Starbucks puts its web site where its growth is

Posted on August 24, 2009 by John Yunker

Starbucks may be closing stores in the US, but it’s still growing internationally.

According to the Seattle PI:

Starbucks recently opened stores in the Czech Republic, Amsterdam and Poland. And it has plans for a big push in China.
Starbucks began its expansion outside of North America in 1996 when it opened two stores in Japan. By 2000, teamed up with its Canadian operation, it had opened 127 stores internationally. Its appetite for worldwide growth grew bigger in 2005 when it set its sights on 1,500 stores internationally, including expansions into Brazil, India, Russia and China.

Perhaps it’s coincidence that when Starbucks redesigned its Web site recently the “International” link was promoted to the top of the page, as shown here:

starbucks_gateway_august2009

For Starbucks, this is big.

The previous two web designs, stretching all the way back to 2003, relegated the “Worldwide” link to the bottom of the left column.

Not an ideal location.

That said, now that Starbucks has promoted its international interface, there is still room for improvement.

For starters, the accented characters used in Österreich and España didn’t appear correctly on both my Mac and PC browsers. It looks like an Adobe Flash glitch, but a pretty big one I’d say.

Second, I’d like to see the “International” link accompanied with a globe or map icon. Would a non-native English speaker know to click on the International link? I’m not sure. A globe icon speaks many languages.

I’m glad to see Starbucks put an emphasis on International. It may seem like a trivial change in the great scheme of things, but I know how various departments and divisions within companies battle over the precious real estate of a global home page. Here’s hoping the International link retains its high-profile position.

I think it will. After all, international is where the growth is.

The best mini-series you’ve probably never seen

Posted on August 4, 2009 by John Yunker

The one-line description on Amazon says:

Police detective Ronnie Craven investigates the killing of his own daughter and becomes embroiled in a vast conspiracy.

Edge of Darkness is a 1985 6-part British mini-series that is still unknown to most Americans.

For now.

I just found out that the series is being released this fall — finally — in DVD format.

My film professor Steve Geller introduced me to the drama back in the early 90s. And I ended up buying it on VHS. It’s the only reason I still cling to my VHS player after all these years.

The drama takes place in Thatcher-era Europe. The cold war is on, Reagan is in office, and the nuclear race is still very much a race.

Joe Don Baker — best known for his lead role in Walking Tall — plays an unforgettable role as a CIA agent.

Eric Clapton gets billing for co-creating the soundtrack — and there is no mistaking his guitar. But Edge of Darkness is best known for its use of Willie Nelson’s plaintive ballad Time of the Preacher.

Edge of Darkness is multi-layered, ambitious, and prescient.

I’ve read that Hollywood is remaking this series, with Mel Gibson taking over the role that Bob Peck immortalized. I’m not sure how you remake something that is already close to perfect, but if it draws attention to the original, it will be well worth it.

Edge of Darkness: The Complete BBC Series

TED is translation-worthy

Posted on August 3, 2009 by John Yunker

Earlier this year, TED began recruiting volunteers to translate its recorded presentations, known as TED Talks.

It looks like the venture is off to a strong start. According to TED, more than 1,500 volunteer translators have provided more than 1,000 translations in more than 50 languages. And another 1,000 translations are in the works.

September 18, 2009 Update: TED has reached 2,000 translations.

Now, putting aside my concerns about a company getting services for free that it could very well afford, I want to focus on what TED has done well with its web site to facilitate the crowdsourcing of translations:

All translators have their own profile page (see below)
Translators get little buttons they can use to promote themselves (see above)
The translators who have done the most work are highlighted
The most-translated talks are highlight (see below)

ted_translator

One of the most active translators is Yasser Bahjatt. I like how you can click on the talks that he has translated.

A picky comment: Why is Arabic in Latin script? Wouldn’t it make more sense to use Arabic script? Details, I know, but these details count when you’re trying to create content for people who may not understand any English.

Next, here is a screen shot of the most popular talks — at least among translators:

ted_translator2

As TED adds more and more translated content, it’s going to need to devote resources to providing a fully localized user interface (UI).

Right now, TED offers this:

ted_gateway

But for the most part, the TED site expects users to know a fair amount of English if they’re going to navigate to their translated content.

Ultimately, TED will have to localize its Web site — or just the Ted Talks section — so that people can more easily find their translated content. And this I suspect won’t come free.

Nevertheless, TED has proven that its content is translation-worthy and it has done a great job of creating a community of translators who are bound to keep the effort alive and growing.