Yesterday I was speaking with a friend of mine, Eric Kuhn, about how the poke action on Facebook has a totally different meaning over in the U.K. then it does here in the U.S. I began thinking about it and ultimately there could be some substantial implications of the poke action as Facebook translates into a plethora of new languages. In the U.S. we consider poking a sign of affection or flirtation. Others find it completely annoying.
So what does poke mean in places like China or Japan where the cultures are even more conservative and physical signs of affection are frowned upon? Well, when a person who’s culture is not similar to the U.S. gets poked by somebody random a number of things could occur:
- Feelings of confusion – More likely then not, in countries unaware of the culture of poking, curiosity will ensue. Users will see “You’ve been poked by ????!” They will then poke back, having absolutely no idea what poke means.
- Surprising feeling of happiness – While the poke is foreign to most users, they can’t help but smile. This is a rare breed but for this lucky few they can’t help but smile when they receive a poke from a friend. This group of people will immediately engage in excessive poking among all of their friends and family. The results could be disastrous because there is a good chance that they will accidentally poke someone who experiences the third reaction to poking.
- Anger followed by violence – This is the most likely situation and it could possibly cause World War III. I wish I had video tape of the possible implications. Imagine an extremely angry person in China who logs into Facebook one day, only to find out that he has been engaged in 5 poke wars. His reaction is to immediately become defensive and quickly devise a strategy. Soon enough he has determined that the best was to engage his attackers is through violent measures. This must be avoided!
What other reactions do you forsee for foreign pokers?
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Are you sure you got enough sleep last night or didn't have a dream involving a war with China?I understand your point, however. Web design appropriate for one country can be unintentionally offensive in another country. The wrong color scheme and your foothold in a country will simply evaporate. I do wonder about poke in other nations, but I believe the feature isn't prominent enough to cause protests or world war. But Facebook has to always be mindful of the cultural traditions of other nations as it expands internationally.
Comment by Ben Parr — April 11, 2008 @ 5:37 am
I find this extremely offensive. You might not know, but Chinese are not impulsive assholes whose first impulse when confronted with something different is to bomb the heck out of the next person. You'll find your current President of the US of A doing just that. I hope you realize your mistake.
Comment by Q.Lau — April 11, 2008 @ 5:41 am
As a coworker said a few months ago, "No, I don't want to poke my sister" http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=…..
Comment by Joe Grossberg — April 11, 2008 @ 5:54 am
Are you sure you got enough sleep last night or didn't have a dream involving a war with China?
I understand your point, however. Web design appropriate for one country can be unintentionally offensive in another country. The wrong color scheme and your foothold in a country will simply evaporate. I do wonder about poke in other nations, but I believe the feature isn't prominent enough to cause protests or world war. But Facebook has to always be mindful of the cultural traditions of other nations as it expands internationally.
Comment by Ben Parr — April 11, 2008 @ 6:37 am
I find this extremely offensive. You might not know, but Chinese are not impulsive assholes whose first impulse when confronted with something different is to bomb the heck out of the next person. You'll find your current President of the US of A doing just that. I hope you realize your mistake.
Comment by Q.Lau — April 11, 2008 @ 6:41 am
As a coworker said a few months ago, "No, I don't want to poke my sister" http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=po...
Comment by Joe Grossberg — April 11, 2008 @ 6:54 am
Hehe I hope you're not running out of subjects Nick
Comment by Jad Bourji — April 11, 2008 @ 8:24 am
Happy Friday, Nick. You're clearly in need of a weekend.
In all seriousness, I do see some cultural issues with poking, even within American culture. When I get poked by random guys I don't know, I can find myself pretty grossed out.
Comment by Teresa Valdez Klein — April 11, 2008 @ 8:53 am
Hehe I hope you're not running out of subjects Nick
Comment by Jad Bourji — April 11, 2008 @ 9:24 am
@Q.lau and @BenParr … this was intended as a joke
Comment by Nick O'Neill — April 11, 2008 @ 9:51 am
WOW…
Comment by 113.com — April 11, 2008 @ 10:18 am
That maybe publicity but I must say, we told you so:http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7431505991Cheers Nick for enlighting us on Facebook!
Comment by Seb — April 11, 2008 @ 11:21 am
That maybe publicity but I must say, we told you so:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7431505991
Cheers Nick for enlighting us on Facebook!
Comment by Seb — April 11, 2008 @ 12:21 pm
Happy Friday, Nick. You're clearly in need of a weekend.
In all seriousness, I do see some cultural issues with poking, even within American culture. When I get poked by random guys I don't know, I can find myself pretty grossed out.
Comment by Teresa Valdez Klein — April 11, 2008 @ 11:53 am
@Q.lau and @BenParr … this was intended as a joke
Comment by Nick O'Neill — April 11, 2008 @ 1:51 pm
WOW…
Comment by 113.com — April 11, 2008 @ 2:18 pm
I’m an American and still don’t quite get the whole poking thing.
Comment by David Berkowitz — April 12, 2008 @ 11:29 pm
I'm an American and still don't quite get the whole poking thing.
Comment by David Berkowitz — April 12, 2008 @ 10:29 pm