Forget about global warming! How about global shrinkage?

In case you haven't wondered, the world is getting smaller. As proof, jump on an airplane and see how long it takes you to get to Paris, Hong Kong or New Delhi. You can travel to amazing places in just a few hours. Or try this: pick up your phone and dial someone in London, Buenos Aires, or Honolulu. It takes seconds.

We just returned from a conference in Europe where global shrinkage was very evident. Business leaders from Africa, the Middle East, and Europe gathered to discuss training and learning trends in their areas. One of the highlighted discussion points was how the need for training is crossing geopolitical borders more and more rapidly. And these leaders are looking to online learning to help meet this need.

Here are three points to help you understand the importance of globalization when designing your learning solutions:

1. Understand Infrastructure
Before you start building your online learning solutions be certain to match the technical requirements for each location. In some locations you'll find that the Internet is really slow...we're talking "dial-up" speed. But in others it will be screaming fast!

2.  Understand Localization
We learned long ago that to get the right translation for our training content, you should go local.  Only then will you truly get the right examples for your session and the correct translation of key words. A good quality translated product will help advance your project further and more efficiently.

3. Understand Flexibility
Every market is different. Some have very serious issues around piracy (our friends in India say that the word "copyright" means that someone has the right to copy). Some have complex laws governing content on the web. Some have complex economic issues where pricing will need to be adjusted to meet local requirements (sometimes higher and sometimes lower). The best thing we can say is plan to adjust your plans.

As the learning world continues to shrink, you'll have more and more opportunities to create and experience global content. We encourage you to think global in everything you do!