Here is a quick summary of what I learned from my social media strategies this past week. You will find a list of this week’s tweets below.

International Social Media Marketing

Blogging and Twitter still play the biggest roles in my social media marketing plan. Twitter continues to bring in a large portion of the traffic to this blog.

• The new strategic social bookmarking action plan is easier to implement than I anticipated. I will continue to develop this over the next few weeks to give it some time to see what this brings me. It seems like several of the social media platforms are evolving rapidly and a stronger presence across several platforms could be critical in the future.
• The new Posterous profile is bringing in some traffic to this blog and it is fairly easy to network through Posterous. I am happy with my choice of using it primarily for the YouTube videos I like and will continue to post one or two a day. The tweets are very easy to do from Posterous.
• As usual, Facebook gets the least amount of attention. I did not work on my fan pages, and only increased comments on statuses this week.
• Finally got my copy of Ning for Dummies and read it. A Ning group is my next project.
• There are several new blogrolls in the Useful Resource Pages in yellow on the right sidebar.  There is a blogroll for links under these categories: B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Creativity, Cross-Cultural, French, Friends, Marketing, Social Media.

Do you have an interesting or useful link on international business, or of cultural interest? Tweet me a link.

Cross-Cultural Communication

1. Thanks @beverlycornell – Cross-Cultural Communication Tips from Global Business Perspectives – Great post!
2. Any communication or marketing professional needs cross-cultural research & communication skills to succeed in the future – via @thesavvygroup
3. @katahdinme Big thank you for sharing this! – Clotaire Rapaille on marketing – A must read for international business & cultural marketing
4. PBS Interview of Clotaire Rapaille on using culture code to get your business offer right – via @katahdinme - READ THIS!
5. Here’s a great article about the importance of multicultural literature – via @WritersCoach
6. Understanding Cultural Dynamics & Cross-Cultural Communication – via @RNRecruiter

Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge

1. #ccccTips 28 – In cross-cultural communication look for similarities where glitches happen
2. #ccccTips 29 – During your cross-cultural communications, dig for the reasons behind the questions people ask you
3. #cccctips 30 – Try to see your cross-cultural communication from the other person’s viewpoint

Cross-Cultural Leadership & Management

1. The Ultimate Survival Guide 101 for International Business – RT @ECManagement
2. Hints on managing an aging multicultural workforce – RT @ECWorkLife
3. Multicultural Professional Associations Can Advance Your Job Search and Career Management - RT @GilPizano
4. Cross-cultural branding and leadership #brandleader – via @MartinRoll
5. Twelve Characteristics of Multicultural Career Success – @BiggieJobs

Cross-Cultural Marketing

1. Use A Multicultural Internet Marketing Strategy To Develop Your International Business
2. What is your definition of multicultural? – via @CulturalKids – mine is simply: involving more than 1 culture
3. Multicultural urban youth feel empowered to positively impact change; becoming the new change-makers – RT @tamora_burk
4. Being Polite in Today’s Multicultural World – Regular Average People – via @stephnoah
5. What is the biggest mistake to avoid when writing a case study? Dig up best story, plan, don’t focus on your products
6. @XCulture + @fusionview Can’t wait to read your new book “International Communications Strategy”
7. @yBCeditorial2 I provide cross-cultural strategies & accompaniment for new foreign market penetration to improve international sales
8. Why ‘Cross-Cultural’ Marketing Can Make Your Brand A Latino Leader - @hispanicfilms
9. Listening to Blog Talk Radio on digital marketing in Africa - via @addthis @PamojaMedia
10. International Marketing: A chance to fly to foreign lands, Part 2 – via @joyrasmussen

Best Practices

1. The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving – Oliver W. Holmes RT @Iconic88 @BuzzEdition
2. RT @michaelfishman – Genius marketers Gene Schwartz and Dr. Clotaire Rapaill

Creativity

1. Soul Pancake – What I’m doing when I’m not Twittering #soulpancake
2. 10 Blogs to Stimulate Your Creativity – RT @copyblogger @katahdinme – some great places here
3. Think outside your box: Enhancing creativity through multicultural interactions - RT @ahoojas @davidabrock @gcimmarrusti
4. @jjude I’ve been wondering if there is a “chicken & egg” thing with creativity & cross-cultural communication – which one comes first…?

Cultural Insights

1. Cultures On The Edge - online magazine to support cultural diversity through education
2. It’s Like This, Only – Language in Mumbai can be tricky for newcomers, especially foreigners trying to hail taxis
3. Happy Multiculturalism Day, Canada! #multiculturalism #multicultural #Canada #immigration – via @DoreenatDMS
4. If you are interested in international marketing, drop by the Oregon Internationionalists – via @KiyoshiPDX
5. Too often we promote only pals+business interests at home. I luv it when we can cross cultural borders+do the same – RT @Journeywoman
6. RT @higginsb Social & Cross Cultural Skills = collaborating with others with respect & an open mind to incorporate diverse thinking
7. @MarionChapsal – Great to talk with you Marion! Nice to meet someone here in France with your intercultural training expertise.
8. @DorothyDalton @MarionChapsal Same here Very happy to hook up with international profiles here in Europe!
9. 43% of women, 48% of blacks and 31.5% of Hispanics btw 18&25 who have a young child don’t qualify 4 UNPAID leave #p2 – RT @WomansNation
10. Humintell – about facial expression of emotion, nonverbal behavior, detecting deception and cultural adaptation
11. @butwait yes @pocketcultures is on my recommended list of international/culture Twitter people to follow
12. @deanmeistr & @MarionChapsal & @t_de_baillon I’d like to introduce you to each other – I’m sure all 3 of you have lots in common

Language Skills

1. The intercultural newspaper – www.thecomunicator.de – via @ComUnic
2. The English Blog – Internet resources, reviews, news, tips and trivia for learners and teachers of English
3. Double-Tongued Dictionary – A lexicon of fringe English, focusing on slang, jargon & new words

Social Media

1. Thomas Nelson Corporate Blogging Guidelines – these guidelines are useful for businesses interested in blogging
2. A short selection of international Twitter users – via @Wulffy
3. Excited about the Authority Blogger Forum “Summer Traffic Project“  – via @chrisgarrett
4. Who else wants more traffic this summer? – via @chrisgarrett …please RT
5. Need 25 fans on my 2 brand new Facebook fan pages – Please help & click on the fan buttons here on my Get International Clients Facebook fan page and on my Cindy King Facebook fan page
6. Validation: Using Twitter to Build Loyalty – Great article on using Twitter to validate customers
7. Social Media Marketing Tops Digital Marketing Tactics for 2009 – via @GranerCreative
8. Metrics for the Busy Community Manager – RT @mvellandi @lindyasimus
9. Audio recording of GuyKawasaki’s social media marketing speech - RT @Janne404
10. Social Media Marketing For Local Businesses – via @imarketsuccess
11. Technology, New Media, and Your Business – a great business focused article on social media via @smallbizbee
12. Social Media: 19 Presence Management Chores You COULD Do Every Day
    
13. The analysis of social networking data promises to take behavioral targeting to a new level. But will it deliver?
14. Want to make money on Facebook? The 5 Phases Of The Facebook Sales Funnel - with things you can do
15. Posterous vs. Tumblr: A Head to Head - I just started a Posterous account and love, learned a few things in this article
16. Top 10 Extreme Social Media Promotion Hacks – SlideShare from Wordcamp Dallas 2009, well worth the read
17. Steve Rubel on Getting the Mosterous from Posterous - some good tips for my new Posterous profile
18. Friendfeed are “slowly changing the water in the fishbowl so the fish rarely notice” gulp gulp. (via Jeremiah Owyang)
19. Just changed my FriendFeed background with one of the new free themes
20. Infographic Provides a Twitter History Lesson | FlowingData – colorful picture time line as a tree
21. Love social media releases or hate ‘em, they work - with stats from around the world – via @ConversationAge
22. Social Media Program Lifecycle – the only slide you need to know
23. Blogging Is Still the Foundation In A World of Streams – with an excellent flow chart for content within social media
24. Top 9 Twitter Faux Pas - “can’t say no one makes money from twitter now. The NBA does.”
25. Is your Social Media Director qualified? by @thebrandbuilder – via @t_de_baillon – liked this too
26. Best Practices For Effective Design Of “About me” Pages – via @akostic – some very good inspiration to re-do mine
27. 5 Trends To Analyze Your Blog’s Reach and Growth by @mintblogger
28. Most Popular Social Media Networks For Multicultural Groups | Ad Sheik
29. Seven Deadly Sins of Social Networking Security - CSO Online – Security and Risk
30. Facebook Swahili version launched - via @gkofiannan @PamojaMedia
31. Listening to @marketingprofs Online Seminars – Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time

Society News

1. Jackson’s Musical Genius Rivaled Only By Status As International Cultural Phenomenon
2. Toronto’s new green roof law a first for North America – WOW! great for everyone else, expensive for the owner
3. Top 10 Blogs for Tour de France 2009
4. Top 10 Ironic Ads From History - by Teaching Social Media Marketing At UCLA – via @imarketman
5. Remember the search to fill the ‘Best Job In The World’? Here’s a video of the Brit who got the job
6. In the news: TV executive, who tried to debunk stereotypes of Islam, beheads wife after she files for divorce

Travel

1. When to Use a Travel Agent
2. 50 things to do for free in Europe – Travelling to Europe this summer?
3. 7 Tricks To Take Awesome Travel Pictures [PICS]
4. Ten Great Travel Twitter Tweets for June – World Hum – there are some gems here
5. Just added @worldhum to my list of favorite people to follow for cultural insights

Videos

Communication

1. Jennifer 8. Lee hunts for General Tso – origins of familiar Chinese-American dishes - TED
2. Video: Filipino CPDRC Inmates #tribute - Proof #MichaelJackson cross-cultural – RT @DoreenatDMS @brandoneculture
3. Video: Bundangbear – Escape Your Cultural Bubble - or how travel can help you develop your cultural skills
4. RT @kyrichan – Hakuna matata multicultural!
5. YouTube – A brief digest of British accents in under 3 minutes
6. The American Handshake – Explained for non-Americans – Enlightening!

Selling

1. Funny YouTube video – The Vendor Client Relationship – in real world situations – Cross-cultural selling?
2. Short YouTube video – The Lingo Kid’s Multilingual Selling Skills - Great sales skills are easy to spot anywhere
3. Nigerian Marketing Lesson: Steel Palm Trees - via @PamojaMedia
4. AdAge Lindstrom video – Big returns for small products – single serve products are the rage in the Philippines

Find more tips and links on Twitter here

• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 26 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 25 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 24 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 23 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 22 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 21 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 20 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 19 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 18 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 17 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 16 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 15 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 14 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 13 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 12 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 11 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 10 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 9 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 8 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 7 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 6 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 5 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 4 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 3 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 2 of 2009
• 301 Twitter Culture Tips & International Links

Post from: Cindy King

Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 27 of 2009

This week I received the following joke in the mail. Cute, and reasonably sure it will offend everyone, no matter what your culture happens to be.

The Joke: A worldwide survey was conducted by the UN. The only question asked was: “Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world?”
The survey was a huge failure…
In Africa they didn’t know what “food” meant.
In Eastern Europe they didn’t know what “honest” meant.
In Western Europe they didn’t know what “shortage” meant.
In China they didn’t know what “opinion” meant.
In the Middle East they didn’t know what “solution” meant.
In South America they didn’t know what “please” meant.
And in the USA they didn’t know what “the rest of the world” meant.

I have already written about the dangers of stereotypes and generalizations in business. But on a personal level, it can be interesting to identify how the stereotypes are used.

Let’s have a look at what a few more people have to say about stereotypes.

Anda writing for @kosmopolit presents  The art of European stereotypes posted at Kosmopolito saying “The boundaries between the famously dull Justus Lipsius building (hosting the Council of Ministers) and a contemporary art museum have become blurred today. The Atrium is hosting a huge installation commissioned by the Czech Council Presidency. Unlike the more traditional pieces of art normally exhibited in the context of EU Council Presidencies, this time the Czechs decided to put forward a bold conceptual installation, with a meaning that goes deeper than the eye can see.”

Vivian Luu writing for @nwasianweekly presents The top 10 ways you know your Dad is Asian (categorized under humor) posted at northwest asian weekly saying “He critiques every grade on your report card, even over a fraction of a point. He makes your boyfriend, or girlfriend, tremble at the twitch of an eye. He can get his Toyota Camry across three lanes on the highway, but only after cutting off at least 10 other cars. He is, of course, the Asian father.”

Zettler Clay presents  What’s Wrong With A Stereotype? posted at Clutch saying “Stereotypes are not inherently a bad thing. In fact, they can be quite helpful in understanding a complex society in which nothing stays the same. Like anything though, stereotypes has its limitations. It engenders laziness on the part of the consumer, who uses them as the sole source of classifying groups of people. It’s when people don’t accept the exceptions to the rule that put a black eye around the term. I was recently at an outing, among a racially eclectic group, after class. We were talking about going out into the town, to kick it and what not. One of my Asian classmates then looked at me.”

macon d presents think of africa in fantasized, monolithic terms posted at  stuff white people do saying “What’s worse than merely conceiving of all things “African” in monolithic terms is that this mythical concept of an extremely variegated continent has specific characteristics–and cartoonish ones, at best. Africa was of course thought of by Westerners in Stanley and Livingstone’s day as “the Dark Continent,” full of “dangerous animals,” “bugs,” “diseases,” “infections,” and the very high risk that any Westerner who “journeys” there “won’t survive/make it.”"

What have these stories inspired in you? I would love to hear your comments below.

Post from: Cindy King

International Marketing Review #58

This is the last tip in this series to get extreme with clarity in cross-cultural communication. And we end with a basic best practice and yet it is the hardest. Like most of the other cross-cultural communication tips to succeed in today’s tip it takes personal effort and practice.

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication Tip 30

Here is today’s tip:

Try to see your communication from the other person’s viewpoint

Of course, if when we are able to see things from the other person’s viewpoint, it is easy to communicate clearly. We understand what needs to be explained and how to approach the communication. We know how to make the connection for an effective conversation. Clarity of communication become obvious.

But it is not easy to see your communication from the other person’s viewpoint.

Beginner’s Over Confidence

It often seems to me that we are more confident in our understanding of the other person’s viewpoint when we are novice in cross-cultural communication. It is often only with experience that we realize just how far we are from being able to put ourselves in the other person’s shoes and seeing things as he sees them.

Personal Limitations

In practice, after spending years working with specific cultures I can look back and see my own limitations. Of course, compared to others I have a very intimate understanding some cultures. For example my understanding of the French, Malay, British and Canadian cultures as a “foreigner” goes very deep. But I have encountered barriers within myself that stop me from becoming “native”.

Of course, I usually have an excellent understanding of the viewpoints of the people from these cultures. I can anticipate reactions and adapt my communication to improve clarity for the other person. But I will always communicate with these cultures from my own personal cultural standpoint.

In international business, this level of cultural understanding is usually more than enough. As I mentioned earlier, with experience you realize the distance that separates you from other cultures. This is because you become aware of your own limitations.

What’s Next

Leave a comment below and tell me how happy or frustrated you are with your understanding of different cultural viewpoints and how this effects your international business.

Cross-Cultural Communication Calendar

Look out for the calendar for 30 days to get extreme with clarity, published later this week and free to download.

International Sales Best Practices

Just like with the last Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge, we will review each of these tips to see how they fit into international sales best practices.

Build Trust

Our next Cross-cultural Communication Challenge will be on trust and it will be in September.

Use this tip as a starting point. Think about what this means to you. Not sure what you think about this? There are a few links below for suggested reading to get you started. Follow each of these tips this month to improve your cultural skills.

Further Suggested Reading

• Cultural Perception Of The Use Of Information
• International Perceptions Of Obama’s Inauguration News Coverage
• Customizing Content For Your Clients

Post from: Cindy King

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication – Tip 30

It is not always easy to get a global vision of your cross-cultural communication. Sometimes it takes a little digging to understand the real conversation. This global vision can often show you where you need to get extreme clarity in your communication.

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication Tip 29

Today’s tip reminds us not to get complacent and to continually look for ways to improve our communication:

Look for reasons behind for questions especially if they are recurring questions

When a question surprises you or appears out of context, this should raise your attention. And if the similar questions pop up more than once, there is usually a need for more clarity in your communication.

It is easy to excuse these little signals as part of the cultural differences of the other person. But the cause is not always found on the other side. Remember to question your own communication. The more you become aware of your contribution to the cross-cultural conversation and how this is received, the better you will become at adapting your communication for a better understanding.

Now, this might seem very basic. And it is. The truth is that many things take place during some cross-cultural encounters and it is easy to forget some basic communication best practices. International professionals develop strong mental multi-tasking skills to monitor the cross-cultural communication as a whole. This is how you can usually pick up signals for the need for more clarity in the communication.

Use this tip as a starting point. Think about what this means to you. Not sure what you think about this? There are a few links below for suggested reading to get you started. Follow each of these tips this month to improve your cultural skills.

Further Suggested Reading & Viewing

• International Customer Experience
• Cultural Differences In Testimonials
• Who Should You Get To Write Your Foreign Language Web Content

Post from: Cindy King

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication – Tip 29

Notice the changes in how the links are presented below? They are now listed by the Useful Resource Page. The most useful links are added onto these pages every week. What else is new this week?

International Social Media Marketing

Twitter plays a big role in my international social media marketing. But it is only one part. During the last month, I took the time to revise my social media marketing strategy as a whole. Here are the big changes:

• Facebook Fan Pages for CindyKing.biz and for Get International Clients
• More social bookmarking activity for a wider  presence on StumbleUpon, Delicious, Mixx, Reddit and BizSugar
• A new Posterous profile
• Improved strategic social bookmarking with an action plan adapted to my business

The good news is that this brings extra visibility to every link I tweet about.  So…

Please remember to DM me @CindyKing if you have anything of interest on cross-cultural competence and international business… not only will you get a tweet, but you will probably also get some extra social bookmarking.

Last Week’s Tweet Strategy

This last week personal priorities kept me from implementing the new and improved scheduled Tweet Plan. But it is coming soon. I promise.

In the meantime I continued with what I refer to as “CNN broadcasting”. This is where I simply tweet or retweet any useful information found during routine monitoring of key topics of interest to my business.

This means that I now have sufficient data to compare the results from my first Scheduled Tweet Plan to this “CNN broadcasting”. And the results are obvious. My first Scheduled Tweet Plan won hands down in bringing me the contacts I want to make on Twitter. So, I am anxious to get the new and improved Scheduled Tweet Plan into TweetLater as soon as I can.

Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge to Get Extreme With Clarity

We are on the home stretch for the Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge to Get Extreme With Clarity. The second mini-poster calender with all 30 tips to Get Extreme With Clarity from this Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge will soon be available, so remember to check back soon.

Do you have an interesting or useful link on international business, or of cultural interest? Tweet me a link.

International Market Research Rolodex

1. BrazilTradeNet - the trade promotion portal of Brazil’s Ministry of External Relations
2. iCityData.com for US client research – you can also compare data
3. Top 55 Reference Websites

Marketer’s Rolodex

4. Free International Marketing Lessons from the Marketing Teacher’s Lesson Store

International Business Tools

Jobs

1. Recruiting Across Cultures: How to ensure effective Cross-Cultural Communication By Moni Lai Storz
2. International Job Opportunities: The Riley Guide – Resources Covering Multiple Countries and/or Regions
3. Looking for a way to finance your an international travels? Teach Abroad: International Teaching Positions
4. Do you teach English as a Second Langauge? TESall.com – 4000+ ESL jobs
5. Are you an engineer looking for a international work? Expat Engineering Jobs
6. Do you work in the oil industry and want an international job? OIL CAREER Employment Resource Center
7. Do you work in the agriculture, food and biotechnology industries and want international work? AgCareers.com
8. Here is a large collection of mainly US Marketing Jobs – Marketing Hire.com

International Marketing Links

9. How To Write a White Paper to Attract Clients - Dumb Little Man
10. Commodities: If Iran Blows, Watch Oil – International Business Times – via @lean6s
11. South Korea Moving Gingerly Toward Being a Multicultural Society – via @HubWNNews
12. @pascalrodmacq – thank you for the tweet on Business Networking on #ecademy
13. It’s Inti Raymi – the Festival of the Sun in Peru
14. Quotations from Women about Women - Some Pretty Funny Stuff
15. Cross-Cultural Communication: Individualism vs Collectivism - @Bears4Life
16. Cross-Cultural Schoolbus Comparison: Japan & Pakistan – via @washingtonBNN
17. Huge opportunity for Multicultural Marketers: Hispanic population boom fuels rising US diversity #cnn RT @richardslerma
18. There Are No Shortcuts -To reach multicultural consumers, take the time to get it right
19. What happens when east meets west? Simple diagrams to explain cultural differences – interesting approach
20. US-France intercultural tricks: learn to know your “over-the-Atlantic” neighbour – via @euractiv
21. RT @diffblog – Cross-cultural support for gender stereotype threat - food for thought
22. Sophistimunity – a blog in English & Chinese on cross-cultural & international topics – via @sophistimunity
23. Intercultural marriages are more difficult – via @Brasilmagic
24. Australia is multicultural AND racist, says study – via @DynamicExport
25. Is multicultural marketing the answer for an adverse market? “take advantage of Puerto Rico” – DMNews
26. Cultural differences in shopping: USA versus Germany
27. Metric versus Imperial – How to thoroughly confuse Germans: Take away the metric system
28. “You do not do cross-cultural communication by doing away with your culture” – Stephen Mansfield – via @JeffPelletier
29. Multicultural festivals across England - via @GuardianTravel Do multicultural festivals increase awareness?
30. European Journal of Cross-Cultural Competence & Management <1st Issue> (Limited Time – access to PDFs) – RT @WestPeter
31. There Are No Shortcuts – an article for anyone in multicultural marketing RT @HipCricketHR @TeleNoticias_ @Ojibray
32. For Multicultural Marketers – 10 things you should know about U.S. Hispanics – via @Creative_Gal
33. Should it be a handshake, kiss or salam? In multicultural Malaysia, it’s hard to say – via @allmalaysia
34. To Reach Multicultural Youth, Go Mobile - via @realtimenoel
35. Why is International Internet Marketing so Important?

Language Skills

36. Living Abroad: How to Choose the Country Best for You
37. Learn a Foreign Language for Free – 10 Great Starting Points for Language Education
38. My Happy Planet - Learn & Practice English, French, Spanish and More with Partners Around the World
39. Canadianisms and Their Translations! – via @michelfortin
40. Top 100 Language Blogs 2008 – Nominate your top language blogs for the 2009 list here
41. World Languages Map – some of the many languages of the world, where they are spoken & how many people speak them
42. Top Study Abroad Programs – sorted by language – Lexiophiles
43. 50 Multicultural Books Every Child Should Read - via @littlebrownjen @humanspectrum @TheJuiceBoxx
44. Multicultural Children’s Literature – via @MarisaCamarillo

Social Media

45. RT @paul_mccord – Your company needs a social media strategy. Cindy King discusses how to set one
46. #followfriday recommendations for great tweets & info @mintblogger @Wchingya @rjleaman @eeUS @johnhaydon @jmoonah @PetLvr – RT @Rebecca_M
47. Got Green? - stands for something meaningful, not a mad Hulk
48. Live Blogging June 26-27 on Cross Cultural Management, you can read about it here – via @asiadigitalau @wickedboy
49. Useful Social Media Marketing Strategies – via @ploked
50. Forrester on the practicalities of European Social Media Marketing: It is early days - via @itsopen
51. 300 Case Studies Of Social Media Marketing #socialmedia – via @marioOlckers
52. Interesting round table video IN FRENCH – POUR LES FRANCOPHONES – Community manager, un poste à responsabilité
53. Which social media application to use for my business? – A few short questions and Hunch will give you the answer
54. @fredbascunana – @Akostic took the words out of my mouth: Très bonne vidéo sur le community management - Great round table
55. RT @sbaudart – @sophiemaheo BRAVO! Vidéo – Community manager, un poste à responsabilité – French social media insights
56. The 6 Spheres of Social Media Marketing – Print the useful diagram – RT @russrave @netSpray @Webtweet
57. The Top 20 Business Reasons To Use Social Media Marketing – Examiner.com – via @bestonline
58. Facebook movie coming soon, Zuckerberg not pleased – International Business Times
    
59. Blogs Aren’t Dead, They’re Just Fragmenting - via @michelfortin
    
60. Social Media – Why Sometimes It IS About You – and why you have to be someone your customers are happy to be with
61. Facebook to Emulate Twitter’s Follower Model With Profile Fans
62. 100 Creative Twitter Backgrounds Featuring Illustration
63. 10 incredibly cool WordPress shortcodes – found a couple that I want to try

Trivia

64. Game to match ethnic photos with regions of the world – Questions of Race and Racism – from University of Auckland
65. Layers of Life – Educational journey to the island of Sumatra to explore life in the rain forest
66. Interesting “Wordle” 4 US Presidents speeches on Islam – WSJ
67. 10 Breathtaking Viewing Platforms around the World
68. MIT Visualizing Cultures – reconstructing the past as people of the time visualized the world
69. Save Our Sounds Audio Map of the World - BBC
70. 100+ Portraits of Iconic People of All Time
71. The World’s 10 Most Unique Islands
72. 12 Of The Most Iconic Photographs Ever Taken
73. 12 Greatest Low-Tech Inventions
74. 10 Fascinating Frozen Wonders of Nature
75. Top 10 Protest Symbols – a Photo Essay from TIME

Videos

76. List of the 100 Most Iconic Internet Videos that made the Internet such a wonderful place
77. Parody of “Tweet It” sang to “Beat It” – RT @leonotgay @atizine @ripmJ4eva
    
78. Do You Speak English? - A good example of British comedy – BBC
79. Short YouTube video with some of the standard stereotypes about French people
80. YouTube Video with insights into the Turkish way of life – I enjoyed watching this one
81. YouTube video AUF DEUTSCH – Sorry you need to speak German to get this one
82. Short YouTube video illustrating cultural differences in how people count their cash
83. “Good Will Hunting Harvard” Bar Scene – a clear example of how our accents can create pre-judgments in others

World Maps

84. World Languages Map – some of the many languages of the world, where they are spoken & how many people speak them

Cross-Cultural Communication 30-Day Challenge 2 – Clarity

1. #cccctips 20 – Be sure keep your written cross-cultural communication simple
2. #CCCCtips 21 – In cross-cultural communication try rephrasing key points & difficult things to understand
3. #ccccTips 22 – In cross-cultural communication a good glossary is an invaluable tool to improve clarity
4. #ccccTips 23 – In cross-cultural communication do not forget to mention the obvious
5. #ccccTips 24 In cross-cultural communication break complex ideas into easy pieces and present them in a logical order
6. #ccccTips 25 – In cross-cultural communication tell others why you do things differently and explain your culture
7. #ccccTips 26 – Look for different perspectives to see how you can simplify & clarify your cross-cultural communication
8. #ccccTips 27 – Make sure that all of the elements of your cross-cultural communication say the same thing

Find more tips and links on Twitter here

• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 25 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 24 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 23 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 22 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 21 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 20 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 19 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 18 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 17 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 16 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 15 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 14 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 13 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 12 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 11 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 10 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 9 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 8 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 7 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 6 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 5 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 4 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 3 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 2 of 2009
• 301 Twitter Culture Tips & International Links

Post from: Cindy King

Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 26 of 2009

When you have a global vision over all aspects of your cross-cultural conversation it is much easier to pick up on any areas where you need to add clarity. Striving to pay attention to everything is one reason why it can be tiring in the beginning.

Some businesses prefer to have a team of 2 people to attend a cross-cultural meeting. One person focuses on the agenda of the meeting and the other person focuses on the conversation as a whole. Even though I have never personally worked within these specific roles, I have found it natural to compare impressions after a cross-cultural meeting. But don’t forget, if you need strong international skills you will also need to become skilled at multi-tasking mentally.

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication Tip 28

So now you have a global vision of your cross-cultural communication, now what?

Notice similarities where glitches happen in your communication.

Here are a few guidelines for you to start thinking about how you can improve the clarity of your communication:

• Look for similarities in how things happen.
• Look at what worked well and what didn’t.
• When the business deal has been concluded, review your communication to see if you can improve your understanding of what went well and what didn’t.

This is how you can develop your cross-cultural skills and learn where you need to improve your clarity. This is something you can only learn through practice. So remember to do this after each cross-cultural encounter. It only takes a few minutes to mentally go over things in your head.

Use this tip as a starting point. Think about what this means to you. Not sure what you think about this? There are a few links below for suggested reading to get you started. Follow each of these tips this month to improve your cultural skills.

Further Suggested Reading & Viewing

• Which Directories are You Relying on?
• Cultural Dimensions – A New Tool
• Where Cultural Miscommunication Happens

Post from: Cindy King

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication – Tip 28

In verbal cross-cultural communication it is useful to add similar tactics used in written communication. They improve your clarity when speaking, just as much as they do in writing.

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication Tip 27

Here is today’s tip:

Make sure that all of the elements of your communication say the same thing

Sometimes we let our thoughts drift from one subject to another. People that speak your language and come from the same environment usually follow your conversation. But with people from other cultures and non-native English speakers this can be very challenging. They might not understand you or they might understand something different.

An internal edit of your communication will tell you when you need to make your conversation easier for everyone to follow. You will be surprised what a few words can do to improve clarity.

Use this tip as a starting point. Think about what this means to you. Not sure what you think about this? There are a few links below for suggested reading to get you started. Follow each of these tips this month to improve your cultural skills.

Further Suggested Reading & Viewing

• Adjust Your Own English Communication To Meet Other Language Levels
• Stop Pushing Your Foreign Visitors Away
• What Is Your Culture On The Social Web?

Post from: Cindy King

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication – Tip 27

One of the easiest ways to break the ice in cross-cultural encounters is through food. It is natural to offer to share a meal with people from different cultures. In fact, in some cultures this is an obligatory rite of passage: you must share a meal before a business deal is concluded.

It is not always easy to eat different foods. They may not appear appetizing if you are not used to them. Different foods is not the only challenge. There are sometimes different customs when eating.

Let’s have some fun and take a look at some different dining experiences.

Dans le Noir

The concept is simple and symbolic: all the waiters are blind and for the duration of your meal, the tables are turned. The waiters are in command: you rely on them to lead you to your seat, to deliver the meal and to lead you back to the ante-room.

On arrival, we choose a menu colour: white (could be anything), red (no seafood), blue (seafood) and green (vegetarian). Then, leaving bags and anything light-emitting – mobile phone, electronic car key, even a watch with a fluorescent dial – in the lockers provided, we are instructed to hold the shoulder of the person in front while our waiter, at the head of this tentative conga line, guides us through the curtain into the gathering gloom. I’m not afraid of the dark but am not exactly enamoured of claustrophobia. Reviewed by Ian Gilbert.

Ithaa Undersea Restaurant

Ithaa, which means pearl in Dhivehi, is the world’s premier undersea restaurant, secured five metres (15 feet ) below sea level, surrounded by a coral reef , at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island in Rangalifinolhu, Maldives

“We have used aquarium technology to put diners face-to-face with the stunning underwater environment of the Maldives “, says Carsten Schieck, General Manager of Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa.”Our guests always comment on being blown away by the colour, clarity, and beauty of the underwater world in the Maldives, so it seemed the perfect idea to build a restaurant where diners can experience fine cuisine and take time to enjoy the views – without ever getting their feet wet.” Created by MJ Murphy Ltd, a design consultancy based in New Zealand, Ithaa’s distinctive feature is the use of curved transparent acrylic walls and roof, similar to those used in aquarium attractions. “The fact that the entire restaurant except for the floor is made of clear acrylic makes this unique in the world,” continues Schieck, “We are currently planting a coral garden on the reef to add to the spectacular views of the rays, sharks and many colourful fish that live around the area.

Yellow Treehouse Restaurant

The new Yellow Treehouse Restaurant by New Zealand based Pacific Environments Architects Ltd. (PEL) is a stunning architectural feat perched high above a redwood first. Appearing for all the world like an enormous chrysalis grafted onto a 40-meter-high redwood tree, the project is constructed of plantation poplar slats, redwood balustrading milled at the site, and makes extensive use of natural lighting throughout.

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• #54 – Interracial Relationships
• #53 – Multi-cultural Cities
• #52 – International Social Networking
• #51 – Mothers Day 2009
• #50 – Cross-Cultural Management
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• #42 – English Tweeting Women to follow from Europe
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• #38 – The White Paper Summit 2009
• #37 – Social Media Changes and President Obama
• #36 – Social Media and the President
• #35 – Globalization and the Global Economy
• #34 – Cross-Cultural Encounters
• #33 – Cultural & International Links
• #32 – 2009 Predictions
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the international marketing review, blog carnival, international sales best practice.

Post from: Cindy King

International Marketing Review #57