Monthly Archives: March 2011

Squeezing a translation that’s too long into a space that’s too small – a cheat sheet for beginners

Posted on March 28, 2011 by

So you’ve overtyped the original Word document, but your translation is longer than the original text - and it won’t fit neatly into the available space. What can you do? The most common trick is to drop the point size until the translation … Continue reading →

Posted in Tips 'n tricks | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Translators! Let Stephen Hawking help boost your proofreading productivity

Posted on March 21, 2011 by

Translation can be a wonderfully creative and intellectually stimulating process – but it has its dreary moments too. Pity the poor reviser or proofreader who regularly gets the task of admiring some other translator’s skill after all the inventive fun is over… Such has … Continue reading →

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Would the translation buyer be willing to pay more if you offered to commit harakiri?

Posted on March 14, 2011 by

Not many seem to have tried the idea. So… possibly not. But agreed financial penalties for poor performance (such as money back guarantees) have long been part of the stock-in-trade of modern commerce – although perhaps not common in the language services business. Financial … Continue reading →

Posted in The Multi-factor auction | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

A novel way to communicate a complex idea for a startup with global scope – write the novel!

Posted on March 9, 2011 by

Communicating a new idea for a business startup is not an easy task. A carefully crafted 60-second ”elevator pitch” is the necessary “headline” to create some initial excitement and attract some attention. But then comes the problem of explaining the complexities of how the business … Continue reading →

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An auction for translation services? You must be joking!

Posted on March 7, 2011 by

Would language service providers be eager to compete for work in an online auction? “Not likely!” might be the expected response. Unless… Certainly some big language providers have been lured into competing in reverse auctions. In 2005 Common Sense Advisory … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBorder, The Multi-factor auction | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

OpenBorder CEO Kruger starts raising cash

Posted on March 7, 2011 by

Jamie Kruger is out in the marketplace raising the next round of funding for OpenBorder – a multilingual, multi-currency platform which allows small and medium-sized firms to trade globally – in real time. Jamie has raised the cash before – … Continue reading →

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Real-time, cross-border trading for the language services industry

Posted on March 6, 2011 by

Language service providers (LSPs) are the hidden facilitators of globalization, but their own businesses are typically still locally based. The industry is a fast growing one and it is expected be worth $38 billion by 2013. Great rewards await those LSPs … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBorder | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments