I blog, I tweet, I’m LinkedIn. Chances are you do, too. There are an array of forums to stay updated on your friends’, family, co-workers’, and competitors’ whereabouts. Just like in the old days when companies had to figure out how to deal with email etiquette and policies, now they have to figure out how to handle blog posts and Facebook pages.

Social networking websites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter are making it easy for your opinions to reach thousands of people in a matter of minutes. Along with this increase in online buzz and chatter, come more opportunities for legal problems.

Online commentators, from bloggers to your neighbor, are increasingly getting sued or threatened with legal action for everything from defamation to copyright infringement. Take for example the woman sued last year by her apartment’s management company when she tweeted that the apartment had mold… and that the management company was ‘ok’ with it. The management company filed a libel suit the very next day - asking for $50,000 in damages.

Luckily for the renter, since her tweet didn’t specify where the company was located or point directly to the company, it didn’t meet all of the elements to prove a libel. The judge ended up dismissing the case in January, on the grounds that the tweet itself was too vague to fit the required legal elements.

The moral of the story - be careful of what you type. But, what about what your employees are typing? Do you know what your employees are tweeting, blogging, or posting? Does your organization have a social media policy? Probably not.

In the latest issue of our ePublication, Global Communicator, read about tips for creating a social media policy and get links to examples of other policies and resources.

Let’s crunch some numbers! What follows is a roundup of Chinese language growth trends, from language preferences to online shoppers.

• It’s a tough one! The U.S. State Department rates Chinese as a Category IV language, equivalent in difficulty for English-speaking students to learn as Arabic and Japanese. Foreign language experts say it takes twice as long to master Chinese as French or Italian, classified as Category I languages. It means that a student has to spend five to six hours a day of face-to-face instruction for two years to reach a level that allows for basic professional functioning, according to the U.S. government’s scale of zero to five.

• Geographically Speaking. Mandarin is the official language of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (Taiwan), as well as one of four official languages of Singapore. Mandarin is also one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

• Shop ‘til you drop. According to iResearch, by the end of 2006, the total number of shoppers in the Chinese online shopping market was 43.1 million, increasing by 32.6 percent than that of the previous year. The number is predicted to reach 100 million by the end of this year.

• Number One. There are approximately 6,900 languages currently spoken around the world, the majority of which have only a small number of speakers. According to Ethnologue, Chinese comes in as the language with the most speakers. This figure includes all varieties of Chinese, such as Mandarin and Yue, which are not necessarily mutually intelligible.

Read more language growth trends each month in our e-Publication, Global Communicator.

The globalization of clinical trials no longer is a matter of speculation; it is a fact. The question that industry professionals, scientists, and regulators now must contend with is not whether globalization will continue, but rather how it will affect both the art and science of clinical research and the world at large. Each stage of a drug’s life cycle is touched by language, culture, and national infrastructure needs. Inna Kassatkina (Global Language Solutions), Stacy Liechti (ProPhase), and Mark Opler (ProPhase) contributed “Impact of Culture and Language on Global Clinical Trials” to the August 2010 issue of the Drug Information Association’s magazine, Global Forum, addressing culture and language, key aspects of clinical research that have gained new prominence in the context of multi-national trials, and their impact on global trials. Read the full article.

If you own a smart phone (Blackberry, iPhone, Droid, etc.), chances are you not only know what an app is, but you have downloaded one, two, or even dozens. Want to find a place for Sushi in New York, there’s a mobile application for that! How about a speech recognition Mandarin translation tool for your next trip to China? Yep, there’s an app for that, too!

According to an independent study commissioned by GetJar, an app marketplace and rival to Apple’s App store, downloads of applications could increase to almost 50 billion by 2012 from about 7 billion in 2009. If you develop your mobile application for English-readers/speakers only, you could be missing out on huge numbers of downloads.

Read more about the role of localization in multilingual application development in the current issue of Global Communicator.

Branding and messaging can fall flat with a bad translation or mistranslation. Before you push off from shore and bring your product or service to new international markets, consider these issues that could possibly sink your boat on the way overseas:

• Casual or formal? One of the most important aspects in Japanese language is that different tones and voices are used depending on the speaker, the listener, politeness level, situation, etc. In Japanese, it is awkward to use expressions that are too casual/romantic toward parents. For example, you do not send “kisses” and “hugs” to your mother or father.

• Superstitions and can stop you cold in your marketing tracks. Superstitions are believed to influence chance, either positively or negatively. Whether or not you cross your fingers, avoid black cats or knock on wood, it’s important to consider superstitions in other cultures as you market your wares. For example, the devil, or using words and images related to the devil, should be avoided in Latin American countries. In Russia, stay clear of the big 4-0 for men. A common superstition in Russia is that when a man is 40 and celebrates it with a big party, it may welcome death.

• Timing is everything. In Russia, Hungary, China and many other countries, it is often considered bad luck to give parents a present for their baby before it is born. Therefore, many people have parties, or baby showers, after the baby arrives. Sometimes multiple parties and on specific days, as in the Chinese culture, where it is traditional to celebrate the 100th day of a child’s life.

Interested in learning more about international branding and marketing? Read this article in Women Entrepreneur magazine and find out how to not accidently turn foreigners against your product.

Planning your event schedule for the upcoming quarters? Consider these events and benefit from special partner discounts. Be sure to use the codes listed below to take advantage of exclusive offers for our One Stop Global blog and Global Communicator readers.

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July 26-27, 2010, Philadelphia, PA
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August 13-15, 2010, Manila, Philippines
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There are 6,909 living world languages. In Europe alone you’ll find 230 living languages. There are 2,058 living languages in Africa and nine living languages in the Middle East. Clearly you can’t localize your marketing materials for all of them. But before you decide to launch into Europe and simply translate into French, Italian, German and Spanish, evaluate which audience is key, which languages would best help you capture this group and how far you need to drill down in your language choices to make an impact in the market. When you establish your website in an international environment, the content, the language it is presented in, and its “look and feel” will have an impact on its success. The challenge is determining how “localized” you should make your site.

Branding and messaging are often lost with a bad translation or mistranslation. The failure to connect emotionally with your audience might not be indicative of the market’s true potential. Before you push off from shore, read “International Markets Await the Well-Prepared,” written by the co-founders of Global Language Solutions and published at Women Entrepreneur magazine, for some important cultural items that could possibly sink your boat on the way overseas.

Translating your branding and marketing messages is not always possible. Some words and phrases are so culturally or regionally specific that they cannot be translated. A phrase that works in English may not have the same meaning, impact, or relevance in another language.

To ensure the effectiveness of your messages, it is crucial that translations are completed not only by translation experts in your target language, but also someone who understands your industry AND the target culture.

Tip: Avoid using colloquial expressions that may be untranslatable. For example, a seemingly common American English expression,”What’s up?” could elicit a response, “Up where?” if translated literally from English into other languages.

Download our “Communicating Across Cultures” tip sheet in the Global Language Solutions’ resources section for additional tips on intercultural communications.

If you’re popping in to OneStopGlobal from a computer in anywhere USA, you really should be at a parade or neighborhood gathering. But, since you’re here, kick back and enjoy our Independence Day blog posting full of Fourth of July fun facts and tidbits!

- July 4, 1776. The final version of the Declaration of Independence was officially adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The following day, copies were distributed and, on July 6, The Pennsylvania Evening Post became the first newspaper to print it.

- Crack, boom, pow, ooooh! Fireworks were first used as part of the Fourth of July celebration on the first anniversary of the United States declaration on July 4, 1777. Also on that day, a 13 gun salute was fired in the morning and in the evening over Bristol, Rhode Island. In Philadelphia that same year, the Continental Congress celebrated with a special dinner, 13 gun salute, prayers, speeches, and fireworks.

- Official Government holiday. The U.S. Congress established Independence Day as a holiday in 1870, and in 1938 Congress reaffirmed it as a holiday, but with full pay for federal employees.

- $646,452. This was the dollar value of exports of U.S. flags in 2002. Japan was the leading customer, purchasing $86,189 worth.

- Fire up that BBQ! More than 74 million Americans will bbq today. And, over an estimated 150 million hot dogs will be consumed today.

- Multilingual. And, since this wouldn’t be OneStopGlobal without a language tidbit…According to Ethnologue, the number of individual languages listed for United States is 245. Of those, 176 are living languages, 4 are second languages without mother-tongue speakers, and 65 have no known speakers. Read the full list of languages and number of speakers here.

Let’s crunch some numbers! What follows is a roundup of growth trends, from language preferences to Arabic-speakers online.

- Huge growth online. According to Internet World Stats, there are 202,687,005 Middle Eastern internet users, a 1,648. 2% increase from 2000-2009.

- Quite a social group! There are now 15 million Facebook users in the Middle East & North Africa (this figure excludes Iran, Israel, Pakistan and Turkey).

- Language Preference. 50% of Middle East North Africa Facebook users have selected their primary language for using Facebook as English, with 25% preferring French and just 23% Arabic.

- By the numbers. The Arabic alphabet derives from the Aramaic script to which it bears a loose resemblance like that of Coptic or Cyrillic script to Greek script. The standard Arabic alphabet has 28 letters and words are written right to left. It is spoken globally by more than 300 million people in several countries, including: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, and United Arab Emirates.

- Language Gap. According to FBI statistics in 2006, of the bureau’s 12,000 agents, only 33 speak even minimally functional Arabic.

- In the top five. There are approximately 6900 languages currently spoken around the world, the majority of which have only a small number of speakers. According to Ethnologue, Arabic comes in as the fifth most-spoken language, just behind English.

- U.S. Demographics. According to StrategicMarketSegmentation.com, Arab Americans are primarily in the 20-44 age group, with 47% under the age of 25. They are younger than other major ethnic groups as well as the U.S. population in general. Most (66%) are employed with 77% working in the private sector and 12% working in government.

For more language demographics, subscribe to our monthly E-publication, Global Communicator. Each issue features the latest growth trends of a new language.