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Probably the most oft-repeated comment I receive after an awareness-raising keynote is, “I had no idea!” This sort of thing isn’t usually taught in schools or universities, developers are often embedded in homogenous societies or find it hard to see past the large home user base, and people are kept really busy worrying about what’s right in front of their nose, much of the time.

Your customers want to feel like you are speaking to them. They want to feel like you understand them. This can be a relatively straightforward task if your target market shares your language and culture. But what if it doesn’t?

Your customers want to feel like you are speaking to them. They want to feel like you understand them. This can be a relatively straightforward task if your target market shares your language and culture. But what if it doesn’t?

A few days ago I was browsing through Google News and read a story on Toys “R” Us’ plan to sell its global toy division. The story got me interested right away. What would Toys “R” Us do without its toys division? How did a company once at the supremacy of the toy business become so battered to be forced to sell its core business?

Publishing your website in another language is like managing a brand new website. It demands people who are expert in writing and editing in that language. The standard of English on the Web, for example, is often poor, even for those whose native language it is. It can be embarrassingly bad for websites publishing English as a foreign language.