International Information Architecture (July 14, 2003)
http://semanticstudios.com/publications/semantics/000012.php

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Connecting people from diverse disciplines, countries and cultures
is a strategic imperative, not only for AIfIA but for the
information architecture community as a whole. Our competitive
advantage derives from our very ability to build bridges and span
networks.

This argument alone should provide ample incentive for us to nurture
an international perspective within the practice, but there are all
sorts of idiosyncratic reasons why information architects should
reach across borders.

Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things

George Lakoff's book about categorization is required reading for
any serious information architect. Consider this excerpt:

"The title of this book was inspired by the Australian aboriginal
language Dyirbal, which has a category, balan, that actually
includes women, fire, and dangerous things. It also includes birds
that are not dangerous, as well as exceptional animals, such as the
platypus, bandicoot, and echidna."

The ways we categorize are rooted in language and culture. This
creates unique challenges for information architects. For example, a
web site targeted for a Japanese audience may require a completely
different structure and organization than its German equivalent.
Localization isn't limited to translation.

These issues have been addressed before in library science circles,
as noted in an article in Information Services & Use (volume 17:2)
by Michele Hudon on Multilingual Thesaurus Construction:

The development of a multilingual thesaurus is more than
the "putting together" of several monolingual thesauri. The true
multilingual thesaurus offers complete conceptual and terminological
inventories for each one of the languages involved; most
importantly, to present a fully developed thesauri structure in each
language, so that a user consulting the linguistic version most
appropriate for her/him gets the same amount of semantic information.

Unfortunately, for many, this topic appears largely academic. We
recognize our web sites have an international audience, but we lack
the resources to engage in globalization and localization efforts.
Or at least that's the excuse we use, particularly here in the
United States of America.

US Centrism

Assemble a multi-national group of people, and it won't take long
before the incendiary topic of US centrism pops up.

In one of AIfIA's formative discussions, Karl Fast, a feisty
Canadian, responded to a US centric message with an all-caps blast:

JUST BECAUSE THE NET IS US-CENTRIC TODAY DOES NOT MEAN AIFIA HAS TO
BE US-CENTRIC TOO!

Since then we've had several similar incidents, each of which has
been stressful but informative. In my opinion, the gain far exceeds
the pain.

But why is this such a hot topic these days? Well, clearly US
foreign policy hasn't gone over too well. And, it's fair to say
there are elements of envy behind the animosity. But beyond these
factors, the plain truth is that most of US are pretty damn ignorant
about the perspectives and sensitivities of those in other countries.

This ignorance is not a symptom of stupidity or even arrogance.
Rather, as we optimize for income and quality of life, it's tough to
make a cost-benefit argument for exposing ourselves to attitudes in
Brazil or learning to speak fluent French.

Sure, we can check out the Indiatimes or the BBC News from the
comfort of our homes, but the ruthless efficiency of our information
foraging behavior steers us more frequently to CNN, the New York
Times, and our friends in the nearby cubicle.

Architects Without Borders

So, why should information architects in the US care about this
stuff when the dominant market incentive steers us towards designing
English-language web sites for US companies targeting US residents?

Low-Hanging Fruit. When you're starting from ground zero, a little
learning goes a long way. For many USIAs, spending one hour reading
about internationalization and localization may avert 80% of the
obvious blunders.

Insight from Outside. We can improve our methodology and create
better products for domestic audiences by interacting with people
who see and do things very differently.

State of Readiness. While the history of IA may have a US voice, the
future of IA will surely be international. We must build
understanding and relationships before we need them.

The State of Information Architecture

Now is the time to actively work on building these international
relationships. IA in the US has reached a plateau. We enjoyed major
investment and rapid learning in the 1990s. We developed core
concepts and methodology, and we experienced the trials and
tribulations of interdisciplinary collaboration. As the economy
revives, we're positioned to invest real energy in cross-cultural IA.

Meanwhile, I'm seeing growing interest in IA around the world. I've
spoken in Sweden and Italy and been invited to speak in Australia,
England and South Africa.

In AIfIA, I've had the pleasure of working with the wonderful people
leading the Translations Initiative. They come from Belgium, Brazil,
Canada, Denmark, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and Panama, and they
bring tremendous energy and new insight to the IA community.

Eggshells and Empathy

They also bring controversy. We had one quarrel over the use of
Europe (except Ireland & the UK) as a category in our salary survey.
And we've had a vibrant debate over the establishment of discounted
membership rates for people in developing countries.

What's great is that people have felt comfortable enough to engage
in these difficult conversations. Obviously empathy is a key
ingredient for collaboration. But we also need the guts to honestly
share our own feelings and opinions about these sensitive topics.

Many in the US are very conscious of walking on eggshells these
days, but we must overcome our fear of being branded an Ugly
American, if we're to enjoy the benefits of real engagement in
international collaboration.

So, what do you really think? Come on, let's break some eggshells.

Appendix I. International Insights

Stories, quotes and insights I've gathered in recent weeks through
research and serendipity.

Collaboration
As the grassroots level, people are reaching across borders:

The Q Connection. I've been working closely with a US design firm
named Q which enjoys a productive relationship with a German design
firm also named Q. They transformed a fun coincidence into an
opportunity for international collaboration.

Polar Bears in Haiti. I recently had lunch with students who are
helping a community in Haiti to setup a library, a technology center
and an intranet. They delivered 6,000 books (some donated by
O'Reilly), 92 computers and 3,200 pounds of pinto beans in a lime
green school bus.

Web Blunders
Stig Andersen highlighted the following examples:

Time Magazine Europe Subscription. After having chosen "Denmark"
they prompt me for a "Salutation" that makes no sense in Denmark.
Also they offer me, as first option, to pay with American Express, a
credit card which is not widely used here. Not to mention - why not
bother to translate this page? I know - the customer is buying an
English magazine, but still.

IBM Denmark. Say I have an IBM PC and I need support or to download
a driver. I go to the Danish page and choose "Alle downloads &
drivere" (means "All downloads and drivers"). Ups! Without a warning
comes a page in English. This is very typical. Microsoft and Sun
have the same problem, but these two sites warn me that the
following page will be in English.

Amazon. Now take Amazon. We like to praise them as best practice.
Well why is it they offer me an American Woods 1305T Windsor
Collection Chaise Lounge with Sidetable in my Gold Box when they
know I live across the Atlantic?

The Need for Translations
English is not the world's language:

Today, several IA groups around the world are poorly serviced when
it comes to information about IA as a discipline (particularly non-
English speakers). Many practitioners feel isolated in their current
locations, lacking the support and enrichment provided by a group of
people with similar interests.
Lívia Labate, São Paulo, Brazil

The people who deal with information within a company and in
customers relations - can be reached far more easily if stuff on IA
is available in the native Dutch language. These are people who use
PCs with Dutch language software, who do not read/think in English -
and for whom the "all-Anglified" subculture of IA-wizards are a non-
entity.
Oskar van Rijswijk, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands

Go to Amsterdam or Antwerp or Oslo and you will find that almost
everyone speaks superb English, and yet if you venture into almost
any bookstore in those cities you will usually find only a small
selection of books in English. For the most part, people want to
read works in their own language.
The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson

On Professional Associations
The real benefits of membership vary by location:

I have recently moved to London from South Africa and until now
found most of these kind of memberships too expensive to consider.
It is not simply the cost of the membership, but also the level of
face-to-face interaction and the access to events such as
conferences that ultimately means in more developed countries you
end up getting far more for your membership.
Vanessa Wolfe-Coote, London, England

Interestingly, one person noted on SIGIA that people in Kansas and
Kentucky may feel the same way, since most events in the US occur on
the east or west coasts.

On US - European Relations
In today's tense world, we can use a little humor and a lot of hope:

I fully understand the frustration that you and probably most US
people feel when they find themselves portrayed as coke-drinking,
imperialistic Mideast invaders :-) I have as many friends in the US
who share this frustration as I have friends in France, for example,
who are frustrated by the way they are portrayed in the press and
movies in Hollywood.
Stig Andersen, Copenhagen, Denmark

The social gap between us and America is small, and from a business
perspective modern technology has helped to make the business gap
even smaller. I look forward to a future with more European -
American integration which will help to build a more international
community.
Thilo von Debschitz, Wiesbaden, Germany

IA Around the World
It's tough to figure out where IA really stands in different
countries.

IA stands nowhere in Europe as a separate profession. Peter Bogaards
just started an IA company (BogieLand), but I was told that the talk
me and him gave was the first event in Belgium about IA!
Peter Van Dijck, a Belgian living in New York, USA

Even though the United States is home to most of the prominent
research and people in the field, IA is becoming very popular
worldwide. This signals the power of internationalization in the IA
world.
Lívia Labate, São Paulo, Brazil

Appendix II. The Polar Bear Overseas

I had hoped to compare international sales of our polar bear book in
Chinese, English, Italian, Korean, Polish and Russian, but
unfortunately O'Reilly doesn't have easy access to the foreign
language sales data. Still, the lifetime English language sales
figures are interesting.

Country Name % Lifetime Sales
Australia 1.99%
Brazil 0.06%
Canada 6.78%
Chile 0.01%
China 0.03%
France 0.36%
Germany 2.88%
Hong Kong 0.21%
India 04%
Israel 01%
Italy 0.04%
Japan 0.21%
Korea, Republic of (South) 0.43%
Netherlands 0.31%
Philippines 0.01%
Poland 0.04%
Russian Federation 0.04%
Saudi Arabia 0.01%
Singapore 1.04%
Sweden 0.02%
Switzerland 0.01%
Taiwan 0.26%
United Kingdom 15.77%
Uruguay 0.01%
USA 69.44%