ProZ.com Newsletter: October 2006

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The Translation Workplace Jobs | Kudoz | Go to site --------------------- ProZ.com Newsletter --------------------- Your ProZ.com username: (See bottom for more details related to your ProZ.com account) Promote yourself - become a member! Join now: http://www.proz.com/join (1) Project Connect update: New platform announced in Montreal (2) Thanks for updating your profile recently! (3) Please help make Project Connect a success! (4) Membership campaign to begin soon (5) Twelve slots left for the Edinburgh conference (9-10 Nov)! (6) TRADOS training in Edinburgh (7) Upcoming powwows in Europe, India, Latin America, SE Asia... (8) Update on the 'willingness to work again' (WWA) feature (9) Wikiwords surpasses 1000 collections - own your field, too (10) Quick tip: Use ProZ.com to generate additional client flow (11) Just for fun: the Translator Academy Awards! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (1) Project Connect update: New platform announced at Localization World in Montreal ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Part of what you get as a member of ProZ.com is a group of people -- the site team, http://www.proz.com/siteteam -- dedicated to marketing your services to new potential clients. Those of you following the forums closely are aware that since June, there have been updates on a program now being called "Project Connect" (formerly PFE, or ProZ.com for Employers). In a nutshell, Project Connect is an initiative to further market the services of ProZ.com members to the world's top language companies and end clients. Notes on the project: * Project Connect is being headed by Mike Kidd, formerly of TRADOS. Mike is one of the most well known and successful marketing and sales professionals in our industry. See the press release: http://www.proz.com/press/6 * A new platform with a fresh look and navigation scheme was developed in relation to the program. That platform, which is now in beta testing by select charter companies, provide a more appealing and easier to use interface for finding translators and interpreters at ProZ.com. * This project includes a category of job posting called "Premium" job postings. In these, clients that meet a certain standard of desirability and have paid for the right to post the premium jobs get additional exposure and a more convenient interface for finding top professionals who meet the required criteria. One can subscribe to Premium posts without subscribing to standard job postings. Recently, Project Connect was exhibited for the first time publicly at the Localization World conference in Montreal. Two ProZ.com members -- Nancy Lynn Bogar and Sylvie Nault -- were in attendance, representing the ProZ.com community and communicating to clients the array of services available from ProZ.com members. Initial interest in the new platform was strong. See the press release: http://www.proz.com/press/12 If Project Connect is successful, members will notice an increase in the number of new contacts they are getting from desirable clients via ProZ.com. However, we are asking members to bear in mind that the results of this program will not be apparent overnight. In the meantime, we thank you for your continued cooperation as we work together with the community to make Project Connect a success. You can learn more about Project Connect in this overview: http://www.proz.com/premiumjobs ... or in this recent forum topic (on the "premium job" postings introduced in connection with the project): http://www.proz.com/topic/55664 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (2) Thanks for updating your profile recently! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Site staff members recently appealed to site users, asking them to help make Project Connect a success by updating their profiles (whether they were currently looking for clients or not.) Thank you for responding to this call. Since you and many others updated your profiles soon after the request, the shortcoming was addressed quickly. This has helped to make the Project Connect platform more useful and appealing to potential premium clients. As was promised, a free trip was awarded randomly to one member who completed all of the sections in the profile that were marked as either "required' or "encouraged" in the quick profile updater. And that person was... ... jmdirico of Apex Traduction in France. He will enjoy a free trip to the Edinburgh conference, with all travel, accommodations and conference fees, plus powwow and conference dinner expenses, paid for by ProZ.com. Interestingly, jmdirico's was not the first name drawn. Four members before him had their names drawn but had to turn down the trip due to prior scheduled commitments! We apologized to them for the short notice, and will be sure to extend offers such as these with sufficient advanced notice in the future. The next giveaway will be a trip to the Budapest conference in May. For a chance to win, make sure that all of your "required" and "encouraged" profile data is on file and up to date; visit http://www.proz.com/quick_profile to do so. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (3) Please help make Project Connect a success! Use the quick profile updater now. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can help make Project Connect a success - just by taking a few minutes to make sure your profile is complete and up to date. We are finding that current and prospective clients are sometimes challenged to find translators at ProZ.com because the information for which they are searching is not necessarily available in the profiles of ProZ.com members. Therefore, whether you are able to accept new clients now or not, we invite you to help make Project Connect a success by updating your profile now. This will help us to enrich the information we have in our database, making the database more useful to top clients, in turn benefiting you and your ProZ.com colleagues. To make the process of completing and updating your profile as easy as possible, we have created a new "quick profile updater." Updating the required information section of this form should take no more than five minutes. Doing so today will not only benefit the entire ProZ.com community, it could also result in desirable new clients finding your profile directly in the future. Please update your profile now: http://www.proz.com/quick_profile Note that any information you enter is secure and protected by ProZ.com's privacy policy. Another important reason to update your profile: Please note that effective January 1, 2007, to help users with completed profiles better connect with clients, outsourcers will have the option of filtering out profiles that are not complete. This means that if your profile does not include the sections considered "required," you may not appear in some directory searches, and may not be able to quote on some jobs. Our Site Guide team will be sending you friendly reminders until you have completed the "required" section of the profile. If you have other questions about using the profile updater, please contact our Site Guide Team via the online support system: http://www.proz.com/support Thank you for your help in making this important initiative a success. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (4) Membership campaign to begin soon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A membership campaign will be announced soon, in which active site users who are not yet members will be invited to join ProZ.com as full paying members of our community. This campaign, which will be built around a theme of "connecting", will highlight the powerful opportunity that ProZ.com membership provides to *connect with other professionals*, to *connect with new clients*, and to benefit from the collective (and archived) knowledge of the ProZ.com community in KudoZ, the forums, the articles database and more. If you use ProZ.com regularly, please consider joining during this campaign. A number of incentives will be offered, making this campaign an optimum time to join. If you are already a member, we invite you to pass along word to colleagues whose work you know and respect. In a recent survey, 92.9% of you reported that you would recommend ProZ.com membership to colleagues. But many of you also reported that you had not yet found occasion to do so. Therefore, please consider taking this opportunity to share the value of membership with a colleague. Remember, with each new member, we become more effective as a group--in helping each other, in attracting clients, and in redefining the industry. So spread the word! Advertisement ------------------------------------ Introducing Wordfast 5.5 - Easy, open, powerful. Translation Memory has never been this fast. Wordfast 5.5 offers a transparent, open format for all its data and maintains compatibility most CAT tools. Learn more at http://www.wordfast.com ------------------------------------ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (5) Twelve slots left for the Edinburgh conference (9-10 Nov)! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Preparations for the ProZ.com Regional Conference in Edinburgh on Friday, 10 and Saturday, 11 November 2006 are now complete. Among the program's highlights are the following: * Anthony Briggs, Professor Emeritus of Birmingham University and Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Russian at the University of Bristol, will deliver a talk on his translation of Tolstoy's War and Peace. * Sarah Adams, the winner of the Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation (2005) will open the conference with a keynote speech on slang and transcribing street culture in translation. Sarah has a keen interest in second-generation urban slang and “has reported on melting pots from Harlem to Martinique.” * The Wordfast team have confirmed their attendance and agreed to run a Wordfast workshop. Wordfast licenses will be also available for sale at a 33% discount. * In addition, there will be a 3-hour SDLX training session and a 3-hour Training Course on Déja Vu and Data Migration. Both sessions will be hands-on and laptops are a prerequisite for participating. Approximately 138 members have already registered, which leaves about 12 seats before we hit the hotel's maximum capacity of 150. If your schedule allows it, and especially if you are in the area, don't miss this chance to catch a ProZ.com conference and enjoy one of the world's great cities -- register now! http://www.proz.com/conference/8 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (6) TRADOS training in Edinburgh ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For those choosing to stay in Edinburgh after the conference, ProZ.com member (and moderator) Jerzy Czopik will run a separate full-day Trados training session following the conference on Sunday, November 12, 2006. Places are limited for this session (5 remain). A laptop is required. Payments are facilitated as a separate store item via the Edinburgh conference website and registrations are also open for those who don’t plan to attend the conference. For more information please visit the dedicated forum thread at http://www.proz.com/topic/53688 and to register, the Edinburgh conference website at http://www.proz.com/conference/8 Advertisement ------------------------------------ WordFinder Software provides leading multilingual computer dictionaries that quickly find correct terms and expressions in different languages, improving your efficiency & quality. Learn more and get special pricing for ProZ.com members at http://www.wordfinder.com/webshop/com.asp?country=com&hid=1300529 ------------------------------------ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (7) Upcoming powwows: Utrecht, Cuneo (IT), Marbella (ES), Lille, Montevideo, Moscow, São Vicente (BR), Venice... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ProZ.com "powwows" are free, informal events organized by and for local translators and interpreters in any given area. Here is an excerpt from the report on a recent powwow in Indianapolis, US: "The first ever Proz Powwow in Indianapolis, Indiana USA was held on August 12, 2006 at the Bosphorus Restaurant in Indianapolis which specializes in Turkish Food. We had a good turnout of 6 Proz members and two additional family members and friends. The dinner kicked off at 6 pm. and everyone enjoyed the conversation and exchange of ideas and information. A wonderfull dinner was had by all, and Indianapolis as a up and coming international city was highlighted with events like this being possible..." In attendance at this powwow were Jennifer Gal, Karen Friedman, Di Wu, Alp Berker, Can Altinbay, Clare Wakusick, and a friend. (Friends, and usually family, are welcome at powwows!) ............. A number of powwows are currently scheduled. If there is not one in a place near you in the list below, consider proposing one here: November 3: Utrecht, Neth. (13 members) http://proz.com/pw/1034 9: Edinburgh, UK (51) http://proz.com/pw/1030 10: Delhi, India (2) http://proz.com/pw/1058 11: Cuneo - Pie..., Italy (16) http://proz.com/pw/1016 11: Marbella, A..., Spain (15) http://proz.com/pw/996 12: Edinburgh, UK (24) http://proz.com/pw/1018 15: Ibiza, Spain (1) http://proz.com/pw/1004 17: Orlando, Fl..., US (4) http://proz.com/pw/962 18: Lille, France (7) http://proz.com/pw/1046 18: Barcelona, Spain (15) http://proz.com/pw/1038 December 1: Montevideo, Uruguay (46) http://proz.com/pw/1008 2: Leeds, UK (1) http://proz.com/pw/1060 2: São Vicente, Brazil (11) http://proz.com/pw/990 3: Venice, Italy (21) http://proz.com/pw/988 5: Haltern am See, Germany (5) http://proz.com/pw/1026 6: Edinburgh, UK (3) http://proz.com/pw/1024 9: Geneva, Switzerland (1) http://proz.com/pw/1050 9: Washington DC, US (2) http://proz.com/pw/1052 11: Montreal , Canada (4) http://proz.com/pw/1068 15: Munich / Ob..., Germany (2) http://proz.com/pw/1064 15: Moscow (18) http://proz.com/pw/881 16: Serra da Es..., Portugal (12) http://proz.com/pw/1056 23: Bangkok, Thailand (2) http://proz.com/pw/1062 Full list of powwows (including those after Oct): http://www.proz.com/?sp=event/powwow_board&r_id=132 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (8) Update on the 'willingness to work again' (WWA) feature ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In our most recent posting on a new ProZ.com feature called WWA, we wrote: "As many of you know, we have recently developed an optional new marketing tool. This tool, which we have called 'WWA' for the purposes of the discussion, provides ProZ.com users (members and non-members) with the option of showing "willingness to work again" (WWA) entries from satisfied clients in their profiles." The WWA system is described in more detail here: http://www.proz.com/topic/51026 To update you with regard to the way this feature is being used, we recently posted usage statistics, current development status, feedback from early adopters, notes on technical improvements (we made it easier for clients to make entries), oversight and future plans. In summary, some glitches have been worked out, and though only a few have noticed a definite impact in just the first few weeks / months, early adopters are anticipating good results in the future. As for clients, although a few have opted out from receiving requests, all indications are that the majority are more than happy to attest to their willingness to work again with translators and interpreters. To read more about WWA as it is being used, see: http://www.proz.com/topic/58642 To request entries from your satisfied client(s), go to the quick profile updater: http://www.proz.com/quick_profile and look for "WWA". Advertisement ------------------------------------ Lingotek launched The Language Search Engine (TM) at the ProZ.com conference on August 25th. This new online collaborative translation tool brings together a web community of language professionals to redefine content reuse. The result is fast meaning-based searching through your browser that is easy and inexpensive. Learn more at http://www.lingotek.com ------------------------------------ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (9) Wikiwords surpasses 1000 collections - own your field, too ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A first pass has been taken at quality control in Wikiwords - the ProZ.com project to create an open dictionary of all terms in all languages. Areas of the glossary are now being assigned to specific individuals. What's your pleasure? Spanish / music? German / biology? Turkish / sports? Claim your glossary area and help work out the quality model... http://www.wikiwords.org/?pg=roles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (10) Quick tip: Use ProZ.com to generate additional client flow ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If one of your objectives is to grow your business, one efective strategy is to use ProZ.com to *generate client flow*. Once you have client traffic, you can be selective. This allows you to raise your rates, for one thing, and it also puts you in a position to do more work in the fields in which you specialize and love working - which may also be the fields in which you are most productive. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (11) Just for fun: the Translator Academy Awards! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As part of the "SDL TRADOS Technologies Awards Night" at the 47th annual ATA conference in New Orleans this Rhursday, November 2nd, ProZ.com will be announcing winners for the "Translator / collaborator of the year", and the "Best project manager / outsourcer of the year" awards. As was the case last year, this is more of a lighthearted event than anything else. Since the winners will need to be in attendance at the ATA conference, we ask that you nominate people who you know will be going. The winners will be invited onstage and presented with a trophy. To make nominations to add your vote for current nominees, go to http://www.proz.com/awards - - - - - - - - - - - Your username: Membership status: Registered user KudoZ: BrowniZ: Wallet balance: $0.10 Your profile: http://www.proz.com/profile/0 - - - - - - - - - - - Forgotten password? http://proz.com/?sp=new_password ================================================================= You are receiving this email message because you signed up for email notifications of this type in your ProZ.com email preferences. To unsubscribe from ProZ.com email notifications, go to this page: https://www.proz.com/unsubscribe If you have trouble adjusting your email preferences, please submit a support request: https://www.proz.com/support Do not reply to this message; your reply will not be read. ProZ.com 2509 James Street P.O. Box 323 Syracuse, NY 13206-9277 USA+1 (315) 463-7323 Copyright © 1999-2010 ProZ.com - All rights reserved.