A common challenge faced by freelance professionals is setting clear working hours and sticking to them. Too many times projects creep over into weekends, evenings, and vacations. How many times have you found yourself working on a 'sick day' or taking a 'working vacation'?
Of course, for many, the opportunity to work evenings or weekends to compensate for other activities is an attractive factor of freelance projects. Freelancers know that a major job perk is managing their own schedules. But whether someone organizes their freelance work much like a Monday through Friday nine-to-five job or a freelancer prefers the graveyard shift to work on projects, at some point, time off needs to be taken.
And with the Holiday season just a few days away, the challenge of organizing vacation time is top-of-mind for many freelancers.
Common advice includes plan ahead, take time off when there is a lull in your work, and give your clients a heads up about your vacation plans. But most freelancers will tell you it’s hard to say no to a project if it is being offered to you.
For TDABids.com account holders, our new project management system includes a feature allowing language professionals to set their account to ‘Inactive’ when they need time off: away on vacation, too much work or sick. When the account setting is set to ‘Inactive’ freelancers will not receive any new price quote requests. It allows freelancers to hang a virtual “Gone Fishing” sign.
The TDABids.com platform gives freelance language professionals a series of unique tools to manage their freelance jobs at no charge. To find out more, visit our site www.TDATranslator.com
Season’s Greeting and Happy New Year from A World in Translation
December 18, 2009
November 16, 2009
TDABids Links to the Rest: Cloud Computing
In a recent newsletter from SitePro News (Issue No. 1268), John Sylvester cites Jeff Jarvis, Professor of Interactive Journalism at the City University of New York, describing the best route for traditional media to take in the transformation of journalism as: "Cover what you do best. Link to the rest."
A World in Translation agrees with Jarvis and we are taking his advice.
TDABids.com is a software solution known as SaaS (the acronym for software-as-a- service). A more recent term increasingly popular to describe online software services like TDABids.com is 'cloud computing' as TDABids.com is a aoftware application available in the cloud.
We found a very simple, straightforward video on YouTube.com that explains what cloud computing is and how it works. To watch the video, click here.
The benefits of platforms like TDABids.com include: no expensive upgrades needed or implementation patches; no required software to buy or install. Users can access the system from their Internet browsers and upload and manage language projects without installing any additional software on their computers. Distributed over the Internet through a secure-access website, there are no compatibility issues and it is easily accessible from any location.
For more information, visit our website: TDADirectBuyer.com
A World in Translation agrees with Jarvis and we are taking his advice.
TDABids.com is a software solution known as SaaS (the acronym for software-as-a- service). A more recent term increasingly popular to describe online software services like TDABids.com is 'cloud computing' as TDABids.com is a aoftware application available in the cloud.
We found a very simple, straightforward video on YouTube.com that explains what cloud computing is and how it works. To watch the video, click here.
The benefits of platforms like TDABids.com include: no expensive upgrades needed or implementation patches; no required software to buy or install. Users can access the system from their Internet browsers and upload and manage language projects without installing any additional software on their computers. Distributed over the Internet through a secure-access website, there are no compatibility issues and it is easily accessible from any location.
For more information, visit our website: TDADirectBuyer.com
November 8, 2009
First Cloud Computing Solution for Corporate Language Services
TDABids.com launched its cloud computing services for individuals in corporations to buy translation and other language services directly from thousands of independent language professionals: TDADirectBuyer. For a low fee of 5% per transaction, representing up to a 40% savings over the fees charged by agencies, corporate buyers will have access to a complete language services department solution.
TDABids.com—a proprietary solution developed, managed and hosted by Translatus, Inc.—is the first cloud computing solution for the translation and language services needs of corporations.
TDABids.com is a product of Translatus, Inc., a language management company with over eight years experience managing multi-language projects for some of the world’s leading companies. The company began developing TDABids.com over two years ago.
“TDABids.com began as an effort to better our in-house management software,” explains James Guidi, Translatus’ CEO, “but quickly the potential for distribution over the Internet, the move of large corporations toward SaaS and cloud computing solutions, combined with their growing demand for professional language services led to the development of the TDABids.com platform we are launching today.”
It is accessible via Internet, and as such, no expensive upgrades or implementation patches are required. Users are provided automatically with the most up-to date information, including uniform product updates, as soon as it is available. Users can access the system from standard Internet browsers and upload and manage language projects without installing any additional software. Distributed over the Internet through a secure-access website, there are no compatibility issues and it is easily accessible from any location.
You can read the complete press release online at TDABids.com marketing site: www.TDADirectBuyer.com/home/press
TDABids.com—a proprietary solution developed, managed and hosted by Translatus, Inc.—is the first cloud computing solution for the translation and language services needs of corporations.
TDABids.com is a product of Translatus, Inc., a language management company with over eight years experience managing multi-language projects for some of the world’s leading companies. The company began developing TDABids.com over two years ago.
“TDABids.com began as an effort to better our in-house management software,” explains James Guidi, Translatus’ CEO, “but quickly the potential for distribution over the Internet, the move of large corporations toward SaaS and cloud computing solutions, combined with their growing demand for professional language services led to the development of the TDABids.com platform we are launching today.”
It is accessible via Internet, and as such, no expensive upgrades or implementation patches are required. Users are provided automatically with the most up-to date information, including uniform product updates, as soon as it is available. Users can access the system from standard Internet browsers and upload and manage language projects without installing any additional software. Distributed over the Internet through a secure-access website, there are no compatibility issues and it is easily accessible from any location.
You can read the complete press release online at TDABids.com marketing site: www.TDADirectBuyer.com/home/press
TDABids.com ready for market
In a press release to be released Monday morning, TDABids.com announced the launch of its services for individuals in corporations to buy translation and other language services directly from thousands of independent language professionals for a low fee of 5% per transaction, representing up to a 40% savings over the fees charged by translation agencies for similar services.
TDABids.com provides individuals from corporations with the management tools to process multiple jobs for translations, technical writing, desktop publishing in multiple languages for a fraction of the cost agencies charge. TDABids.com can operate seamlessly with a company’s in-house Language Service Department, or if needed, can become the company’s language service department. Furthermore, the online platform automatically provides users with the most up-to date information, including uniform product updates, as soon as it is available.
TDABids.com satisfies the demands of a market segment that up until now has been ignored. There are numerous sites for language services professionals to advertise their services and bid on jobs for a fee and there are agencies that offer online management tools at a considerable fee. However, TDABids.com is the first site to give individuals in corporations the high-end management tools to upload projects, share projects and request price quotes from multiple language professionals for a fraction of the fee charged by agencies.
You can read the complete press release on the company's marketing site: http://www.tdadirectbuyer.com/Home/Press
TDABids.com provides individuals from corporations with the management tools to process multiple jobs for translations, technical writing, desktop publishing in multiple languages for a fraction of the cost agencies charge. TDABids.com can operate seamlessly with a company’s in-house Language Service Department, or if needed, can become the company’s language service department. Furthermore, the online platform automatically provides users with the most up-to date information, including uniform product updates, as soon as it is available.
TDABids.com satisfies the demands of a market segment that up until now has been ignored. There are numerous sites for language services professionals to advertise their services and bid on jobs for a fee and there are agencies that offer online management tools at a considerable fee. However, TDABids.com is the first site to give individuals in corporations the high-end management tools to upload projects, share projects and request price quotes from multiple language professionals for a fraction of the fee charged by agencies.
You can read the complete press release on the company's marketing site: http://www.tdadirectbuyer.com/Home/Press
October 12, 2009
Top 100 Language Blogs Worldwide
What do Grammar Girl’s Mignon Fogarty and a bloke who calls himself Hairy Swede have in common? Their blogs were included in the annual list of the Top 100 Language Blogs for 2009.
The Lexiophiles blog and the bab.la language portal run the annual competition aimed at finding the best language blogs across all languages throughout the world. The press relase said “this year’s top 100 blogs were chosen out of a total pool of 473 nominations from 26 countries.”
The lion’s share of blogs cover an array of topics about learning languages. However, there are two subcategories for language buffs with their own top ten rankings: Language Technology and Language Professionals.
Read more here:
http://en.bab.la/doc/lexiophiles-top-100-language-blogs-2009.pdf
The Lexiophiles blog and the bab.la language portal run the annual competition aimed at finding the best language blogs across all languages throughout the world. The press relase said “this year’s top 100 blogs were chosen out of a total pool of 473 nominations from 26 countries.”
The lion’s share of blogs cover an array of topics about learning languages. However, there are two subcategories for language buffs with their own top ten rankings: Language Technology and Language Professionals.
Read more here:
http://en.bab.la/doc/lexiophiles-top-100-language-blogs-2009.pdf
October 7, 2009
12 outdated tech words to avoid
Keeping up with the latest terminology has always been a challenge but it has probably never been quite so fast changing as today. In fact, the language we use to talk about technology is evolving even more quickly than the technology itself.
In an article published in BusinessWeek, “12 Words You Can Never Say in the Office,” staff writer Carolyn Duffy Marsan points out that in some cases it isn’t the technology that has evolved but the word used to describe it. Terms like “cloud computing” have simply replaced other terms like “ASP” or “Saas”, even though they all say more or less the same thing.
So what are the twelve “techie” words that will say more about your age than anything else—not to mention leaving the twenty-something-year olds raising their eyebrows in confusion?
1. Intranet, 2. Extranet, 3. Web Surfing, 4. Push Technology, 5. Application Service Provider (ASP), 6. Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), 7. Internet Telephony, 8. Weblog, 9. Thin Client, 10. Rboc, 11. Long-Distance Call, 12. World Wide Web
Read the full article see why these 12 words made the black list: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2009/tc20090824_902851.htm
In an article published in BusinessWeek, “12 Words You Can Never Say in the Office,” staff writer Carolyn Duffy Marsan points out that in some cases it isn’t the technology that has evolved but the word used to describe it. Terms like “cloud computing” have simply replaced other terms like “ASP” or “Saas”, even though they all say more or less the same thing.
So what are the twelve “techie” words that will say more about your age than anything else—not to mention leaving the twenty-something-year olds raising their eyebrows in confusion?
1. Intranet, 2. Extranet, 3. Web Surfing, 4. Push Technology, 5. Application Service Provider (ASP), 6. Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), 7. Internet Telephony, 8. Weblog, 9. Thin Client, 10. Rboc, 11. Long-Distance Call, 12. World Wide Web
Read the full article see why these 12 words made the black list: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2009/tc20090824_902851.htm
July 6, 2009
What we’re reading... English it would seem
In a op-ed piece about supply versus demand for translated books in the Freakonomics column in the NY Times over the past weekend, users debated the choice between reading a good translation in a non-native language (for example, a native Swede choosing to read a novel in English and not the translated edition) or suffering through a bad translation in their native languages.
Column readers—native French, Dutch, German and Portuguese speakers to name a few of the international languages represented in the comments—wrote that they preferred to read books in English (either as a translation or as the original text).
In terms of why users believed so many chose to read in their non-native tongue, most were of the opinion that many literary translations are poor in quality. The only exception mentioned was literary translation into English.
There was a certain consensus that the big issue is economical. Some pointed out that literary translation—unlike commercial translation jobs, especially in specialized fields—is fairly underpaid. Meanwhile, the English-language market for literary translation is one of the largest, and as such more competitive, which leads to better translations, compared to other languages.
Two other reasons were: translations into less massive languages (in terms of print runs and readerships) tend to be more expensive than the edition in English and the second reason cited was that they tend to come after the English-language translation is available.
(Kevin Burns Collison, in North American Business Development for Translatus, alerted us to this story.)
Column readers—native French, Dutch, German and Portuguese speakers to name a few of the international languages represented in the comments—wrote that they preferred to read books in English (either as a translation or as the original text).
In terms of why users believed so many chose to read in their non-native tongue, most were of the opinion that many literary translations are poor in quality. The only exception mentioned was literary translation into English.
There was a certain consensus that the big issue is economical. Some pointed out that literary translation—unlike commercial translation jobs, especially in specialized fields—is fairly underpaid. Meanwhile, the English-language market for literary translation is one of the largest, and as such more competitive, which leads to better translations, compared to other languages.
Two other reasons were: translations into less massive languages (in terms of print runs and readerships) tend to be more expensive than the edition in English and the second reason cited was that they tend to come after the English-language translation is available.
(Kevin Burns Collison, in North American Business Development for Translatus, alerted us to this story.)
June 25, 2009
English-to-Russian Volunteer Translators & Interpreters Needed
The Chernobyl Children Project USA, the largest organization in the U.S. that provides medical treatment and respite care for children from the Chernobyl-affected areas of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, needs volunteers to translate the children’s medical records from English into Russian after they complete their medical care at the end of July.
The children arrived in Boston to begin their treatments on June 23rd and the organization is also looking for interpreters to assist the families during their visit.
There is a brief online survey for translators and interpreters interested in volunteering.
The Chernobyl Children Project USA, based in Boston, Massachusetts, arranges medical care in the U.S. for children suffering from a wide variety of ailments and places them with volunteer host families during their stay. The project has provided care for more than 1,500 children.
For additional information, you can visit the website or contact the organization’s coordinator Patty Doyle via email (Ccpusainc@aol.com).
The children arrived in Boston to begin their treatments on June 23rd and the organization is also looking for interpreters to assist the families during their visit.
There is a brief online survey for translators and interpreters interested in volunteering.
The Chernobyl Children Project USA, based in Boston, Massachusetts, arranges medical care in the U.S. for children suffering from a wide variety of ailments and places them with volunteer host families during their stay. The project has provided care for more than 1,500 children.
For additional information, you can visit the website or contact the organization’s coordinator Patty Doyle via email (Ccpusainc@aol.com).
June 22, 2009
Father's Day Trivia
Father’s Day is celebrated the third Sunday of June throughout the world more than any other day. While officially some 98 countries celebrate Father’s Day, 52 of them celebrated yesterday. The date for honoring fathers in the other 46 countries is spread across the calendar—April is the only month without a Father’s Day celebration. The second most popular calendar date is March 19th when Italy, Spain, Portugal as well as five other countries celebrate.We found various websites citing that the first Father’s Day dates back to Babylon over 4,000 years ago when a boy gave his father a plaque made out of clay with the message of Happy Father’s Day.
Our message is one of bits and bytes: A Happy Father’s Day to all of our dads at Translatus and TDABids.com.
Our message is one of bits and bytes: A Happy Father’s Day to all of our dads at Translatus and TDABids.com.
June 16, 2009
Why the name change?
When a company decides to do something new—especially when the old way of doing things was working well, arguably very well—every aspect of the business comes under new eyes… and in that fresh look, many times, an opportunity for change will be apparent.
That is precisely what happened to our blog.
Translatus is changing. We are doing new things. Over the past year, our team has been working to create a dynamic, proprietary management software for all of its translation work. The same platform will be launched as a new company called TDABids.com, open to our clients and new clients alike. A revolutionary concept for buying translation, TDABids.com will challenge companies, agencies and translators to rethink how translation is bought and sold by large corporations.
As Translatus and TDABids.com step forth as pioneers of change, we will relay the corporate events that transpire in this new stage of growth and innovation here on our blog: a World in Translation.
That is precisely what happened to our blog.
Translatus is changing. We are doing new things. Over the past year, our team has been working to create a dynamic, proprietary management software for all of its translation work. The same platform will be launched as a new company called TDABids.com, open to our clients and new clients alike. A revolutionary concept for buying translation, TDABids.com will challenge companies, agencies and translators to rethink how translation is bought and sold by large corporations.
As Translatus and TDABids.com step forth as pioneers of change, we will relay the corporate events that transpire in this new stage of growth and innovation here on our blog: a World in Translation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
