Sounds of Nature

The "light thunderstorm" theme.

As always, our web guru is responsible for one of our newest obsessions: Ambient Mixer. It's a free website that lets you listen to some very relaxing sound recordings of things like rain, beach, etc. We are particularly fond of the scuba diving recording (even though it's a bit spooky), grassland and rain, rain, rain. There are also some oddball recordings to be found, including a few for Halloween and things like "restaurant in the evening" that can be used for videos and movies -- free thanks to the Creative Commons License.

Listening to the recordings (they are actually mixes of audio files) online is entirely free. However, there is a small fee to download the recordings. Get started here. If you don't find something you like, you can create your own with the handy mixer. Watch this video to get more details. 

Enciphering Web-Based E-Mail

This nifty tip comes from our resident web guru, who's great at finding free new tools that make our lives easier -- and safer. It's an online encryption method that works with web-based e-mail accounts (and Outlook, too). It's also an excellent tool for sending important information via Facebook. There's nothing to download and it's completely free. Here's how it works:

1) You copy and paste the text you want to encrypt on the website https://encipher.it/

2) You create an encryption password

3) You send the message, and in order to decrypt it, the recipient has to enter the same password 

We just tested it using Judy's Gmail account and it worked like a charm.  Update on Outlook (we'd previously said this program didn't work with Outlook): we've been corrected by our web guru and we feel slightly silly. Since this software is cut/paste, it also works with Outlook. Great news! 
Here is some technical information from the creators for your peace of mind:

We use Advanced Encryption Standard to protect your data. All encoding/decoding is performed locally in your browser.

Kiva Needs You: Volunteer Translators (Spanish->English)

As our readers might know, we are big fans of micro-lending site Kiva, and we've posted about their need for volunteer translators before. Kiva just recently contacted us again and asked us to help spread the word about their need for Spanish->English translators. We think doing pro bono translations is a wonderful way to give back to the community. This is also a great alternative for relatively new translators. We think it's infinitely better to do pro bono translations for a deserving non-profit than to work for really low rates. Here's the info we received from Kiva:

Kiva is recruiting Spanish translators!

Kiva borrower Marta Alicia, Guatemala

Kiva is currently in need of Spanish to English volunteer translators to support entrepreneurs all over Latin America. After English, Spanish is the second-highest volume of loans that are posted to the Kiva website, and we’re looking to expand our team of Spanish translators to help us prepare for the busy holiday season and increases in loan volume in 2012. Ideal candidates are native (or near-native) English speakers who have translation experience and are comfortable using new technology. We will be testing applicants through the end of October. Click here to read more about our program and to apply!

About the Kiva Volunteer Translation Program

One of the New York Times Magazine’s “Top Ideas of 2006,” Kiva.org is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to entrepreneurs all over the world. The Kiva Volunteer Translation Program offers the opportunity to use your skills to make a direct contribution, improve your language skills, network with other Kiva volunteers and build your resume. Volunteering from their own homes, Kiva volunteers translate entrepreneurs' profiles into English, which are then posted for funding at Kiva.org. 

Affordable Promotional Items

Close-up.

Our dear readers might know that we think it's very important to keep marketing and advertising costs low for small businesses. Many small businesses fail because they can't control their expenses, particularly on the advertising and promotions side, so we don't want any T&I businesses to fall into this trap. Luckily, most of our advertising is done on the web, which is largely free except for the cost of our time. 

However, since Judy is a master-level court-certified Spanish interpreter in the state of Nevada, she wanted a small item she could give to lawyers, social workers, clerks, etc. as an effective promotional tool. We didn't want another tchotchke that no one uses, so we went for the one thing that people are constantly looking for and are usually grateful for: a pen. We shopped around, and even though the prices were slightly higher than elsewhere, we found a charming, locally-owned store in suburban L.A., where Judy's hubby grew up. They focus on trophies for sporting events, but also make a wide range of pens. We visited them, chose a pen, and were all ready to give them the Twin Translations credit card. The problem? We never heard back from them and they never sent us the proof we requested, even after several e-mails and phone calls. We know what it's like to be a customer, so we make sure to never leave our clients hanging, but that's a topic for another blog post.

Lots of Twin Translations pens

We ended up ordering from one of our favorite stores, U.S.-based Costco, a membership-only warehouse store. While there is a big carbon footprint because the pens ship from the East Coast, the price was right: roughly $0.35/pen if you purchase 300 (which we did). For a very small fee, Costco did the lay-out for us. It was a bit painful to make all the info fit, but the Costco designers were really patient and worked with us until we were happy -- talk about great customer service! Now every time someone digs for a pen during a deposition or meeting, Judy pulls out her cloth bag full of Twin Translations pen and hands them out. People love them -- and at $150 or so, the investment was quite small. 

Dear readers: do you have a favorite promotional item for your business? We'd love to hear about it.

Upcoming Webinar: Pricing Strategies

Conference season is here and we are excited to attend workshops and events around the U.S. and Europe. However, professional development from the comfort of your own home is also fantastic, and Judy is looking forward to presenting a session on "Pricing for Translators" on Monday, October 17, 2011 at 4 p.m. British Summer Time (see the world clock to convert to your time zone). It is being  offered by eCPD Ltd, a very cool  new webinar company run by fellow translators Lucy Brooks and Sarah Dillon. To register for this event, please click here. The cost is £20.


 All you need is a high-speed internet connection and a headset to listen in. Questions from the audience will also be answered at the end of the session (time permitting).


Here is the abstract for this one-hour webinar.


Pricing: it’s a controversial and complex subject, one that’s almost become a taboo in our industry. However, it’s something that all linguists need to think about very seriously. After all, we love what we do, but we also want to make a good living at it. In order to achieve that, while not having to work around the clock, it’s essential to figure out how to price one’s services. In accordance with legal stipulations and regulations from associations around the world, the speaker will not be making specific price recommendations. However, the following will be discussed:

• How much do you want to make?
• Moral/ethical obligations?
• Brief overview of supply, demand and price
• The peanuts/monkeys phenomenon
• Alternatives to very low prices for newcomers to the profession
• The business case for no free translation tests
• Surcharges (weekend, 24-hour turnaround, PDF, etc.)
• Dealing with adversity
• Adjustments for inflation
• The professionalization of the industry – what does it mean for pricing?

Vienna in December

Living room. Can you spot Junia?

As our dear readers know, Dagy lives in Vienna, Austria, while Judy lives in Las Vegas, NV, USA. In spite of this formidable distance, we spend a lot of time together. This year, we've already had more than two months of twin time, and there's more to come: Dagy and her other half are going to spend the Christmas holidays in Las Vegas, which is fantastic. The only challenge: finding a good cat-sitter without breaking the bank. Hence, this blog posting: does one of our colleagues want to cat-sit our friendly cat Junia? In exchange you get to spend the holidays in a gorgeous apartment in Vienna for free. It's truly a magical time to be in Vienna. 

View from the 8th floor

The place is located in the newly hip 12th district in Vienna and is a two-story condo --approximately 1250 sq.ft. There's wi-fi in the entire place, and there's a fully furnished guest room with access to a private interior patio. The sitter would get to use the entire condo (exception: master bedroom). It's located a few minutes' walk from the subway (line 6). Downtown Vienna is roughly 25 minutes away by subway. The dates: December 9th, 2011 through January 9th, 2012 (earlier arrival and/or later departure might also be an option).

Junia in the guest room

We are looking for someone who is very responsible and who truly loves animals, especially cats. You are of course welcome to bring a partner, but no children, please. The condo has two bathrooms. If you are interested or have any questions, please e-mail Dagy.

NOTIS Event in Seattle: Last Day to Sign Up

Time flies -- it's International Translation Day again this Friday! Have a great day, dear translators and interpreters around the world. Many associations are putting on events, parties and get-together to celebrate the event, and we even heard that the Florida association is going on a cruise. 

Judy is happy and honored to have been invited to celebrate our big day by giving two workshops at the Northwest Translators & Interpreters Society in Seattle on October 1st. The full-day workshop will be held at a very unique venue: the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field. A gourmet lunch will be provided by McCormick and Schmick's at no extra charge. In addition, attendees will get post-event access to the museum (included in the cost of workshop registration). Judy will present "No Pain, No Gain: Active Marketing to Direct Clients" and "Web 2.0 for Entrepreneurial Linguists." Today is the last day to sign up! Get started here. 

Handmade Cards for International Translation Day

Back in June, Judy had the pleasure of meeting multi-talented translator Justyna Mackowska in Dublin, Ireland, where Judy gave a presentation at the Irish Translators' and Interpreters' Association. Justyna came bearing gifts: an adorable handmade card with sheep on it (Judy loves fluffy Irish sheep). Now Justyna came out with a fabulous new card in honor of International Translation Day (September 30). Have a very close look at the card -- do you see something that looks familiar? We decided to pick up a few cards to send to some of our friends and wanted to share the information with our readers. These are one-of-a-kind handmade cards -- not the kind of card you could buy at your local store. And no, we have no financial interest: we are just happy customers. To purchase the cards and made secure payments via PayPal, please visit Justyna's Etsy page. 

Online T&I Courses Offered by Prestigious German University

Our dear colleague Bianca Blüchel of Germany just shared this professional development opportunity with us. The well-known Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz at Germersheim is offering  affordable online courses in both translation and interpreting this fall (classes run from October through December). These are for interpreters/translators who have German as one of their working languages (the website is entirely in German), and the line-up of classes is quite fantastic. The best part? You get to attend classes at this renowned institution for a total of 10 weeks (once a week) for EUR 10 a session. Have a look at the available classes here. The technical requirements are quite basic -- all you need is a high-speed internet connection and a headset. All classes are taught by highly qualified instructors and long-time T&I professionals.

Self-Exploitation, Anyone?

We recently learned about the launch of a new website. Its business model made us wonder if the industry has hit a new low. Meet London-based www.sostranslatorchat.com (we are purposely not providing a link to this site, and you will see why).

They seem to find it appalling that translators, just like any other professional service providers, traditionally charge minimum fees. So they set out to change that, offering clients chat-style “translations” at no minimum charge, live and online, whether they need a few words or merely a few sentences (don’t even get us started on the context issue). Info from their website: “Welcome to the first worldwide live system with translators at your fingertips with one click of a button!”

The website in question, sostranslatorchat.com seems to view translators as highly exchangeable commodities whose output is measured and billed by the minute, as if they were phone calls to say, a customer service line. We know that the per-minute billing system is popular in the over-the-phone interpreting world, but we hear that the rates are usually quite fair and professional. However, we are not experts in phone interpreting, so we won't delve into that issue. Back to the website in question. Not surprisingly, there is no information about who is behind this company.

As they are quick to point out, you, as a freelancer, are absolutely free to set your own per-minute rates. At the same time, you are encouraged to stay competitive. Sostranslatorschat claims to have “1500 translators available in all language combinations.” We seriously doubt that, since they’re sending out e-mails recruiting translators left and right.

Thinking about signing up? Think again. It’s translators who are willing to exploit themselves who end up complaining about their dire financial situation, blaming the system they help fuel in the first place. By accepting these terms, you devalue translation services to the detriment of all of us. Know your worth and charge accordingly.

Here’s a thought experiment: imagine that there is a new platform for self-exploitation, but nobody shows up for work. Websites like these will exist as long as there are translators out there willing to work for them. It’s up to all of us to change that. Will you join us?