Doing Biz Abroad | business in the global marketplace

August 24th, 2008

Olympic Advertising

The Beijing Olympics are almost over and I am still waiting to see advertising from Lenovo, the Chinese company which produces and distributes the ex-IBM ThinkPad Laptop (refer to my previous post). Lenovo was one of the few “global” Olympic advertisers. At least their ads are showing up here on our blog. They seem to be sponsoring US beach volleyball, so maybe they are focusing on the US market and not Europe, where I live.

Speaking of Lenovo, they also have a few blogs themselves. One of them is called “Worldsourcing” and is written by the Lenovo VP for Corporate Communications, Reid Walker. The subject is the “decentralization of the world’s economy and talent”, a topic I often look at and post about here.

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By Jean Mercedes -- 0 comments

August 23rd, 2008

iPhone to invade world, does anyone care?

A while ago I saw an article (which I unfortunately didn’t bookmark) touting the superiority of the European wireless network over the US, and essentially pitying us for getting all hot and bothered about the iPhone. Now, I’ll be the first to acknowledge that our wireless network is really quite pathetic, but I am dying for a new iPhone. Part of that is because I have a Mac, but part of it is the sheer elegance and ease of use as compared to any cell phone or blackberry I’ve seen to date.

Apple seems to think you all want one as well, because it hopes to sell 40 million of them.

How about you? Anyone outside the US considering an iPhone 3G?

image courtesy of Wikipedia, public domain

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By Chris -- 0 comments

August 22nd, 2008

Apparently sharing is bad

The US isn’t the only place where copyright holders are getting aggressive against file sharing. According to this article, British web hosting companies may be forced to reveal the information for more than 7,000 users of file sharing software, if not more.

In the US, there has been a great deal of litigation involving both individuals who share files and online services like Napster, much of which has favored the copyright holders.

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By Chris -- 0 comments

August 14th, 2008

Entering without a computer

The visa waiver program makes it relatively easy for citizens of certain (mostly developed) countries to enter the United States without a visa (see map above). Travelers simply fill out a paper form on the airplane before deplaning and, assuming they have a valid passport and are eligible for entry, are admitted to the United States.

Under a new rule promulgated in June, however, travelers wishing to use the visa waiver program will be required to submit certain personal data electronically prior to entering the US on the waiver program. Those who wish to do so may start using the online program voluntarily by accessing the ESTA website. The rule is subject to comment, but is expected to become mandatory in January 2009. More details are available here, although it’s not clear how potential visa waiver travelers without access to a computer or the internet are to fulfill the registration requirement.

image courtesy of Wikipedia, public domain

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By Chris -- 0 comments

August 13th, 2008

Targeting China

Usually sponsors of sporting events target the international audience when they choose the events they’ll sponsor, hoping for a lot of TV and other exposure. With respect to this year’s Olympics, however, the primary target for many sponsors is the host country itself - China. With it’s massive population and burgeoning consumer demand, China is a country many companies would like to be in, and the Olympics gives them a perfect stage to showcase what they’ve got to offer.

Indeed, it may be the last such boon for Olympic sponsorship. Interest in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancouver has been tepid at best, as has interest in the London Olympics in four years.

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By Chris -- 0 comments

August 13th, 2008

Hola, Amazon

Apparently Costa Rica is becoming the India of the Spanish-speaking world, as Amazon opens up a new call center there. The call center is the next step in Amazon’s increasing efforts to woo Latin American customers.

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By Chris -- 0 comments

August 12th, 2008

And the Gold medal goes to …

Ever wonder who decides disputes at huge sporting events like the Olympics? Lawyers, not surprisingly, some of whom actually have a specialty of sorts in sports arbitration. They may not get paid at events like the Olympics, but it’s still an international business for some attorneys and other dispute-resolution experts.

Law.com has an interesting two-part interview here and here with an attorney who is currently in Beijing, in case anyone there is spoiling for a fight.

image in the public domain, from Wikipedia

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By Chris -- 0 comments

August 11th, 2008

The dollar rebounds

Just when we were getting used to the weak dollar, the greenback has hit a little bit of a recovery. According to the FT, it may well last a while. The Economist’s Big Mac index suggests it was overdue anyway.

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By Chris -- 0 comments

August 10th, 2008

And the parade of fees continues

US Airways recently started charging for soft drinks on its flights, as part of its never-ending quest to make flying so unpleasant that we all long for the days of the Hindenburg. And yes, “soft drink” includes water.

“Why yes dear, I’d rather be incinerated than nickeled-and-dimed to death.”

CNN offers these tips to get around some of the new fees, but for my part I’m thinking of taking Lufthansa on my next trip over the pond.

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By Chris -- 0 comments

August 9th, 2008

India gets tough on Internet Cafés

This strange story out of India demonstrates how government can sometimes miss the mark when trying to protect its constituents (assuming that’s really what they are trying to do). Apparently, new laws in India have made it very difficult for the small, informal cafés scattered around the country to stay open, a big problem in a country with a relatively low PC penetration rate.

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By Chris -- 0 comments