1. Take a pic of something that inspires you
2. Pass the camera on to someone you trust
3. If you’re last, mail it back

This is part of The Common Camera Project founded in Berkeley and started by a friend of a friend. As the camera continues its journey I can only imagine the lengthy description that will unfold as individuals try to explain where it began. In total 300 disposable cameras have been released globally, do the math and this leads to over 8100 unique inspirational photos.

Sources of inspiration to an individual vary greatly; from a beautifully composed song, to the latest SSC Ultimate Aero 2 super car. Just to clarify, I don’t know what those letters mean but allegedly it’s the super car of the future.

The Common Camera Project is a great starting point for designers and an intimate reflection on one’s personality. This method of collecting inspiring images from around the globe gives a certain sense of community and connectedness. With six degrees of separation, does this mean it should get around the world more than four times over?

I’m excited to be part of this project and to see where the camera I have ends up. Camera 005 is ready to begin its journey! Starting from the darkest realms of East London then heading back across the Atlantic.

First stop; Sao Paolo, Brazil! Watch this space to find out what adventures are in store for CC#005!

Depending on the product being tested, consider if it is really necessary to conduct your research in the country of origin.

Using remote tools could be just as cost effective, allow for high levels of audience targeting and project control, and can provide a statistically significant sample as well as invaluable qualitative data.

Read more about International customer experience

The mobile world is growing, in the UK you can donate £5 directly to the DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) Haiti appeal by sending an SMS and texting “GIVE” to 70077 (you are charged £5 and the cost of your standard network SMS charge). Social media websites have also greatly contributed and it is estimated that over £32m has already been raised in the UK alone through numerous fund raising initiatives.

Foviance is donating £50 for each registered participant for their Google Analytics Training, to the Haiti earthquake appeal. The online world is forever expanding and the importance of keeping track of all the traffic for businesses is too. Web analytics are going to be used more and more and marketers aren’t the only ones who know the importance of the analytical world.

I’ve signed up to the Google Analytics Training for this Wednesday and am pleased £50 will going to the Haiti appeal, an extremely worthy cause, now I’m off to send a few texts…

All of the text in train stations, on advertising and most street signs are in Japanese.

I have experienced similar difficulties when working in Madrid. However, as we share a near identical alphabet, it was easier to give words a phonetic value and compare them to an English equivalent. Not so in Japan, the lack of any visual reference with the alphabet/symbols made me understand what it must be like to be illiterate.

One area however, where I think the people of the world enjoy a shared understanding is in the use of pictures and icons. I find myself pointing to pictures of food in restaurants and then dearly hoping that it tastes as good as it looks. I also experienced no confusion when entering a ladies loo – the icons on the walls were completely clear to me.

Has anyone else found icons really useful when travelling?

Also see Paul Blunden’s post on usable traffic signals

Originally written by Amanda Roach

One of the most popular search engines in China is not the ubiquitous Google but a site called Baidu.

When users are searching for a particular brand or company using a search engine, they will undoubtedly enter the brand name into the search field. Effective tagging of the website will ensure that it is optimised for returning the branded site for both natural and paid searches. Companies with a strong brand presence may feel that the brand is weakened if it is not written in its original Latin alphabet form – such as in English. However, users in places such as China will mostly enter Chinese characters using a phonetic transcription system such as Pinyin. They will translate the brand name into Pinyin and enter it in this form.

Users in China expect a Chinese brand name and indeed, some of the biggest brand names in the world have a Chinese equivalent:

Consequently, if the Pinyin version of the brand name is not tagged in the same way that the English version is, then problems such as these will occur:

1. The search engine will not return the official branded site as a top result but as exemplified in China, will return some very dodgy unofficial ones.

• Users in China are very careful where they buy branded products from, most likely due to the saturation of fake goods on the market. If they have reservations about a website e.g. the website did not come up as one of the top search engine results, then they will be unwilling to trust the brand.

2. The search engine will most likely return the English website and not the one that has been developed to appeal to a local market. Users may not be able to understand the English and will either not click into it or if they do, will click off of it in confusion.

Watching users go through the pains of finding a particular site was fantastic feedback to give to a client who may not have realised from their offices in places such as London, how ineffective and wasteful their marketing expenditure is overseas.

Originally written by Amanda Roach

Having been to Shanghai before, I was very much up for new experiences and so decided to make my way from Pudong airport by the famous Maglev train. The Maglev is a magnetic levitation train that can reach speeds of 431 km/h (268 mph) and takes 7 minutes and 20 seconds to complete a distance of 30 km – similar distance to the Heathrow Express which takes around 15 minutes. Although it is not always the most convenient form of transport for those staying in central Shanghai, (it involves taking a taxi from the station into the city centre) I wanted the thrill factor.

Just as I remembered my history when in the 1800s, the speed junkies of their day fainted through fear on Stephenson’s locomotive when it reached 12mph, I too expected to ‘feel the speed’. So I bought my ticket and got myself a nice seat facing forwards ( I get motion sickness going backwards) and waited for the experience to begin.

I watched the overhead screen give regular updates on the speed we were travelling. It went higher and higher until it peaked at 301 km/h and the train went on a tilt when going round bends.

Did I faint? Was I scared? Not a chance – I appreciate the speed we got to our destination but as the line was too expensive to build closer to the city, the 25 minute taxi ride from the train station to my hotel somehow took the edge off it.

I have found out since that the train travels at its maximum speed in peak periods only!

*Amanda Roach will continue to blog on her observations on international customer experience, please comment or ask any questions below.