, which I read over the weekend. The authors are Richard Dobbs, James …
Hotels.com, Hotels.ng and the value of country codes
I read today about the Nigerian startup Hotels.ng and my first thought was why Hotels.com didn’t already own the Nigerian country code. After all, Hotels.com owns country codes for France and …
Global gateway fail: App Annie
I want to focus on App Annie because it appears the company is planning to significantly expand its global reach — and therefore needs a gateway suited to task. Currently, …
The humans behind machine translation
Google Translate is the world’s most popular machine translation tool. And, despite predictions by many experts in the translation industry, the quality of Google Translate has improved nicely over the past …
Who needs BRIC when you have the Blue Banana?
Perhaps it’s human nature (or perhaps just savvy marketing) to think up new and unique ways of organizing our world. BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) is one popular grouping. And did you …
Greece gets an Internationalized Domain Name (IDN)
Greece has received string approval for an IDN, shown below in red: This brings to 35 the number countries with approved IDNs — and an impressive range of scripts, shown here: I’ve just …
Translators Without Borders and the Wikipedia 100-language project
Translators Without Borders is an amazing organization of volunteer translators using their skills to make the world a better place. One project worth noting is an ambitious effort to translate valuable …
Will FedEx plus TNT equal an improved global website?
As FedEx closes its acquisition of TNT Express, I see an opportunity for FedEx to improve its global website. In the recent Web Globalization Report Card, among delivery services companies, …