Read an interview of Matt Mullenweg, lead developer of WordPress, on which the Linguistic Solutions Blog runs thanks to Matt himself (who created the template to match the Linguistic Solutions Web site) and our mutual friend, Scott Allen (who installed WordPress on the Linguistic Solutions Web server). Thanks again, guys!

In the current Chinese cyberspace, bloggers may not be as loud as their American counterparts. But they are potentially certainly no less subversive to the dominant paradigm. Hope will be born from their whispers.

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It is no surprise that Wal-Mart once again dominates the list of the world’s top 100 retailers. What is unusual about this year’s list is the global emergence of US retailers, the acceleration of globalization, the accelerated growth in categories such as hardlines specialty stores and specialty apparel, as well as the dramatic distinction in growth strategies between the fastest-growing US and European retailers.

The 1999 Top 100 Retailers Worldwide, compiled and analyzed by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the world’s largest professional services organization, indicates that while US-based retailers tend to be the biggest (comprising seven of the top ten), the largest European retailers are more global, have a strong incentive to invest in new markets and therefore, are becoming more cosmopolitan than their US counterparts.

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Blogger web-logging service, which was acquired by Google Inc. last year when it bought the service’s creator, Pyra Labs Inc., has broken away from its English-only status. Blogger is now available in nine other languages: Japanese, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, French, Italian, Spanish, German and Brazilian Portuguese. This first phase of the service’s internationalization involves key Blogger sections, such as its sign-in and account pages. Translation of the Blogger posting interface is to follow.

Google, Inc., 2400 Bayshore Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 USA, Tel: 650-623-4000, Fax: 650-618-1499, E-mail: press@google.com, Web: http://www.google.com

Tegic’s T9 Text Input version 7.2 offers enhanced multi-lingual support, which makes it easier for users to alternate between languages when texting. It is not uncommon for users to switch back and forth between languages when speaking or writing to friends and family. Yet mobile users currently have to manually select or change the language in which they want to text in order to do so. The new multi-lingual enhancement changes this by recognising the language a user is typing in and automatically predicting the word in the language the user is most likely to want.

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One in five babies born in the United States is Hispanic. Hispanics are 33 percent more likely to buy toys than non-Hispanics. Growth in the population of Hispanic kids younger than 9 is expected to outpace non-Hispanics by 23 percent by 2010.

Adding it all up, Hispanic families are a natural market for toys.

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“Marketing to US Hispanics: From Mass Marketing to ‘Más’ Marketing” — December 1, 7:30-10:00 A.M. at the William V. Phillips YMCA Training Center, 2122 East Governor Circle, Houston, Texas 77092

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In the globalization, internationalization, translation and localization (GILT) industry, where responsiveness and timeliness are a must, mobile customer relationship management (CRM) and project managment (PM) become a must also (unless, of course, you like being chained to your desk). This attention deficit disorder (ADD) GILT industry CEO must be free to roam. The answer: Gadgets. Lot’s of ’em! That and GSM, GPRS, Bluetooth, WiFi, smoke signals, etc. Whatever it takes to stay connected with customers. I call it “High Tech/High Touch: Using Technology to Stay Connected with People” (High Tech/High Touch is a term I borrowed from Megatrends author Naisbitt). My customers call it customer service. They don’t know where I am when I answer their phone calls and e-mails and they dont’ care either. All they know is: They call or write, I answer. This morning, I wrote the following succinct reviews: My 3 newest gadgets.

A report from Chain Store Guide finds that Hispanic buying power is expected to reach $926.1 billion by 2007. This represents 9.4% of America’s total buying power.

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Wharton Marketing Conference panel of speakers addresses Hispanic marketing segmentation by national origin and level of acculturation, strategic marketing initiatives, Latin American competition, ‘unbanked’ Hispanics, assimilation, shopping habits and other challenges.

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And speaking of ketchup, have you heard the contagious tune “The Ketchup Song (Hey Hah)” by Spain’s “Las Ketchup.”

Strategic Research Institute’s blockbuster forum 11th Annual
Marketing to U.S. Hispanics & Latin America, scheduled for January 24-27, 2005
at the Wyndham Miami Beach Resort in Miami

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NEW YORK — Hispanic households across America will sharply increase both their numbers and economic clout over the next ten years, The Conference Board reports [November 11, 2004] in a comprehensive new study.

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Great article on Hispanic Marketing: Latinos and Lucre by Malcolm Beith, Newsweek International.

Hispanics will substantially boost their U.S. economic clout over the next several years, according to a study by The Conference Board released Thursday.

The number of Hispanic households is expected to grow at a faster pace than that of any other group in the United States, continuing a demographic explosion that began several decades ago, according to the study.

The number of Hispanic households in the country will climb from 10 million-plus today to 13.5 million by 2010, up from less than 6 million in 1990. These households will control $670 billion in personal income six years from now, according to the study.

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Hispanics contribute about 10 percent, or $55.5 billion, of the New York DMA’s total aggregate household income.

Another key characteristic that differentiates the area’s Hispanic community is its high concentration of wealth. Nearly one tenth of New York Hispanic households have yearly incomes of $100,000 or more, while only 7.6 percent of Hispanic households across the country earn above that income threshold. At the same time, no other DMA in the country has a higher percentage of Hispanic households earning less than $35,000 (51 percent).

Source: HispanicBusiness.com