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an archive of content from ≈ 2005 - 2015, relating to international business, translation, freelancing, and working online.

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Day 12: Join Me for a Live Chat

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Today's SYS Challenge: Join me for a live chat! #socialtranslator

Today’s SYS Challenge: Join me for a live chat! #socialtranslator

Come Blab With Me

On Friday, I’m going to attempt another live chat on video streaming platform, Blab.im. I’d love if you could join me. (Details below)

There’ll be no presentation, just a casual, informal chat.

Assuming all goes well and we do, in fact, go live (!), I’d love to hear from you: 

How are you going on social media? What’s working for you? What’s not? What are your plans for the weekend??

So grab a cuppa, get your earphones plugged in and your webcam* face on, and let’s figure out Blab together!

(*optional – both the webcam AND the webcam-ready face :))

Details

Friday 23th October 

4am PST / 7am EDT / 11am UTC / 12pm BST / 1pm CEST / 7pm AWST / 9pm AEST / 10pm AEDT / 12am NZDT 

(Note this is an hour later than our last Blab)

I’ll probably hang out for about 20 – 30 mins. I’m happy to take comments and questions via the chat box or webcam.

I plan to make the recording available for 24 hours afterwards.

To join us click this link and subscribe. If there are any issues on the day, I’ll keep you posted via Twitter.

If you click through before the Blab is due to begin (go on, give it a try now!), you’ll be able to subscribe to the event and get a notification when it’s about to start.

A bit about Blab.im

You can download the iPhone app or log in online at Blab.im, either on your PC or via Chrome on your Android smartphone.

You’ll need a Twitter account to sign in, or I believe you can lurk anonymously without a Twitter account. (But don’t do that. We’d miss you!)

Hope to see you there!

Further Reading

  • Nothing at all! Blab was designed to have a super low barrier to entry. So why not just dive straight in?!
  • The Ultimate Guide to Blab by Jocelyn Gonzalez on Marc Levy’s blog.

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A Social Media Challenge!

Your mission, should you chose to accept it, is to do one thing each day in October that will have an impact on your social presence in the longer term.

Each weekday in October, I’m going to suggest a task to work on for whatever pocket of time you can carve out that day. You can choose to follow my suggestion, adjust it to suit your circumstances, or come up with an alternative – whatever makes most sense for you. Or just dip in and out as it suits.

Follow along on Twitter, Facebook, or here on the blog. Let me know how you’re getting on by using the hashtag #socialtranslator (so I can find you!). If you find it helpful, please give me a thumbs up, a like or a share – that’s how I’ll know you’re finding it useful, and it’ll help other translators join in too.

Day 7: Join Me for a Live Chat

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Today's SYS Challenge: Join me for a live chat! #socialtranslator

Today’s SYS Challenge: Join me for a live chat! #socialtranslator

Come Blab With Me

On Friday, I’m going to attempt my first live chat on video streaming platform, Blab.im. I’d love if you could join me. (Details below)

There’ll be no presentation, just a casual, informal chat.

Assuming all goes well and we do, in fact, go live (!), I’d love to hear from you: How are you going on social media? What’s working for you? What’s not? What are your plans for the weekend??

So grab a cuppa, get your earphones plugged in and your webcam* face on, and let’s figure out Blab together!

(*optional – both the webcam AND the webcam-ready face :))

Details

Friday 9th October 

3am PST / 6am EDT / 10am UTC / 11am BST / 12pm CEST / 6pm AWST / 8pm AEST / 9pm AEDT / 11pm NZDT 

I’ll probably hang out for about 20 – 30 mins. I plan to make the recording available for 24 hours afterwards.

To join us click this link, either now or approaching the scheduled time. 

If you click through before the Blab is due to begin (go on, give it a try now!), you’ll be able to subscribe to the event and get a notification when it’s about to start.

A bit about Blab.im

You can download the iPhone app or log in online at Blab.im, either on your PC or via Chrome on your Android smartphone.

You’ll need a Twitter account to sign in, or I believe you can lurk anonymously without a Twitter account. (But don’t do that. We’d miss you!)

Hope to see you there!

Further Reading

  • Nothing at all! Blab was designed to have a super low barrier to entry. So why not just dive straight in?!
  • The Ultimate Guide to Blab by Jocelyn Gonzalez on Marc Levy’s blog.

—–

A Social Media Challenge!

Your mission, should you chose to accept it, is to do one thing each day in October that will have an impact on your social presence in the longer term.

Each weekday in October, I’m going to suggest a task to work on for whatever pocket of time you can carve out that day. You can choose to follow my suggestion, adjust it to suit your circumstances, or come up with an alternative – whatever makes most sense for you. Or just dip in and out as it suits.

Follow along on Twitter, Facebook, or here on the blog. Let me know how you’re getting on by using the hashtag #socialtranslator (so I can find you!). If you find it helpful, please give me a thumbs up, a like or a share – that’s how I’ll know you’re finding it useful, and it’ll help other translators join in too.

Interview with Lucy Brooks, German, French and Spanish translator

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Lucy Brooks is a German, French and Spanish to English translator with 20 years’ translation experience.

She was one of the first translators to attain the prestigious Chartered Linguist (Translator) status in the UK, and recently started a company called eCPD Webinars to facilitate online training for translators and other linguists.

If you’ve been following me on Twitter, you’ll know that I’m a big fan. I’ve attended several of their webinars* over the past couple of months, including ones on specialising in pharmaceutical translation and specialising in medical translation.

So last week I spoke to Lucy about her career as a translator, the importance of continuous professional development (CPD) and how she came to start her new company. We even conducted the interview in webinar format so you can see for yourself how it works. Have a look (and a listen) and let me know what you think: [Read more…]

5 Qs with Amy Williams, French and Italian to English translator

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Amy Williams is a freelance translator working from French and Italian into English, and a director of Eggplant Translations. She specialises in marketing and advertising, and the arts, media and music in particular. In the early stages of my freelance career, Amy was kind enough to give me some great advice on setting up a website. Here I ask her for more tips about marketing, her areas of specialisation and why she has chosen to pursue further studies in psychology. [Read more…]

5Qs with Andrew Bell, AAA Scandinavian Translations

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After working as a nurse in several countries, Andrew Bell set up AAA Scandinavian Translations in 2001 and now specialises in medical/pharmaceutical translation services. He also runs the popular translator-networking site Watercooler. Here Andrew tells us about how he became a translator, and offers a wealth of advice for new and experienced translators interested in moving into the highly specialised field of medical/ pharmaceutical translations.

Sarah Dillon: You have many years of experience in healthcare, and are in fact a Registered Nurse (RN). How difficult was it to make the conversion to being a medical translator? What preparation did you have to undertake to supplement your existing knowledge, and do you have any tips for aspiring medical translators who might not have this background? [Sorry, I know that’s really 3 questions but I couldn’t resist!] [Read more…]

5Qs with Karen Stokes, French to English translator

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Karen Stokes has been providing French to English translation services through KES_Translate since 2002. In 2008 she was awarded Chartered Linguist (Translator) status, one of the first five translators in the UK to be awarded this distinction. Read on for more about Karen’s background, her approach to marketing and the Chartered Linguist application process. [Read more…]

Experts in the Industry: Silvia Ferrero, English to Spanish translator and interpreter

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Silvia Ferrero is an English to Spanish freelance translator and interpreter with a specialism in software and website localisation. Prior to going freelance, she gained valuable experience in the games localisation industry while working in-house for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. She holds a degree in English Philology from the University of Zaragoza in Spain and an MA from the University of Salford. Silvia is also Chair of the ITI’s North-West Translators’ Network. On Saturday 16th May, Silvia will present a paper on the move towards sustainability in the games localisation industry.

Check out the rest of the ITI Conference programme here. [Read more…]

Experts in the Industry: Suzanne Kirkbright, German to English freelance translator

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Suzanne Kirkbright is a full-time German to English freelance translator, specialising in the general arts, media and publishing. Prior to becoming a translator, she worked for over ten years as a German lecturer and was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt scholarship to research an English biography of a 20th century German intellectual. Suzanne has translated a series of nature guides for natural history publisher A&C Black in London and was a participant in the ITI’s online training course, the PSG, in 2007. On Saturday 16th May, she will be part of a panel discussion on contingency planning.

Check out the rest of the ITI Conference programme here. [Read more…]

Experts in the industry: Philippa Hammond, French, Spanish, Portuguese to English translator

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Philippa Hammond is a French, Spanish and Portuguese to English freelance translator based in London. She has an MA in Translation and Linguistics from the University of Westminster and a BA(Hons) in French and Spanish from Cardiff University, and worked in-house for several years before going freelance. Philippa maintains a professional blog, is editor of the ITI French Network newsletter, and helps mentor newcomers to the industry as part of the ITI’s online training course, the PSG. On Sunday 17th May, Philippa will be speaking (with me!) on sustaining careers in T&I using social media.

Check out the rest of the ITI Conference programme here. [Read more…]

Experts in the Industry: Cat Akana, Managing Director of Blue Planet Multicultural

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Cat Akana is Managing Director of Blue Planet Multicultural and teaches at a university affiliated to the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Prior to founding Blue Planet Multicultural in 2005, Cat lived in Japan for seven years and also travelled widely, working in management, sales and marketing, logistics, publishing, education, teacher training and translation. She has a degree in modern languages from Salford University and is currently studying for a Masters in Education for Sustainability. On Saturday 16th May, Cat will be speaking about how major global challenges affect translators and interpreters.

Check out the rest of the ITI Conference programme here. [Read more…]