World travelers....question for you...

[SkyHog]

Does internet content pretty much suck for the rest of the world? Something that occurred to me today is that when searching for something, I am almost always presented with an American site with American specific information. I would presume that some of that searching is tailored based on location, but I can't imagine that it all is (periodically, I do find myself coming across a British or Aussie site).

Does the rest of the world just assume that internet research is America-Centric?

 

[weilke]

Does internet content pretty much suck for the rest of the world? Something that occurred to me today is that when searching for something, I am almost always presented with an American site with American specific information.

That's because due to geolocation, the search engines preferentially provide you with US results.

If you did your search on the local google or bing sites in the respective countries, you would get local results.

Try it. Go to www.google.com.au and type in 'coffee'. You'll get a bunch of local roasters and wholesalers. You do the same on the US google site, you get a link to starbucks.....

 

[Anymouse]

I've found that different "versions" of websites will come up based on the IP I happen to be using. It sucks getting Google in Arabic and trying to figure out which link will show it in English.

 

[wsuffa]

IP location sets it, Nick. Often when you travel overseas you will be presented with the local google/yahoo/etc search engine site - there are ways around that (I use a VPN....), but there is plenty of local content available.

 

[ClimbnSink]

Yahoo or google had/s a settable country for searching, so you can learn the in country pr0n before you get there.

 

[pilot_dude]

When overseas I always pick up a mobile wifi unit (if available) to use while on the train, bus, etc. When opening a search engine it is directed to a local page (.au, .jp, .ca, etc)

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Like the others mentioned, I tend to get a localized search page.

To answer your question, the content does pretty much suck world wide. It just sucks with a local spin.

 

[dell30rb]

It sucks getting Google in Arabic and trying to figure out which link will show it in English.

One of my favorite pranks... set someone's phone to display everything in some obscure language

 

[Skyscraper]

I would venture to guess that a majority of websites were made by Americans for Americans. We invented the internet here and therefore get the naming rights, which is why we simply use ".com" instead of a different country indication in the suffix. So naturally we've been creating websites longer (and at a faster pace) than any other country on Earth.

It's just like how Britain doesn't list a country on postage stamps, because they invented postage.

 

[MAKG1]

Skyscraper, you do realize the Web was created by European particle physicists, right?

http://home.web.cern.ch/about/birth-web

The first websites were at CERN near Geneva, and were used to coordinate large international scientific collaborations.

And you don't get the same Google in Asia as you do in California.

 

[bluee]

It also depends on which language you search for. If I type in something in German, then usually German sites come up, or I can add the ending .de. Or if I want something in the UK, use the ending ".co.uk" (ie, google.de or google.co.uk, etc.).

 

[Skyscraper]

Skyscraper, you do realize the Web was created by European particle physicists, right?

http://home.web.cern.ch/about/birth-web

The first websites were at CERN near Geneva, and were used to coordinate large international scientific collaborations.

And you don't get the same Google in Asia as you do in California.

No I hadn't read that, thanks for the link! I wonder why we still got the naming rights.

 

[ScottM]

Skyscraper, you do realize the Web was created by European particle physicists, right?

http://home.web.cern.ch/about/birth-web

The first websites were at CERN near Geneva, and were used to coordinate large international scientific collaborations.

And you don't get the same Google in Asia as you do in California.

The World Wide Web and the Internet are not the same thing.

The history of the Internet is far more US centric having traced its ancestry to DARPANET. The packed switched network evolved into a very useful Internet that was text based. In the late 80s and early 90s is when Europe, CERN specifically really started working on a language that would allow a more intuitive way to search for information by using html. This of course led to the creation of hyperlinks. Then a more graphical user interface started to be worked on creating the World Wide Web and that is the Internet that you know today. A US created, European improved and commercialized network.

 

[X3 Skier]

One could argue the Internet was derived from ARPANet which preceded the World Wide Web. ARPA was a part of DoD and is now known as DARPA, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Oops, just bit late behind Scott.

Besides Al Gore really invented the Internet as he claimed didn't he?

Cheers

 

[Timmer]

No, actually he didn't. As much as I enjoy making fun of political mistakes, I'm more of a fan of making fun of them for real mistakes.

Al Gore used poorly chosen words to describe one of his actions in his Government career which, IIRC, he was either the head or part of the committee that decided to move ARPANET from a military and Government-centric network to an open network. Since as pointed out, the Internet is from ARPANET, a Government R&D program, there was question how tightly to control its use -- Gore and his committee did indeed help in move it to the open system. BTW, again IIRC, this "open version" was named "Information Superhighway" hence that word being used for a while, although it was lame and people just stuck with the Internet.

Again, his word choice and explanation wasn't too great but then the media and everyone just ran with it as is oft the case without actually looking up what really was said or meant.

OK back to flying....

 

[Skyscraper]

No, actually he didn't. As much as I enjoy making fun of political mistakes, I'm more of a fan of making fun of them for real mistakes.

Al Gore used poorly chosen words to describe one of his actions in his Government career which, IIRC, he was either the head or part of the committee that decided to move ARPANET from a military and Government-centric network to an open network. Since as pointed out, the Internet is from ARPANET, a Government R&D program, there was question how tightly to control its use -- Gore and his committee did indeed help in move it to the open system. BTW, again IIRC, this "open version" was named "Information Superhighway" hence that word being used for a while, although it was lame and people just stuck with the Internet.

Again, his word choice and explanation wasn't too great but then the media and everyone just ran with it as is oft the case without actually looking up what really was said or meant.

OK back to flying....

Thanks for posting that. It gets a little tiresome when people still reference the way overblown non-event of Al Gore claiming to have invented the internet. He did play an important and visionary role in getting it moved into a publicly accessible format as you stated.