'Glocalisation' Is The New Language Of The Internet

According to a recent online article, the main 'language' of today's internet is not English, Mandarin or Spanish but something called 'glocalisation'. Language-specific websites are important for targeting particular countries and markets but what is becoming more apparent is the need for greater awareness of the cultural sensitivities in each country targeted, as well. Even local communities in different countries are adopting their own online standards and behaviours when it comes to how they read and use the internet.

China for instance, has a particularly interesting phenomenon amongst its internet users whereby users aged over 25 years old like to scan the whole page of a website, which might seem a little overwhelming to Western users. However, Chinese internet users aged between 16-25 tend to scan a whole webpage in the same way as the over 25s but they do this only above the fold of a page.

These peculiarities have become more and more important and affect the way websites are designed and marketed.The article goes on to point out an example of 'Glocalisation' in the cultural sense by referring to a few country specific websites for Coca-Cola.

This huge multinational company has managed to perfect this idea of 'glocalisation' by incorporating their well-known trademark as well as catering to the cultural needs in different countries. It is quite impressive how Coca Cola has managed to do this.

The writer adds 'if we are serious about reaching out to a global community, whether as customers, businesses or peers, we have to start responding to the cultural contexts in which we relate and engage online'. Go figure

. Read more about what 'glocalisation' means and how this affects the internet>>