Cross-Cultural Challenges

An interesting post today from Matt McAlister, VP and General Manager, Online at IDG's InfoWorld regarding the different expectations of users in Asia and the US for web design. As Matt says:

In the translation they found some key differences in what motivates someone to participate online. The problem is not just about translating terminology in the user interface but also about interpreting interaction design models.

We are working with a number of clients who are moving product from the US and Europe to Asia. These cultural issues throw up all sorts of challenges which go well beyond the technicalities of translation or different character sets. Matt's post is particularly interesting as it deals with taking an Asian model to the US; most people's experience points in the other direction at this stage.