Blogger Michel de Guilhermier switches to English
Dear readers,
I frequently mention Michel (who blew away my first quizz this Sunday) in my posts, and almost as frequently apologize about the fact that Michel de Guilhermier’s blog is written in French. Well, there won’t hopefully be any apology no more since Michel decided today that he should internationalize his readership and hence switch to English. See this post.
English is the lingua franca of the Internet, and I can only encourage those who blog in their native language to take a similar move. Blogging is all about allowing people to connect & start discussions, conversations, debates. English is the rally point of many different cultures, making such debates every day more fruitful.
All in all, to my readers who feel like reading and commenting top-notch insights from an e-Commerce entrepreneur on retail, distribution, doing business in Europe and the US, Apple & Warren Buffet, Michel de Guilhermier’s blog is the place to be.
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- Entrepreneurial brainstorming session #15: an online payment feature for bloggers (eCommerce)
Apple, Business strategy, Consumer electronics, Dell, Entertainment, Entrepreneurship, Europe, SME, Supply Chain, USA, blogging, eBay, innovation, retail, user-generated content
Jeremy, the choice of language is totally free and up to the blogger. Personally I blog in french, my mothertongue. I have no comment on Michel switching to english, it’s his free choice.
However I think the idea that english *is* the language of the internet is wrong, and more and more so. Just by the numbers, chinese and spanish are well on their way to become the most used languages on the net. So let’s stop encouraging people to conform to some standard which would be english, especially on blogs. Long live diversity of language, culture and ideas. You will also not be without knowing that instant translation is well under development and that in a near future (
I welcome Michel de Guilhermier to the English world of blogging. I’m looking forward to reading his thoughts.
At the same time, I would also prefer that we all wear “StarTrek”-like translators – both on-and off-line – for the simple reason that not everyone possesses the skills or desires to write in a different language than their own.
You’re right, David, about the rise of other cultures, but so far they operate in a vacuum, unable to really spread their words of wisdom beyond their respective language-barriers. The word for that is not diversity, it’s segregation.
David> English is not “the” language of the Internet, but it is definitely the common ground of many Internet users, from Paris to Calcutta. When you have good content, you want to attract people from diverse backgrounds to make the debates happening on your blog interesting. That was my point. I’m a French language lover, but when it comes to keeping in touch with my friends abroad and making my blog visible, writing in English is a no brainer.
Vincent> Your vision is interesting, but people blogging in their own language doesn’t mean they are “unable” to blog in English. Sometimes it’s just more convenient and natural, especially if they plan to focus on a domestic readership. As far as I’m concerned, my blog is a gateway to keeping in touch with my friends abroad (friends like you). I had myself started (and quickly aborted) a very personal blog some time ago: http://jeremyfain.canalblog.com/
“Tech IT Easy” is more business-oriented than the latter.