When in Rome Do as the Romans Do

“Online conversation needs to flow. It is responsive and organic. When preparing for a conversation, an interview, or a debate, talking points are more flexible than preparing a script.

Engaging in online conversation as a member of an online community requires your language, delivery, humor, and tone to mirror that of the community. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

But, that is neither here nor there. I think it is a conception of culture that we are talking about. One can view culture as a bounded and closed entity, which has clear lines that you cross – from one to the other. This would be a Samuel Huntington argument (read Clash of Civilizations). Which in my opinion, and experience, is not a true rendering of culture or of societies. Yes there is a difference between one cultural entity and another, but the lines separating culture are not clear cut. There are similarities and differences that work in both directions and are continuously reworked.

It is because of this nature that cultures share, expand, contract, interact and rework ideas and concepts that originate in other cultures.

It is because of the fluid nature of culture (and of humans on an individual level) that makes life interesting and interconnected.

Culture and nation are not necessarily related, and a nation and a state are not necessarily related. A nation can exist without being represented by a state and a state can exist without a coherent national identity – or contain several nations. These are big arguments that one can go into and I am not sure this is the arena.

Suffice to say it is about finding ways that we connect across these divisions that are often placed upon us. Realizing that cultures feed and grow off of each other, that they interact and rework and reorganize. Some are more rigid then others, but the fact is that they are not created in isolation and that humans interact and talk – they share ideas and concepts, feelings and art. It is this fluidity, these “gray” areas (for lack of a better word) that are the exciting and interesting places. This is part of our history as humans – this interaction.

Be careful about assuming that everyone in America is just an “American”. It is a dangerous assumption and is a bit simple.

And actually I have visited many non-western countries – India, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Swaziland, South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mexico, UAE to name but a few.

If however, your point is that geeks are geeks in any country/culture that would be a truism and still leaves some holes in your theory. I’m curious how many non-Western countries have you visited?

One other point-cultures and nations are separate but related entities. One from a long tradition the other from geo-political factors.

The development of Linux is all about Helsinki talking to Mexico talking to the US talking to Russia and talking to Germany.

So, that is what we try to appeal to. This shared culture as well as the culture of unique subcultures on the Internet.

So, speaking Nation-State is so drôle, especially when dealing with the Internet which is mostly English-friendly.

There are still many language barriers; however, they are becoming less and less insurmountable.

What do you think about that?

There is no easy way around this problem and must work with individuals that speak the language and are immersed in the culture of the national market you hope to reach. I’ve lived here in Taiwan for 20 years and feel pretty qualified on this topic.