Understanding the Web World: Similarities and Differences Between the US and Other Countries

1
Understanding the Web WorldSimilarities and
DifferencesBetween the US and Other Countries
4th Conference on Human Factors the
WebSponsored by ATT LabsJune 5, 1998

• Jorian Clarke
• SpectraCom Inc.

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Talk Overview

• Provide you with a snapshot of the Web around the
  World
• Give you a better understanding of
  similarities/differences in usage by country
• Encourage you to learn from the Web growth in the
  US while you examine the impact of the factors of
  web familiarity, web accessibility, gender, age
  and culture on design and content development

3
SpectraCom - What We Do

• Strategic Online Planning
• Electronic Marketing
• Internet, Intranet Extranet Development
• Market Research
• Web Hosting

4
SpectraCom - Our Work

• Private and publicly held, small to Fortune 100,
  regional to international corporations
• Range of industries that includes food,
  financial, consumer goods, printing,
  manufacturing, healthcare and others
• Work done in US, Canada, Australia, Netherlands,
  Germany, Japan
• English based and multi-lingual content

5
SpectraCom - Sample Client List

• Avery Dennison
• Consolidated Papers, Inc.
• Johnson Controls
• Kellogg Company
• Kohler Co.

• Parke-Davis
• Perdue Farms
• Schick
• Tetra
• Warner-Lambert

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Observations and Comparisons

• Presentation caveat - cant generalize US vs.
  non-US, because Internet usage is as diverse as
  the cultures of the countries
• However, as the first country online and with a
  large population presence, the US can act as a
  model for understanding some of the issues other
  countries may face
• There are similarities in Internet adoption/use
  as countries expand their online presence

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Appreciating Global Differences

• Differences can be grouped into
• technology differences - telecommunications
  infrastructure, hardware, connectivity options
• people differences - psychological, social, and
  cultural characteristics
• Other factors not faced by the US include
  differing languages and cultures, lack of
  infrastructure unity, diverse technology
  involvement (smartcards, Minitel, T-Online,
  etc.), differing currencies within EU/AP.

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Whos Online

• Since January 1996, the Internet has tripled in
  size and is the fastest growing marketing medium
  in history
• More than 150 out of 190 countries have direct
  access to the Internet
• As of May 1998, there were estimated to be 119
  million Internet users over the age of 16,
  worldwide

Sources Network Wizards, eMarketer, NUA
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Whos Online

• US is still the Internet leader however the
  Asia/Pacific region and Europe are gaining
• Top 10 countries based on number of people
  online

Sources Network Wizards, NUA
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Whos Online

• Other countries worth observing due to rapid
  online expansions or high Internet usage - though
  their total population is small, include
• - Iceland - New Zealand - Taiwan
• - Norway - Singapore
• - Denmark - Hong Kong
• - Belgium - Portugal

Sources NUA, Network Wizards
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Whos Online

• Countries with slow growth and/or low
  connectivity include
• - South Africa
• - Russia
• - China
• - India

Source NUA
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Similarities to Learn From

• Some main similarities between the US and other
  countries
• Initially, access points are educational
  institutions then spread to online services and
  ISPs
• Initially, costs (hardware, connection, charge
  per minute of use) and technical illiteracy are
  barriers to mass market usage
• Initially, content interest is educational, then
  it develops to include travel planning,
  entertainment, purchase information and finally
  commerce

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Similarities to Learn From

• Some main similarities continued
• Initially, more men than women are on the Web
• Youth embrace the online experience earlier than
  older generations
• The business to business market holds the best
  initial entry point for commerce
• Low rates of churn - high turnover of users
  (people using the Internet and not finding it of
  interest) imply that the majority of people try
  the online experience and like it no matter their
  cultural background

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What do Non-US Users Say?

• Non-US users see the Internet as a universal
  medium - its the same no matter where its
  accessed
• However, it is perceived as strongly American
  influenced
• They feel frustrated that participation in
  contests, etc. are often restricted to US
  visitors
• They would like more localized and native
  language content

Source SpectraCom Survey
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Differences to Accommodate

• Some Main Differences - technology
• Governmental restrictions/Governmental support
• PC ownership, Telecommunications infrastructure
  and service provider options
• Access speed
• Costs - per minute access charges, monthly charges

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Differences to Accommodate

• Some Main Differences - People
• Size of youth group (young people embrace
  Internet faster) - Asia/Pacific has a larger
  population under 25 (50) vs. US (26)
• Financial Germans are much more likely to use
  Internet online home banking than the French or
  British, however, Germans are more reserved about
  providing credit card information when making an
  online purchase
• News French are more actively reading news
  online than users in Britain

Sources NOP, e-Christmas Report
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Design and Content Considerations

• When expanding internationally a strategy for
  content architecture is key
• First step is strategic decision - one site
  worldwide or multiple sites designed to
  accommodate targeted countries if culturally
  diverse
• Design decisions should be based on product
  category, targeted countries, homogeneity of
  target audience
• Do a cultural analysis on values, perceptions,
  habits, online familiarity, gender issues,
  audience makeup and cultural taboos

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The Future

• As the Internet continues to grow globally, we
  are not necessarily moving closer to uniformity
  of usage patterns
• Changes necessary to strengthen usage of the
  Internet include a better infrastructure,
  liberalization in telecommunications, globally
  agreed on regulation policies, lower technology
  costs, and increased user knowledge

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In Closing

• In moving toward unity, International issues to
  watch will include taxation, domain name and
  privacy practices regulation
• Internationalization of the Web will require some
  strategic planning, technological improvements
  and Web leaders who are already acculturated