Having the flat to myself this weekend - I took the opportunity to "veg" on the couch and channel hop - I came across the BBC Olympic coverage presented pretty much 24/7 on several channels showing all the sports in which Britons had qualified to compete in Beijing representing their nation.
This still seems to be going no-where, but wait... The presenters were talking about the time of day according to the time of day IN ENGLAND - not in Beijing - as if in some alternate reality. So the point of this entry to is to talk about the need to localise delivery - ensure that your message is tailored to the audience and their environment. This is particularly important to make the intended recipient of the information to feel comfortable. Or maybe the BBC presenters feel at home too.
Indian companies have been known to work during your working day rather than their own - so right now at 12:11pm in New York, USA... half way through the work day, it is actually 21:41 (they have a half zone there) in Mumbai, India. Talk about night shift. Global commerce in a 24/7 business... in fact so firms now offer a 24 hours working day at centres in the States, India and China effectively getting through two man days "while you were sleeping" (to quote Tom Friedman in "The World Is Flat").
The ultimate goal is to reduce the difference (distance, time, language) between people. So next time you see Sue Barker saying good morning to you when the brunch team take over at 11am on BBC1; say good evening - because it's 6pm there!
