#32051
Five Must-Haves for International Communication
My fellow freelancers have been writing about international freelancing, where you cater to a global clientele. I can see the reasoning behind the interest though, especially if you live in a third-world country.
#18197
FORUM ’95 Conference Demonstrates International Cooperation 
The unusual mix of participants and formats in the FORUM 95 conference supported international cooperation and demonstrated new approaches for professional conferences. The FORUM 95 conference, held November 13-15, 1995, in Dortmund, Germany, supported international cooperation through its themes and organization. Using English as the operating language, FORUM 95 attracted widespread international participation. With the theme of “Disappearing Borders,” the conference demonstrated how limitations in political boundaries, media, and employment locations have shifted during the last five years. For example, registrants from the former East Germany, South Africa, and Estonia brought new perspectives on technical communication. Among more than 320 attendees, 41% were German, 13% Dutch, 12% Swedish, 10% US, 6% British, 4% Danish, 3% Norwegian, 8% all other European, 3% all other.
Reilly, Annette D. STC Proceedings (1996). Presentations>TC>International
#26869
These Free Powerpoint Templates are a great choice for a wide variety of presentation needs.
Chaw, Brandy. Powered Templates (2006). Presentations>Graphic Design>International>Microsoft PowerPoint
#24952
Getting This "Global Thing" Right…
CEOs overwhelmingly believe that revenue growth is their number one priority: four out of five CEOs (83%) now believe that revenue growth is the most important path to boosting financial performance over the next three years. And what do they see as the two key drivers for this growth? New and differentiated products and services (nearly two-thirds) and new markets (55%). Responsiveness is the new key competence, i.e., CEOs acknowledge that they need the ability to recognize, analyze and respond more effectively to continuously changing market conditions and risks. Reinstituting customer responsive organizations is high on their growth agenda.
Ray, Rebecca. LISA (2004). Careers>Management>International
#19233
Your company manufactures 'dress' sneakers—fancy athletic footwear that is designed as 'business' rather than 'athletic' apparel. Because of increasingly informal corporate attire policies, your company has experienced phenomenal success, and now wishes to expand internationally. But where first?
Lannon, John M. Pearson Education (2003). Academic>Course Materials>International
#10372
This introduction previews the articles in this special issue and argues that developing information products for a global audience forces us to confront differences of language, culture, and experience. It also maintains that open and global collaboration strategies offer our best approach to “dealing with difference.”
Hoft, Nancy L. Technical Communication Online (1999). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>International
#19483
Global Perspectives 2001 was an interdisciplinary course that introduced students to global issues both from the perspective of power relationships and through an understanding of intercultural communication. The course assignments required students to do field research, use technology, and work as part of teams. Students learned to think critically about key global issues. The team project required students to do extensive research using technology, interviews, and other types of field research in addition to more traditional library research. Collaboration with any other discipline can help students see the broader implications of what they learn in technical communication courses.
Flammia, Madelyn. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Education>International
#19260
A Global Style Guide: Working Together Around the World
As a result of acquisitions and mergers, companies can find themselves working together worldwide and sharing documentation to distribute in different markets. The original source documentation will probably need to be adapted by some of the companies in the distribution channel to accommodate different languages, branding and content in order to meet the requirements of these different markets. This sharing and reuse of documentation between companies worldwide is easier when all the companies in the distribution channel share a common style guide.
O'Neill, Jennifer. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Style Guides>International
#14105
Global Talk was printed quarterly through Spring 2002, with a final printed issue in Fall 2002. Earlier issues are in PDF format in the Global Talk archive.
#31339
Global Teams: Communicating Across Time, Space and, Most Important, Cultures
With the birth of the Internet and the advancement of other information technologies, companies and organizations are now able to operate across borders, cultures and time zones at lower costs than ever before. One way this occurs is through virtual teams, which allow companies to maximize their global expertise and resources, while team members can remain in their home countries.
Apud, Salvador and Talis Apud-Martinez. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Collaboration>International>Cultural Theory
#29062
Global Thinking, or the Utility of Trivia 
The constant emphasis on specialization produces university graduates who do not or cannot look at problems broadly. As a result, engineers, scientists and executives indeed graduates in all fields including the supposedly broad-based humanities often cannot solve problems that require knowledge outside of their specializations. Or their narrowness causes them to commit embarrassing blunders that could be avoided if they took a broader view. The case of the British Westland Lysander P12 Ground Strafer aircraft illustrates the problem of narrow thinking. Very little direct information is available on this ingenious but obscure prototype airplane, but by examining many peripheral matters we can determine not only why the P12 was built but also how it was built. Further, we can also determine why it failed. Had the initial designers approached the problem in a broad way, and using information that was then available, they would have seen in advance that the project would fail. The case is instructive as an industrial problem, but it also demonstrates the value of global thinking methodology.
Harris, John S. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2001). Articles>Education>International
#30085
This panel will examine continuous publishing movement from paper to HTML formats, and localization management, which are currently in global transition. Panelists from a translation agency, a consulting firm, and a hardware computer corporation will address how the technical communications organizations must transition in these areas to meet the global requirements of the industry.
Hackos, JoAnn T., Deborah Rosenquist and Jaap van der Meer. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Publishing>International>Localization
#20238
Global Treaty Could Transform the Web
Mahoney is boiling mad over a proposed global treaty that would turn our worldwide web into a mishmash of regional Intranets, each attending to whatever local regulation allows.
Mahoney, Dennis A. List Apart, A (2001). Design>Web Design>International
#29465
XML alone is not enough to effectively manage your organization's global content. Explore global XML and its benefits.
Hurst, Sophie. Intercom (2007). Articles>Information Design>XML>International
#19315
Globalisation: The Challenges to Usability 
English is the official language of approximately eight percent of the worlds population - a significant number, but still a small minority. Yet the majority of online content is presented in English. Naturally, many organisations will want to reach as many prospective worldwide clients and suppliers as possible, but the reality is that a user will always prefer an application that suits their own language and cultural environment. Globalisation refers to everything an organisation should do to ensure that its web presence meets the requirements of users in different countries. Successful globalisation requires tackling a host of both technical and content issues. Back-end systems that interact with your web presence must be reengineered so they can identify and process any language. The web interface and its content must also be translated and culturally modified for a specific language or target environment (a locale). Its a huge topic - here we highlight only some of the key challenges presented to usability by going global.
Gaine, Frank. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Design>Web Design>International>Usability
#19637
Globalizing the Technical Communication Classroom
In today’s global economy, knowing how to communicate in an international environment is more important than ever. The United States leads the world in the number of foreign students attending its educational institutions. The student body is becoming increasingly diverse. Instructors can no longer assume that all students have had the same experiences. Often, in an attempt to treat all students equally, instructors overlook or misunderstand the needs of international students. But if the teachers acknowledge and welcome cultural diversity in the classroom, students can become more aware of the varied audiences they will encounter in their future careers.
Sharpe, Victoria. Intercom (2003). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>International
#21068
Going Global Gracefully: Strategies for Building the Global Gateway
The world speaks many languages, and so do an increasing number of Web sites. Yet with these languages and locales come a host of challenges for the Web teams who manage them, challenges that are not likely to go away. As companies 'localize' their Web sites for new markets and languages, they run into the navigational challenges of directing users to their localized Web sites. For instance, if your site offers a dozen localized Web sites, how do you ensure that users arrive at their intended sites without getting confused or lost along the way? This article presents strategies for building a global gateway. A global gateway is much more than a 'select country' pull-down menu on the home page. It's an all-encompassing term for the devices you use to direct users to their locale- and language-specific sites. And, as you'll soon see, there are many ways to build a gateway.
Yunker, John E. WebWord (2003). Design>Web Design>International>Localization
#19485
Going Global Without Going Broke
Companies are increasingly operating world wide. As a result they often need to produce documentation in several languages to meet market demands. The quality of the source document plays an important part in controlling the cost and release date of the localised documents. This article discusses several issues that need to be considered when producing documents for the multilingual marketplace.
O'Neill, Jennifer. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Documentation>International
#18864
English may be the world's quasi-official language, but that doesn't mean U.S. businesspeople or academics are off the hook when presenting in foreign cultures. Here's what it takes to be an effective — and culturally correct — speaker to international audiences.
#19472
Going Global: The Challenges of Writing for International Audiences
Because of strong global markets for software and its documentation, information is often translated into several different languages, and read by users worldwide. Writers who create source information in English now face the challenge of communicating to a global audience. These writers must reconsider the following: defining their audience, controlling their terminology and style, creating text for graphical user interfaces (GUIs), and creating examples and scenarios for use in conceptual and instructional material.
Heximer, Erin and Lisa Wu. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Writing>International
#31663
A Guide to International Paper Sizes
Metrics, not U.S. measurements, rule the universe. Therefore, before preparing publications for distribution abroad, you need to understand the basics of ISO paper standards.
Copresco (2000). Articles>Document Design>International>Paper
#30834
Guidelines for Writing English-Language Technical Documentation
In 1999 the member societies of INTECOM recognized there was a need to help technical writers in all countries who have to write English-language technical documentation for products that will be sold worldwide. If they are writing for an audience solely in the UK, the Scandinavian countries, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, then British style is appropriate. Similarly, if they are writing for an audience solely in North and South America, the Philippines, and many Asian countries, then US style is appropriate. But if they have to write a single set of documentation for use in all countries, then a difficult decision has to be made.
Intecom (2005). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>International
#21590
Guidelines for Writing Technical Documentation for an International Audience
A guide to help technical writers in all countries who have to write English-language technical documentation for products that will be sold worldwide.
tekom (2003). Articles>Documentation>International>Technical Writing
#31421
How International Copyright Law Works
If you photocopy an article in the U.S., you apply U.S. copyright law. If you photocopy an article in France, you apply French copyright law. That's the way international copyright law works: You apply the law of the country in which use of the work is made. This is called "national treatment" and is the underlying principle in the leading copyright convention, the Berne Copyright Convention.
Harris, Lesley Ellen. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright>International
#21273
How to Architect Sites Across Cultures Without Losing Your Mind
Ever since I started working formally as an information architect, I've clung to the belief that there's a universal set of conditions that we're trying to achieve. But what I've slowly begun to believe over my time working here in Japan is that there is simply no such thing as a universal good.
Greenfield, Adam. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Design>Web Design>International>Localization
