I spent a lot of time in my younger years traveling around Europe, and somehow I let that slip in my life as my interests turned to the Pacific and South America. It was really refreshing, therefore, to find myself crossing the Atlantic and spending a few days in London this past week. While I’ve never actually been to London, I experienced this old familiarity that I can only liken to seeing or smelling your grandfather’s favorite sweater.
The European way of life, something I took for granted when I lived in Austria at age 15 and 16, is definitely calling my name again. The personalities, landscapes, architecture, food… the intersection of so many languages and cultures… the genuine interest in news stories and views from around the world rather than just one’s own country.
It’s interesting to be back in Europe with a cell phone and to have wireless Internet access anywhere I need it (mainly thanks to BlackBerry). It’s also weird to see a Starbucks on every corner. On British Airways I even had the choice of eating vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free - and the food was really good!
My list remains pretty consistent for must-dos (I hope Gary’s matches up): Greece, Spain, Portugal, Chile, Argentina, Amsterdam, India…
The map below - originally from research firm Datamonitor - appeared on Mashable.com last week. It shows the number of hours (in millions) users spend on social networks across five major worldwide regions, and which site reigns supreme within different countries.
I must admit I’m wildly confused by the white spaces where many of my international friends live…
A new survey from the Association of National Advertisers found that, while multicultural marketers lag behind general market counterparts when it comes to the use of websites, search and blogs, they lead the way when it comes to mobile marketing and social networks.
Follow the link to the BizReport.com story by Helen Leggatt:
I thought the New Year should bring a look at the recent Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bar advertisement in the UK:
Watch it with music for sure!
The ad is credited to agency Fallon International, and it became a hit all over the world through sites like YouTube. A prime example of how our advertising cultures are melding through new media technology.
The ad doesn’t even mention chocolate. So why the gorilla?
Laurence Green, head of Fallon International’s London office, spoke with NPR just over a week ago, and I sat in a parking lot to listen… It turns out Cadbury needed a boost to its market share, but it knew there was no “new” news to speak of. But Cadbury believed that its chocolate represented a “simple bit of joy in people’s lives” - and who can argue that this video doesn’t emphasize just that?
Ready for America?
Green admitted great generalization when he said there was a certain “degree of literacy in the UK [advertising] market that may not be matched in America” (ouch). He believed the country’s “decades of creatively-led advertising” were due to its low tolerance for sales people. He suggested the UK involves the consumer through richer and more “charming” communications than we do here in the States.
I’d love to hear your examples from the U.S. that may contradict..?
Americans are dog lovers. I’m a dog lover. Yes, a certain breed of dog lover may be taking it too far. But it turns out this kind of thing isn’t just within our borders.
The Style & Design section of today’s International Herald Tribune today published a story on Tokyo’s dog loving craze. The story starts by saying that “fashion has gone to the dogs.” Apparently, well-groomed, well-dressed dogs are on the verge of outnumbering those of people on the streets of Tokyo.
It turns out Tokyo’s influence wasn’t who you thought. Fourteen years ago, during her engagement to Crown Prince Naruhito, Crown Princess Masako appeared on TV holding her tiny terrier named Chocolat. Precious Chocolat kicked off a trend of carting dogs around in tote bags and adorning them with jewels. Who’d have guessed?
“Interestingly, the focus is not just on showing off one’s darling, but letting the world (and other dog owners) know how aware you are of your dog’s needs, and dedicated to his/her well-being,” the article states.
What needs are we talkin’ here? Just your average organic vegetarian dog food and weekly beauty salon trips. Interior designers are even experimenting with pet furniture, and Inax, a manufacturer of bath- and home-related products, has come out with pet-accommodating tiles to be used on home floors. Yes, pet tiles.
Goes to show you how the brand “dog owner” spands the globe, no matter what the form!
The way it works is by sending images back and forth as revisions are made. As you can imagine, video conferencing helps, particularly when it comes to the intercontinental wrap-party!
Preshant Buyyala, managing director of Rhythm & Hues India, tells NPR the Indian office is not supposed to be an impersonal outsourcing center. He says they opened the Mumbai office because of increased competition from abroad as countries such as Canada and Great Britain were giving tax breaks to their own animation firms.
The animation business in India is expected to grow into a billion-dollar industry in the next few years, according to Pixel, a market research firm.
The BBC World Service today reports on a poll that shows world opinion divided on the importance of having a free press.
Of those interviewed, 56% thought that freedom of the press was very important to ensure a free society. But 40% said it was more important to maintain social harmony and peace, even if it meant curbing the press’s freedom to report news truthfully.
Also quite revealing, people were asked to rate how free the press and broadcasters were in their country to report the news truthfully and without undue bias. Perceptions varied greatly among developing countries, while in developed countries such as the U.S., Britian and Germany, only around 29% of respondents thought their media did a good job in reporting the news accurately.
How do you feel your country or town’s media is doing?
When I lived in Austria in 1992, radio and television were then still dominated by two or three government-run stations. Life today consists of hundreds of privately-owned stations, and most of those are owned by larger conglomerates.
Which of these situations do you feel facilitates the greatest honesty and accuracy? I’m pretty happy that we don’t have to choose one… What about those of you who’ve spent time in developing countries?
Mobile phone subscribers outnumber Internet subscribers around the world by a ratio of more than five to one, 2.17 billion to 385.5 millon, according to the latest survey of more than 200 countries from the International Telecommunication Union.
Of course one U.S. home subscribes to the Internet and that home’s 2.5 kids carry additional cell phones, but it would surprise the average American to know how developing nations are putting mobile phones to use. Through the web connectivity of one low-end phone, farmers in Bangladesh can find buyers, cut deals for the best price and even make secure payments without walking for miles to the nearest market. We’re not talking smartphones here - we’re talking below what comes free with a U.S. service plan.
I recently read the book, You Can Hear Me Now: How Microloans and Cell Phones are Connecting the World’s Poor to the Global Economy, by Nicholas P. Sullivan. It’s an incredible account of how private investment - not government aid - brought mobile phones to women in rural villages of Bangladesh through a microloan program. One woman in a village would qualify for a small loan to purchase a mobile phone, and from there she could charge others to use that phone. The program and the network have been growing exponentially, and the country of Bangladesh is only one example.
Real-time television is now reaching our mobile phones. What are the implications of a teenager in Africa watching Paris Hilton’s latest escapades? What are the opportunities of that same child watching CNN?
So I’ve tailored our holiday shopping this year with the environment and the world in mind. I can’t list all that I’ve found, because, well, it’s not Christmas yet… but I did come across the “Hugg-A-Planet Plush Earth” from Thinkbutton for our neices (and eventually our nephew) today. This stuffed globe isn’t going to top the life-sized, pink, stuffed unicorn we once gave them, but it means the - uh - world to me just to show and talk to them about all the diverse people, animals and landscapes they’ll someday be able to visit.
In your own geography lessons growing up, did you learn enough about the rest of the world or were you too busy memorizing State capitals? What about your kids now as they read books and start school?
We all hear that languages sink it most when started early - thanks, Dora - and I hope you encourage world geography and cultures too.
Americans are dog lovers. I’m a dog lover. Yes, a certain breed of dog lover may be taking it 
NPR’s Laura Sydell today reports on the latest innovation that is moving to India in “
The BBC World Service today reports on 
I recently read the book, 
So I’ve tailored our holiday shopping this year with the environment and the world in mind. I can’t list all that I’ve found, because, well, it’s not Christmas yet… but I did come across the “
Entries (RSS)