Comparing Chinese and German blogs

ABSTRACT

Blogs in different countries do not only differ in the language of their texts but in many other aspects as well. This study explores how these differences can be identified and related to known cultural differences. A thorough intellectual analysis of several hundreds of blog pages from China and Germany revealed culturally diverse patterns. Chinese blogs are more graphically oriented. They emphasize the communication between bloggers and commentators. Especially, the distinction between high and low context communication in both cultures seems to have a large impact on the blog communication.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.4 Hypertext/Hypermedia
          Subjects: User issues

General Terms:
Human Factors

Keywords:
blogs, culture models, internationalization, social software.