New Lionbridge Team Blog

July 6, 2009 by Jen Hofer

I love saying this, especially on a Monday:  I’ve got cool news.

Lionbridge is launching the Lionbridge Team Blog this week.   We’ve got employees lined up to blog about Localization, Internationalization, Web Globalization, and Innovation, as well as some non-ation’s like Language Quality, Life Sciences, Content Development, and probably a few other things along the way.

In case you’re wondering, Nic McMahon’s Lionbridge Localization 2.0 blog will stay where it is, but this Web Globalization blog will be redirected to the new one eventually, and I’ll archive my blog posts there.

So, please stay tuned and check it out – you’ll be glad you did.

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What it Means to Market to “Europe”

June 26, 2009 by Jen Hofer

Awesome post yesterday on SearchCowboys by the super snazzy Mikkel de Mib Svendsen:  “Hello World!  There is no Europe!“  These are just a few of my favorite excerpts:

“…from a marketing point of view the fact remains that there is no Europe and there are no Europeans!”

“…even though a high number of young people in Europe speak English fluently the fact is that the far majority of consumers prefers to deal with online business in they own native tongue.”

“…because so many companies outside Europe don’t understand how to market themselves well enough here its much easier for you to compete.”

Honestly, the whole (long) article is full of juicy insight and perspective.  Make time to read the whole thing. 

And then if you find yourself thinking, ”Makes sense, but what do I do now?” then you should check out some of the Lionbridge white papers and webinars about global business, marketing and messaging. 

Your next step would be to let us know if you want to talk to some of our global marketing experts.  Lionbridge offices are standing by…

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Using Bing and Vice Grips

June 19, 2009 by Jen Hofer

For Christmas 2006, my parents gave my husband a cool matching set of vice grips.  They do special stuff, are freakishly adjustable, and they’re pretty easy to use (the vice grips, not my parents).  But since that time, over the course of many many home improvement projects, I think we’ve used them only twice.  Considering what nice tools they are (they really are cool – I’m not just saying that in case my folks read this post), this is kind of weird.  But the reasons are that we either don’t remember we have them, or we do but don’t know where they are, or we find them but we (I) don’t know exactly how to use them.

bing-images-bumbershootIt’s not unlike how I feel about Bing.  I like the interface, I think it can do cool stuff, and it’s pretty straightforward.  But when I want to search for something quickly, I’m still reaching for Google – I forget about Bing or I think of it, but don’t want to spend the time exploring its cool features.  I’ll change my default search engine to Bing for the next week, to force myself to use it because honestly, Google does the trick just about every time.

SEO:  Btw, if you’re wondering what the launch of Bing means to us web managers and anyone else who cares about SEO, take a look at these articles published today – nothing startlingly necessary to know, but good stuff for us to be thinking about:  Bing Provides Insight into SEO, and Will Bing Change SEO? 

Enjoy the weekend!

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SEO? There’s an app for that…

June 12, 2009 by Jen Hofer

I’m happy to announce that my cell phone finally broke.  And since I’ve never had a cool phone ever in my life, I got an  iPhone, wheee! 

As you can imagine, I’ve been looking at iPhone (wheee!) apps.  My big find for today is Pokeseo.  From their site:

PokeSEO Image“…the first SEO reporting app for the Apple iPhone (me: wheee!). Now you can check the Google PageRank and reported backlinks for your domain or a competitor’s, anytime, any place.”

So I downloaded the app, and it sure does what it says it will: gives you the Google PageRank for a site, and the number of backlinks from four search engines.  And if someone is in dire need of this info, you can email it to them.  I’m not sure what I was hoping for, but maybe just a smidge more than that.  Then again, it was two bucks and it’s the first iPhone (wheee!) app I bought, so I’m happy.

If this is something that might be helpful to you – check it out!

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Insight from SMX Advanced, plus “I Love Lucy”

June 5, 2009 by Jen Hofer

I’ve been unusually quiet this week because I attended SMX Advanced in Seattle which was so cool and full of great ideas that my head imploded.  Took me a couple of days to clean that up, and now I’m back on track.  SMX Advanced is easily the best SEM show I attend because it’s by, for and about search marketers with quite a bit of experience, so it’s not boring – to say the least.  And also, awesome brownies.

My key takeaway is that I need to get off my duff and implement site search on Lionbridge.com.  I’ve been on the fence about this for quite a while because it’s not that big of a site, and I tend to agree with whoever said, “A well-designed site shouldn’t need search functionality.”  However, there’s a lot to be said for the insight a web manager gets from the data generated from onsite search.  And plus, the first speaker (Christine Churchill from KeyRelevance) in the first session panel I attended (“Keyword Research Artistry”) on the first day of the conference made this her very first point.  So yeah, I think I’ll look into this.

I also appreciated Hamlet Batista’s (from RankSense) point, “There’s no competitive advantage by doing what everyone else does.”   It’s one of those “yeah we know” things, except I think it’s good for marketers to be reminded occasionally.  Think outside the box.  Try new things, and if necessary, fail quickly and move on to the next idea.

You should see the notes I took during this two-day show – it was great, very energizing.  Congratulations, Third Door Media, for another great show – I’m already looking forward to next year.   (And a big shout out to Karen DeWeese at Third Door for her creative problem-solving, she’ll know what I mean.)

And one last thing – to apologize for posting only once this week, I thought I’d include a link to one of my favorite “I Love Lucy” clips.  Check it out:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OACIfwkg7ns.  It’s all about translation and communicating in different languages, so if you squint your eyes and tilt your head just right, it might even seem job-related.

Enjoy!

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Meet Dr. Nitish Singh, Part 2

May 29, 2009 by Jen Hofer
Dr. Nitish Singh

Dr. Nitish Singh

As I was saying, Dr. Singh was gracious enough to answer a bunch of questions for me, and I ran out of room before sharing it all on Wednesday, so here’s the rest to wrap up the week:  global trends and great resources.
Jen Hofer:  What trends do you see in multilingual web management, in terms of sites that serve a global audience in 20+ languages?

Dr. Singh:  In terms of what we call, “global megatrends” (or overarching global forces that are constantly evolving), we obviously see the phenomenon of globalization, or global integration of economies, cultures, technologies and systems of governance.  This, of course, impacts consumption and production. 

Another global megatrend is what I refer to as the rise of the networks.  The Internet as a platform, combined with emerging collaboration technologies (think Web 2.0), allows a business to touch global customers as soon as they devleop a web presence. 

Finally, I think of open innovation as one of the most interesting global megatrends – the convergence of like minded individuals, corporations, competitors, corporate suppliers, customers, and human networks – all working toward creativity and innovation in the development of products and services.

JH:  What are your favorite sources for keeping abreast of leading edge practices and technologies, with regard to global business trends? 

NS: 

  • Blogs:  John Yunker’s blog for web globalization news. I also started to read your own blog, and follow various postings on LinkedIn groups.
  • Magazines:  Multilingual Computing, Fast Company
  • Academic journals e.g. Journal of International Business Studies, International Marketing Review, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, European Journal of Marketing.  In fact, I just co-edited a special issue of a top academic journal called DATABASE Journal on Culture and Web.  I am also currently editing a special issue of Journal of Electronic Commerce Research on global e-business, and recently co-authored a book:  “Proliferation of the Internet Economy: E-Commerce for Global Adoption, Resistance, and Cultural Evolution.”

JH:  In addition to enrolling in the SLU program, how can this blog’s readers (managers of global web sites) prepare themselves for upcoming changes in global web practices?
 
NS:  I strongly recommend to get education in this area, as there are not many formal magazines, courses, or books which can give people a broad understanding related to web globalization management.  Some resources I recommend include:

  • Multilingual Computing:  more about localization than broader issues related to web globalization
  • “Beyond Borders: Web Globalization Strategies (Voices That Matter),” by John Yunker
  • “A Practical Guide to Localization,” by Bert Esselink
  • Dr. Singh’s book, “The Culturally Customized Web Site: Customizing Web Sites for the Global Marketplace”
  • Localization World annual conference
And that, my friends, wraps up my conversation with Dr. Nitish Singh.  He’s clearly got his finger on the pulse of web globalization management, global business trends and great resources.  I recommend you visit his site, http://www.professornitishsingh.org, to learn more about him and his publications.

I’d like to thank Dr. Singh for taking the time to answer my questions, and for bravely agreeing to be the subject of my first Blog Interview.  I hope to publish more like it in the coming months.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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Meet Dr. Nitish Singh, Part 1

May 27, 2009 by Jen Hofer

I have a special treat for you today – I bloggerviewed my professor, Dr. Nitish Singh, of the St. Louis University Web Globalization Executive Certification Program.  I’ve mentioned him a few times in this blog, so thought it might be nice to welcome him as a guest and share some of his thoughts on the topic of web globalization.

Jen Hofer:  Can you tell us about a couple of your current consulting/research projects?

Dr. Nitish Singh:  I generally consult with regard to developing culturally customized international web sites, research projects related to investigating various issues related to web globalization such as assessing level of web localization practiced by multinationals, or investigating Hispanic consumer’s expectations with regards to web localization, international online segmentation and strategy, etc.

JH:  What intrigues you the most about this work?

NS:  The interdisciplinary nature of the knowledge required to successfully implement a web globalization program is the most intriguing thing to me.  You need international business, marketing, language, cross-cultural communication, e-commerce and web design/apps skills. It seems that the traditional silo educational offerings are not really preparing people for this fast growing field.

JH:  Do you see different strategies for B2C and B2B organizations?

NS:  Yes, the B2C and B2B need to develop a web localization strategy based on their end-users.  The approach with B2C sites is to please the massess, with emphasis on cultural adaptation to synchronize the site to people’s cultural and language expectations.  On the other hand, B2B sites focus more on one-to-one relationship and trust building.  I am currently in the process of developing a framework for helping with B2B web site localization; research should be available next year.

JH:  I’m not looking for extra credit points here, but as one of your students, I’ve been impressed with the range of your knowledge, from big-picture international business theory, all the way down to tactical keyword research strategies.  Is there one particular area of study that fascinates you the most?

NS:  I love the aspect of how culture impacts various facets of business activity, yet businesses see it as a soft aspect. I do a lot of cross-cultrual research.

JH:  Your highly-acclaimed book, “The Culturally Customized Web Site,” was published in 2005.  How have things changed since then?  Do you plan on publishing a second edition?

NS:  Since the publication of my book, I have seen more emphasis being put on localizing to sub-cultures like Hispanics in the US, or Asians in the UK.  I am currently collecting data and concluding several research studies that will help me update the book.

JH:  With all your publications, classes, presentations, you’re a busy guy.  Do you ever not work?  What do you do for fun?

NS:  What I do is like a hobby to me, so I really really enjoy my work.  Besides that, I love hiking, snorkeling, biking, yoga, mentoring students, volunteering, traveling, and eating.

This is getting kind of long and I still have more to share!  So watch next time for Dr. Singh’s thoughts on global megatrends with a focus of course, on web management, and his favorite top resources for keeping abreast of global business trends.

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Internationalization Webinar

May 22, 2009 by Jen Hofer

In keeping with what I’ve started thinking of as “Check-This-Out” Fridays, check this out:  another great Lionbridge webinar Are You Ready for a Global Audience? Understanding the Process and Importance of Internationalization.  Here’s the blurb from our site for all you global marketing focused readers:  Internationalization (I18n) is a crucial first step toward producing a globally acceptable software product. 

So in this webinar, you’d learn:

  • Internationalization process and standards
  • The importance of i18n to your application or product
  • Real-life implementation scenarios

So you know, check it out!

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Twitter as a Global Platform

May 20, 2009 by Jen Hofer

You know what’s funny?  I don’t have an inspired vision, a specific strategy or even a passionate interest about the future of Twitter for marketing.  I think I have more of a mild curiosity.  Am I the only one?  It’s obviously a cool platform with some kind of potential, and I use it to promote my blog sometimes, but mostly it’s an experiment.  In fact, the whole Lionbridge marketing team has been getting bolder and more, I don’t know… twitty?  And I can see how it could go either way – taking off completely and be an innovative opportunity over the long term, but I can also see it being a fad that fades out by Labor Day.

So I read about Twitter, specifically in terms of using it as a marketing tool, and sometimes even in terms of global marketing.  And since that’s what we’re doing here, thought I’d share some of the things I’ve been reading, starting with John Yunker’s post today about global Twitter identities, “TwID’s” (don’t blame John, that’s my nomenclature):  Twitter and Web Globalization.  He’s talking about using multiple language feeds for one Twitter identity, in this case, ICANN.  So like icann_en and icann_es.  Do you see any issues with that? 

Another topic that caught my interest was the Japanese Twitter story, for instance “Twitter Japan launches: with ads,” and thought it might be interesting to other global-minded web people. 

Somewhat related sidenote:  If you’d like to see what Lionbridge folks are up to, follow us on Twitter…

We’re learning as we go, like pretty much everyone.  I will definitely admit Twitter’s fun to play with and read about, so there’s always that!

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Multilingual Marketing webinar, Part 2

May 15, 2009 by Jen Hofer

I’ve got another great Lionbridge webinar replay for you:  “Mastering Multilingual Marketing, Part II: Streamlining Your In-Country Validation Process.”  This is Part 2 of the one I told you about back in April.

This time around, Bert Esselink talks about:

  • Current opportunities and challenges of Multilingual Marketing
  • Possible models and processes that can improve the quality of Multilingual Marketing content
  • Best practices for utilizing the tools and resources that can be applied to in-country translation validation

Check it out - this is a great way to spend 57 minutes and 55 seconds!

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