Adventures in web globalization, since 2002
In 2008, Google launched a project called Knol. Remember it? It was designed to replace Wikipedia. Google apparently wasn’t happy that so many of its visitors were quickly abandoning it for this nonprofit wealth of information. But Knol died a …
A few months ago, I wrote an essay for Multilingual in which I noted that the world’s most multilingual website isn’t Google or Facebook or even Wikipedia. It is the website of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. As I noted in the …
Globalia is the leading travel company in Spain, generating 3.5 billion euros in revenues across more than a dozen brands. I visited the global website recently and noticed something missing from the home page — my native language. Not surprisingly, …
I was happy to have an essay published in the recent issue of Multilingual. In the essay I write: While Wikipedia, Google and Facebook are among the leaders in languages at 298, 172 and 107 respectively, they don’t come even …
#serveinmylanguage It’s more than a hashtag; it’s a social movement. And it’s growing. A movement among Indian consumers to force the vendors who depend on their business to actually support their native languages. As this Times of India article notes: From ATMs …
Successful website globalization is all about asking questions. A key point I stress in Think Outside the Country is that nobody knows everything. Nobody can know everything. And you should not trust anyone who says or implies they do. And, …
I’m happy to announce that I’ve updated my map of the world’s internationalized domain names for 2018: The map includes all ICANN-approved country code IDNs for the world — more than 50 across more than 30 countries and regions. I’ve …
I recently read The Chinese Typewriter by Thomas S. Mullaney. I love typewriters and languages, so this book was a sure thing as my interests go. And I learned a great deal. Perhaps the greatest takeaway was the degree to which …
I’m excited to announce the publication of The 2018 Web Globalization Report Card. This is the most ambitious report I’ve written so far and it sheds light on a number of new and established best practices in website globalization. First, here are …
Here is an article I wrote that was recently published in tcworld magazine. In it, I define the “translation economy” and the opportunities (and challenges) it presents to all organizations. From the information economy to the translation economy The internet …
Amazon Crossing is the Amazon publishing imprint dedicated to translating non-English books into English. In just a few years it has grown to be a leading translator of literary novels. I noted earlier that Amazon.in doesn’t significantly support Indian languages. …
For the 2017 Web Globalization Report Card, we benchmarked the following professional services websites: Accenture Capgemini Deloitte Ernst & Young KPMG PWC Over the past 18 months, KPMG, Deloitte, and PwC all launched new web designs. In addition, these websites continue …
For the 2017 Web Globalization Report Card, we studied the following 14 automotive websites: Audi BMW Chevrolet Ford Honda Hyundai Land Rover Lexus Mercedes Mini Nissan Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Historically, automotive websites have been strong on languages but weak on global …
Mary Meeker of Kleiner Perkins released her 2017 Internet Trends report today — the mother of all PowerPoint decks. I last commented on the 2014 deck. A few slides jumped out at me this year — as part of her in-depth focus …
I recently wrote an op-ed for the Seattle Times about the importance and value of thinking globally. Here’s an excerpt: Consider Starbucks. In 2003, this aspiring global company supported a mere three languages. Today, it supports 25, which may sound …