Yes like many I’ve run across this and then later dropped the ball. I did some work for a Japanese NPO for free last year but the complexity of internationalization was far more intensive than I’d first imagined. Much much more than the character set in fact. And beyond the technical you have the whole cultural divide to at least consider.
But the fact it is a World Wide Web and no longer can we think of it as American dominated. We need to be considering the customer in China and Eastern Europe and Beirut as well as the local market – who may still be non-english speaking by the way. In my opinion this is the unsung frontier of accessibility we’re talking about here. The challenge for anyone who wants to make money in the future might just be how well we can deliver this solution to international audiences.
Steven Clark (aka nortypig)
Yes like many I’ve run across this and then later dropped the ball. I did some work for a Japanese NPO for free last year but the complexity of internationalization was far more intensive than I’d first imagined. Much much more than the character set in fact. And beyond the technical you have the whole cultural divide to at least consider.
But the fact it is a World Wide Web and no longer can we think of it as American dominated. We need to be considering the customer in China and Eastern Europe and Beirut as well as the local market – who may still be non-english speaking by the way. In my opinion this is the unsung frontier of accessibility we’re talking about here. The challenge for anyone who wants to make money in the future might just be how well we can deliver this solution to international audiences.
Nice article Molly.