The Internet Does Not Work the Same Internationally

Once again I find myself in Japan this week. When I travel internationally I try to keep my body as close to Mountain Standard Time (MST) as possible. That makes it easier to readjust when I get back to the States. It also means I go to bed at 8pm and wake up at 4am every morning.

This morning I started doing early-morning e-mail and got several from my son. He knows I am looking to replace my 20-year-old car and sent me listings for a few potential candidates. What he doesn't realize is that the Internet does not work the same internationally and I cannot see the listings. Some sites look at the IP address you are using and if you are not located in the United States, block traffic. This is a good way to keep malicious events from happening. Fortunately there is an easy fix. I cannot get my company e-mail without using a virtual private network (VPN). To external websites I now look like my computer is physically located in California even though I am on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

Another thing that doesn't work as well is the Pandora streaming music service. I have written about this in the past and have to switch to Spotify when I am outside the US. It is not a big deal as I have my Pandora and Spotify accounts set up with similar playlists but it is something to be aware of.

Finally, there is a big difference with Google. Google and all of its consumer services such as the search engine and YouTube are giant advertising places. That means they need to know where you are physically located to serve you the correct ads. They also use your location information to do things like set the language and character set. When I am in London, that isn't a problem because I speak the language. In Japan it does become a problem because the character set is different.

This blog site is maintained by Google and so when I log in from Japan to create an entry, all of the instructions and buttons are in Japanese. Fortunately the placement is the same for all of the buttons in both English and Japanese so that I know what buttons mean even if I can't read the language. Google also allows you to set your language. To do so, just go to https://google.com. If you have a Google account, you will see your avatar in the upper-right corner of the webpage. Click on it and you will be able to manage your account settings. Simply click on "Manage Your Google Account" and you will find the language setting under "Data & Personalization." Now it doesn't matter what country you are in, Google won't try to translate everything into the language of the country you are visiting.

Most of the time, the differences you will experience with the Internet while traveling internationally are easily surmountable given a bit of preparation. Hopefully this little post helps.