The third (Tom corrected me - apparently they are #1) largest online site in Spain is Softonic which offers software downloads by the bushel. It comes in three languages: Spanish, English and German and they have their own group blog, as well. It is a good example of what seems like several (although not dozens like in China) real Internet businesses and Web 2.0 businesses in Spain (you can find out about a few more at Read/Write). Calling Softonic Web 2.0 is not accurate. While they have their blog, the main site is solidly Web 1.0 software downloads with some user reviews, editorial staff and some straight-forward tagging utilities. More social media stuff to come.
This past week, I had a chance to sit down with two of the drivers behind the English-version of the site including Tom Clarke who runs a English-language blog in Barcelona about the city, its politics and it's called thebadrash.com after a band he once wish he had. (mine would have been Mudflap - a name suggested by a great illustrator, Laura Williams)
His blog is in English (Tom is from Devon) so, like the ex-pat bloggers I met in China, he only represents a portion of what is going on in the country. But Tom is a smart guy, his blog is about himself as much as it is about politics and not in that, "the-wonder-of-me" kind of way. He is not afraid of telling you about himself. That kind of genuine connection is one of the things I really like about blogs.
As one of the editors of Softonic, Tom is helping make the service a global resource. The fact that it is based in Barcelona doesn't matter all that much. Except for the fact that Barcelona is a beautiful city and Tom and his wife, Gemma, have it made.
Thanks for pointing us to this site and sharing your insights and experiences while travelling. I had a look at Softonic and one thing I found particularly interesting was how each international version of the site features completely different products and seems to offer a customized experience. It's a good example of the fact that even if you use the same design template across multiple international versions of a site, localizing your content and experience is ultimately the most important thing.
Posted by: Rohit | March 19, 2007 at 09:54 AM
Thanks for the write-up, John. You're too kind. Our offer of dinner stands!
Posted by: Tom Clarke | March 19, 2007 at 02:28 PM
By the way, John, I should add that Softonic is Spain's number one website. We're also Europe's number one software site and the world's second largest software site.
Posted by: Tom Clarke | March 21, 2007 at 05:43 AM
Tom - I have corrected my post: you are #1.
Rohit - they have separate teams editing the different language experiences really trying to create something specific for those audiences (vs. simple translations)
Posted by: John Bell | March 23, 2007 at 01:43 PM