Building services with a global audience in mind
One of the great things about being an American living so long in Europe (16 years for me!!!) is that you get to pick and choose the best of both worlds.
Looking towards the US, innovation still generally happens quicker. Scale has a lot to do with it – a market of very early adopters in the US can still be a viable market. It at least provides that ever critical feedback loop. So being connected with what goes on in “American” web development exposes you to trends early.
At the same time, not being native Swedish, I am not paying much more attention to Swedish internet trends vs. Italian, Spanish, etc. It’s useful to be close to all the EU markets, but not wrapped up in any one specific.
Europe’s fragmentation are often seen as an obstacle to overcome, but I don’t. Rather, my view is if you build from the start with a global perspective, focus on the commonalities, and listen to your far-flung users, you can end up with a great service that works well across the globe. That’s my theory at least!
