In the past year, social media use grew 25% year over year worldwide. There is a Babel of voices online, and a more pressing need than ever to make meaning out of the noise. And while technology may be the great unifier or the great democratizer, it is not the great homogenizer–at least not yet. It may be that “the world is flat,” but cultural differences remain.

Sharing and deepening our experience 

Since 1999, Communispace has been a leader in generating insights through private customer communities, the kind of deep understanding that drives innovation, improvement, and brand loyalty. To do our job well, it is critical that we understand if and how national and cultural differences are manifested online. Having recruited over 10,000 members from 80+ countries across all six continents to participate in our communities, we’ve acquired considerable data and expertise in recruiting consumers, discovering their needs, habits, and preferences, and both generating and delivering insights in culturally appropriate ways.

About this paper


In this brief paper, we will share some of what we have learned from a study of 8,416 members of 16 non-U.S. and multinational communities, as well as what we are partnering with our clients to learn through our ongoing research and exploration.