Culture and Metaphor in coding? {code me IN}

The ideas of cultural tolerance, cultural sensitivity, and cultural literacy are just three of the many emerging and exciting cultural ideas that people need to understand and use more seriously especially from now on, I believe. This is clearly evident in the movement for culturally adaptable websites. 

I found an article by Shen, Wooley and Prior, talked about how the main goal of user interface is supposed to be to assist users who play “multiple roles according to their contextual environment and purposes of use.” (p. 822, Shen et all, 2006) Though few websites are ideal in everyway, there is a push for more culturally sensitive World Wide Web (WWW). May different times of “-isations” or ways of viewing the cultural world are described from globalization to localization the combination known as glocalisation, and iconisaztion and cultualizaiton are described in the article and much of a sociological history and discussion of the importance of cultural literacy is described before turning toward user interface and the WWW. The development of a user interface or a whole new type of WWW product one that is a local cultural construct as opposed to a globalized produce adapted for target cultures especially those based on geography is becoming clearly necessary. Culturally Centered Design (CCD) is needed and will be a new method of web usability and a whole new aspect of website accessibility. 

For some there is a need for appropriate and workable interface metaphors for the to bridge the cultural gaps. Interface metaphors are ways to use aspects of a website to help users to understand abstract content, create a sense of familiarity, trigger emotions, draw attention and motivate action. Examples of website metaphors are icons, buttons, images, as well as
text and styles as long as they increase understanding of information, I'm all for it.

The CCD filer is composed of the designers socio-cultural filter, where the website designer needs to figure out and learn and present relevant cultural data and check the technical specifications such as usability and evaluation tools. Then the designer should create culturally relevant content for their target culture including jargon, dialect, thought patterns, behaviors and be sensitive with social taboo issues. The designer must be well aware of cultural differences, outsider biases and opposing viewpoints. The designer must do his or her best to think, and use the web design from the perspective culture they are preparing CCD WWW material for. 

I think the world need more metaphors and more people to understand each other. Thus, I am intrigued by the idea of a interface metaphor, especially as it pertains to creating a bridge across cultural and personal gaps. Anything that coding can do to spread peace, love and understanding to new and underrepresented cultures then both cultures and the World Wide Web win in ever bigger ways. 

Shen, S. T., Woolley, M., & Prior, S. (2006). Towards culture-centered design. Interacting with computers, 18(4), 820-852. Retrieved on 4/8/2015 from http://cecs.wright.edu/~yan.liu/IHE733/Articles/Culture/TowardsCultureCe...