R.BIRD has tracked its website traffic quite carefully, since our first web page back in 1994. This second week of February, our traffic levels spiked with a peak 5 to 6 times the daily norm, without any known precedent.

On further investigation, we could see that this spike was the result of language- or culture-specific searches on the theme of “Valentine’s Day”… “feliz dia de san valentin” & much more. In 10 years, we’ve never seen this particular pattern of activity.

Coincidentally, we received today from our friends at Cheskin, an absolutely delightful exploration of how Valentine’s Day, or similar sentiments, are expressed and experienced around the world. Darrel Rhea, CEO, and his team deserve congratulations on simply recognizing the fact that cultures and such celebrations are merging, just as corresponding populations and geography are… and just as our web traffic metrics dramatically comfirm.

I’m happy to note and promote the results of their effort. Enjoy.

Cheskin Valentine’s Day Greeting (PDF)