Gawker's Gaby Darbyshire shares details behind her company's new partnership with VNU to localize a popular blog for Europe.

As a sign of the blogosphere's expanding reach, technology super-blog Gizmodo is formally on its way to Europe.  While the blog has always been available to Europeans, in English via the worldwide web, Gizmodo publisher Gawker Media recently teamed up with VNU to localize the blog for seven countries across Europe. The goal is to establish "the ultimate European destination for everything gadget, gizmo, and cutting-edge consumer electronics-related," read a joint press release from VNU and Gawker.

While Gawker supplies the multiple award-winning Gizmodo and its 1.5 million monthly global audience, VNU will provide "its local presence and its network of bloggers as well as its knowledge of the local consumer electronic players in Europe." The deal also calls for translation of Gizmodo into six new languages. 

Shortly after the localized Gizmodo launched, iMedia had a chance to speak with Gaby Darbyshire, Gawker's director of business development.

iMedia: What particular steps do you take when internationalizing a blog?  Language is an obvious issue. Are there other, less obvious ones?

Gaby Darbyshire: Local content and flavor is important: with gadgets, for example, there will be local review sites, manufacturer sites, ecommerce outlets, et cetera. Tone will also vary by country: it doesn't make sense to have someone sitting in New York writing a site for the French market. There will also be local stories that a U.S. blog wouldn't necessarily pick up on. So probably only 70 percent or so of the content is a direct translation.

iMedia: Blogs appeal more to some international markets than others.  A recent article in Wired shows how the French are fanatical about their blogs.  What other markets can we expect blogs to take off in? In your experience, have any markets proved resistant to the blogosphere?

Darbyshire: Being only slightly facetious and horribly generalizing here, the French are passionately opinionated people, have a culture of discussion and a healthy attitude to work. In Germany, by contrast, where blogs have not taken off to the same extent, I think the work ethic probably impacts the reading and writing of blogs during the work day -- which, let's face it, accounts for a lot of blog traffic! And [Germans] are less likely as a culture to air their opinions, grievances and gossip in public. On this analysis, one would expect blogs to be successful in Italy and Spain, right?

iMedia: How do blog users differ in other countries?  Do they skew male, young, wealthy and well educated as they do in the United States according to a recent Pew report?

Darbyshire: I don't have sufficient data to answer this with any accuracy, but I would imagine that the skew is similar, simply because the majority of blog readers and writers have to (a) have a computer (and probably broadband, these days) and (b) have sufficient technical know-how to use the software. Especially in countries where broadband penetration isn't very high yet, that indicates a young, well-educated and wealthier demographic -- the early adopters. And I'd imagine more male than female.
 
iMedia: Blogs on new technology like Gizmodo and Engadget will probably translate well across the globe.  What are some other types of blogs that might do well overseas?

Darbyshire: Tech and tech-related blogs are really the best for internationalization. Music, software, computer games, that sort of thing. And cars too. Entertainment or news blogs are harder to export because the content is so specific to a particular culture, though obviously one could have a completely localized version rather than a full or part translation.

iMedia: Do blog sponsors carry from domestic to international blogs?

Darbyshire: Most global companies have very distinct operations for regional advertising, so carry over isn't a sure thing. However, if a sponsor has had success advertising on blogs in the United States, it will make them more likely to recommend to their regional counterparts that they try it out as well.

Gaby Darbyshire is director of business development at Gawker Media, the publisher of more than a dozen blog titles including the popular and acclaimed Gawker, Gizmodo and Wonkette. Gaby has been involved in the internet world since moving to San Francisco from London in 1999. In a short break from the web in 2003-4, she helped start Oriel Wines, a new global wine brand.