The Year of the Tiger: Websites celebrate Lunar New Year
If you were to visit the US home page of BMW you’d see the obligatory photograph of the latest models: But if you were to visit the China home page …
culture
Color trends, country by country, point to #serenity
Shutterstock recently published a global selection of color predictions. According to their blog, the predictions are based “millions of images downloaded from around the world, wherein each individual pixel shade …
.CA: Add more Canadians to your shopping cart
I suppose it was just a matter of time before the advertising algorithms figured I’d be in the market for a country code top-level domain (ccTLD), perhaps .CA. And so …
Five reasons to avoid using maps on your website
Robert Frost wrote that good fences make good neighbors. Yet when it comes to virtual fences, visualized as maps, I’m not sure there is any way to create “good fences.” …
When localizing for South Korea…
Web localization is a never-ending journey. And because the world is constantly changing, what worked yesterday may not be as effective tomorrow. Like this visual development in South Korea: When …
Could China’s greatest threat be slackers?
Fascinating article in the New York Times about an emerging generation of Chinese who are pushing back against the 996 (9 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week) work …
OK? Or not OK?
According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the OK hand gesture is now a hate symbol. For those of us in the globalization field, we’ve learned to avoid this gesture in …
The Year of the Pig (one localized website at a time)
Lunar New Year has arrived and, with it, the Chinese New Year (and related Asian New Year celebrations). As I’ve done a few times in the past, I thought I’d …
Marriott’s China websites get shut down — and your website could as well if you’re not careful
If you visit Marriott’s China website today you’re likely to see this: I dumped the text into Google Translate and here is what it loosely says: So what exactly happened …
Think Outside the Country
I’m pleased to announce the publication of my newest book: Think Outside the Country: A Guide to Going Global and Succeeding in the Translation Economy. This book is the result …
Web localization is a black and white issue
The death of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej has led to stores running out of black and white clothing as the population mourns its leader in color-appropriate clothing. What does this …
Is white the world’s most popular car color?
It’s well known that colors carrying different meanings in different cultures. The paint producer PPG Industries has released results from a global survey on car color preferences around the globe. …
How Nike localizes “football”
In the US, football season has officially begun (there goes my weekends). But outside of the US, football season means something entirely different. So how does a global sporting goods …