International Links: Week 12 2010

Cindy King — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 23:00:55 +0000

International Links

Here’s the weekly roundup of all of the useful and interesting links I share on Facebook and Twitter.

Cross-Cultural Topics

Chinese Tigresses - It’s always interesting to look at how well women fare in business in different cultures. Here’s a look at women in China.
Poetry to boobies wins the Dutch press ad “peoples choice” award - As @DR4WARD say on Twitter, winning awards in one country would earn fines in another. Outside of Europe, where do you think this campaign would be received as intended?
The big red word, the little green man, and the international war over exit signs. - A very interesting read on the cultural differences in the perception of different types of “exit” signs. And a look at America’s skepticism toward pictograms and symbols, which have long been more popular in the rest of the world.
Gestures Speak Louder Than Words – Gestures have different, very specific meanings in different places. This is an endless source of miscommunication, amusement and despair for the world traveller and in International Business. Do you have any amusing stories to share?
Africa’s Cyber WMD - Here’s something to read if you like to follow International Social Media. Do you think this is a real threat?

Facebook Business Page on Cross-Cultural Communication:

Cindy King on Facebook

International Business

Middle Eastern Mirage - Dubai’s spectacular collapse has destroyed vast
fortunes and exposed the dangers of doing business in the Golf. What
have investors learned?
The World’s Most Tech-Friendly Countries - The U.S. is slipping and Sweden is in first position on this list. Martin Lindeskog does this surprise you?
Get a Great Start - Many French entrepreneurs decide to move to the United States to set up their company. Start ups simply have it easier there than in France. Here’s some useful information from globalEDGE if you’re thinking of starting a company in the US.
Hands on or hands off? The social media balancing act - This is an interesting read on Interbrand with a few examples of what businesses have learned about giving more power to their audience. So, who has another example like the Vegemite story?
Princeton Map Of The Month – A world map showing how Starbucks & McDonald’s are taking over the world.

Facebook Business Page on International Business:

International Business on Facebook

International Marketing

Getting Real About Creating Change – This article by Amber Naslund raises some great questions about the reasons why our customers want to connect with us on Twitter and read our company blogs. How has this impacted your international marketing today?
Cultural impact on advertising - Here’s a slideshare presentation on the cultural impact of advertising. Does anyone have any others to share?
Facebook’s global gaffe - John Yunker raises some great points: the new Facebook globe icon for notifications is potentially confusing to users. And it also prevents Facebook from creating
a global gateway strategy that leverages the globe icon. What icon would you like to see Facebook use for notifications?
Best Global Brands List In 2009 – There are not many surprises on this list, but it’s worth a look. Which of these brands has your vote?
Digital across cultures: superglobal or hyperlocal? – A good read on how mobile impacts cross-cultural marketing in International Social Media. “Evidence shows that the better a brand understands its customers’ local cultural triggers, the more likely it will be able to profit from digital marketing’s unique cross-market potential.”

Facebook Business Page on International Marketing:

International Marketing on Facebook

International Sales

How to Shorten Your Sales Cycle - Using trigger events to your avantage gets more international sales too. This article by Jill Konrath is a must read for anyone in international sales.
The U.S. Commercial Service International Sales Leads Gadget is Here! - globalEDGE shares information about a great resource to find international sales leads… and its an iGoogle Gadget! Is anyone using this? What’s you take on it?
W.T.O. Sees Trade Rebounding in 2010 - China overtook Germany as the world’s top exporter of merchandise in 2009, accounting for almost 10 percent of global exports. Do you see changes in where your international sales are coming from?
The China Price. Low, Lower, Lowest And Incredibly High. - Here’s a very interesting read on the cultural differences of how price is perceived in China. On the one hand China produces very low cost items, but on the other hand it’s a culture where high priced items are perceived as much better. Do find the contract interesting too?

Facebook Business Page on International Sales:

International Sales on Facebook

International Social Media

Iceland wants to be your friend. Really. - Here’s an example of how another country is using social media.
Social networking: Twittering classes - Here’s a graph to have a look at for an international perspective on how much time people spent on social media in 2009. The keenest social-network users, Australians, spent over seven hours a
month on such sites, “poking” friends and “twittering” in late 2009, twice as much as users in Japan.
Link Building and International SEO - Here are some tips on basic international SEO. Do you use any of these?
The best global web sites of 2010 - Here’s John Yunker’s 2010 list of best global websites. Facebook is tie with Google. And the new baseline to be a global website is 20 or more languages, and climbing. Which one of these websites is your favorite?
Blurred Out: 51 Things You Aren’t Allowed to See on Google Maps - There are a few things listed here located outside of the US which is interesting to note. Thanks to Blog Godown for sharing on Twitter!

Facebook Business Page on International Social Media:

International Social Media on Facebook

Now It’s Your Turn

What about you? Did you find any interesting links recently?
What do these international and cross-cultural links inspire for you?
Which international link is your favorite?

Do You Use English Or American Spelling?

Cindy King — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:00:05 +0000

Culturally Customized Content

John Yunker on Global By Design wrote an article last month about different labels for different English spellings. Apparently the acronym “ENU” was used to mean “English – US”.

Another article raised the question of “International English” versus “American English”. I found this article slightly misleading simply because there are so many ways to use the term International English today: Global English, Universal English.

It does make me smile when an American says that “American English” is in the lead.

This reminds me of the all of trips to Canada, where Canadians would come up to me and say that Canada had been voted the best place to live in the whole world. After two different trips, I asked who carried out the study… well it was Canadian studies. The French go “coccoricco” often enough too.

There are quite a few interesting comments in this thread. I never thought the term “British English” could be considered false. And apparently Adobe uses:

“International English” (IE) = “American English”
“Universal English” (UE) = “British English”

Before you get into how you label your choice of English language, let’s look at how to choose the one you want to use.

There are in fact two business decisions to make.

Translations Or Not?

Are you writing for one broad international audience and would like to prepare the work for translating your content into different languages?

If you will need to translate your English language content into more than one language, you will save time and money by learning to write for an international audience.

If you strive for an International English you will also improve communication across a broader non-native English speaking audience.

Spelling

Are you targeting an American audience or a British, European or former British colony audience? This decision is fairly easy to make.

Although I was brought up with the Queen’s English, I have worked with American companies. I chose American spelling on my blogs because of software. I did not want to continually maintain the Queen’s English on American software. There is no major conflict for my business, so the decision was easy.

I still write in a style that is easy for non-native English readers. It is only a question of spelling and some grammar.

Clarity And Consistency

Whatever spelling you choose, remember to be consistent. This means that you should use the same spelling throughout all of your content, no matter who you are targeting. This makes your communication clear. Everyone knows how to identify you.

Do not create your own acronyms and keep your English labels simple and consistent with what your readers expect.

“EUS” does not mean anything to anyone
American English is not International English
British English is not Universal English

Cindy King's International Business Blog » john yunker