[Propeller] Hats Off to the MadWorld 2013 Team

It’s been about a week now since the MadWorld 2013 Worldwide User Conference has wrapped up, and I thought I would put together some thoughts on the event.

When first hearing about the event, I was immediately excited for several reasons. Not only am I a certified MadCap Advanced Developer, but am also a huge fan of all MadCap products. I was really looking forward to the opportunity of meeting other MadCap users in person and being able to share mutual experiences/challenges. I also knew it would be a great learning event and a way to take my “Mad Skills” to the next level. The Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, California was a great destination, especially after what seemed to be an endless winter in the east. 

Having said all this, I was still not 100% certain of the level of success I would experience. After all, developing and marketing a great product is one thing, but hosting over 200 users hungry for knowledge and insight about that product is something else entirely. 

It wasn’t long before I determined which direction my expectations should go.

Upon arriving at the hotel, I immediately knew I was in the right place. Behind the check-in desk was a floor-to-ceiling by 20 feet wide animated graphic of the MadWorld imagery. After visiting the registration table, I received a conference package that included a lanyard (aka backstage pass – after all we were at The Hard Rock Hotel), that granted me access to all MadWorld functions for the entire conference. For a few days, this self-proclaimed techno-geek turned rock star. For each special event I simply had to show my pass to security to hang out with all the cool people, (a la Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar in Wayne’s World).

Getting things started was the opening kick off event that was held on one of the hotel’s roof-top bars. For me this was my first chance to meet in person many MadCap Software team members who I have interacted with via the phone and internet. It also was my first opportunity to meet many other MadCap users. One thing that struck me right away was the number of people who traveled great distances to attend. This truly was a worldwide event. I met people from Australia, Denmark, the UK, Canada, as well as of course people from all over the US. The conversation was stimulating and the food and drink was exceptional. After that evening the stage was set for a productive conference to begin in the morning.

We began each morning with a wonderful breakfast of fresh fruit, pastries, bacon and eggs, etc. Each meal also was another opportunity to meet more colleagues. Finally the conference opened with an exceptional PowerPoint presentation highlighting the MadCap Software timeline musically accompanied with “Back in Black” by AC/DC, (again, the ever present reminder of our location). Founder and CEO of MadCap Software, Anthony Olivier, opened the conference with a few remarks, then introduced the conference keynote speaker, comedian – Wayne Cotter.

I have to admit, when I first heard that Wayne was going to be giving the keynote address, I was equally excited and perplexed. I have been a fan of Wayne’s for many years. It wasn’t until the kick-off event when talking to MadCap team members I learned that Wayne has a background in electrical engineering. He was a techno-geek just like me! Wayne was very funny and he is the consummate professional. He made himself available over the first 24 hours of the conference and I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with him and tell him how much I enjoyed him over the years. Wayne said that he does a lot of corporate speaking engagements now and I would highly recommend him.

The highlight of the conference and the main reason I was there was the sessions. The session presenters were the true “rock stars” of the conference. For each session time slot, attendees could choose from four different topics that ranged from basic to advanced levels of expertise. Most of the sessions that I attended dealt with the topic of translation/localization. The topics ranged from managing translation work flows, to how controlled language can save time and money in translation. One of the reasons I love using MadCap is it is very well suited for localizing projects through the use of MadCap Lingo. Each of the sessions I attended were excellent and highlighted many things that we are already doing as well as a few nuances that we can immediately implement. These will help us refine our processes and procedures and allow us to provide our clients with even better service and quality.

During the conference farewell event, MadCap asked attendees if anyone would like to make any comments regarding the event. The response was overwhelming. There must have been a dozen people compelled to say positive things like how great the sessions and presenters were, how great the venue was, and what a great job the MadCap team did, among other positive affirmations. If anyone was on the fence about going to MadWorld this year, I would say if you are a MadCap user in any capacity, I would highly recommend going next year. Many people commented that this was by far the best conference of any kind they had been to, and I have to agree. The MadWorld 2014 team has a very difficult task in trying to surpass what has been achieved at this year’s event.

In keeping with the conference theme, I raise my lit lighter…ah wait…I mean my iPhone, to the MadCap Team for a wonderful experience.

Ken Nagy, Vice President
Confluent Translations

Looking Back on the Last 20 Years in the Translation Industry

There were a lot of changes in the translation industry over the last 20 years, partly because of advancements in technology, manufacturing, medical research, economic issues, and competition. Here are the ten biggest areas that saw change:

1. Going from a cottage industry to being listed on the stock exchange; translation is a big business.
2. What seems like more translation service providers for companies to choose from is actually European, Chinese and Indian translation agencies marketing in the United States. Having seen the potential and growth in the United States translation market, they strategically set their sights on it which has driven down the cost and quality resulting in confusion, lack of trust, and costly mistakes by translation buyers.
3. FIGS (French, Italian, German and Spanish) gave way to companies having a standard of upwards to 23 official languages that they produce all material in (FIGS, plus Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Swedish, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Czech, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Indonesian, or Hindi)
4. Translators are professionally trained, certified and tech savvy. One can no longer expect that just knowing a foreign language is good enough to be a translator. There are translation degrees, industry guidelines and explicit ISO and ASTM guidelines for translators.
5. What was once considered not worth translating is now required, such as product labeling, instructions for use, and clinical study material. The localization of a product’s software, displays and help files are built into the cost of the product. Software developers cannot just rely on having the translation of manuals as being good enough to sell the product.
6. Translation memory software is not a monopoly and there are options available for both agencies and translators which are, for the most part, fully compatible with each other.
7. We have evolved from delivering hardcopy translations by mail or overnight delivery, to faxing them, to email and electronic delivery via ftp sites, using different types of desktop publishing software that was not available 20 years ago.
8. Project Management tools developed and marketed specifically to the translation industry, as well as a real sales force in place for most translation service providers.
9. Translation for use in the United States has increased. Stores in the United States like Wal-Mart, Sears, and Home Depot have bilingual signage and some stores require product packaging to be bilingual. There are communities of Russian, Arabic and Indian speakers that state school systems must be able to teach, communicate and test students as well as offer English as a second language programs.
10. More material requires translation. It is not just the legal contracts to export material or printed sales sheets and advertisements. There are different types of methods we use to communicate with now. Consider the importance of the internet and web sites, e-learning, podcasts, voice command technology and apps used in today’s society. Customers use the web site to find people to do business with and even buy products directly. That information needs to be translated to gain more market share. Companies have more global offices and need to effectively train their employees with online materials, PowerPoint slides, or communicate vital information via podcasts.

Significant Countries in the Middle East to Conduct Business

Many companies shy away from marketing or working with companies in the Modern Middle East. They hesitate because of the political climate, restrictions, culture, and language barriers. However, there may be untapped opportunities waiting if you can be patient, follow protocol and reach out to the many resources for help.

The easiest country to enter is Israel as they speak English and act as a bridge between Asia, Europe and the rest of the Middle East. It is a small market but there is a strong interest in the military and medical industries as well as a large tourist market. Although they speak English, Hebrew and Arabic are the official languages of Israel.

Jordan is almost completely landlocked. Oman is a very Western city and key markets include safety and security, medical, water and environmental. Arabic is the official language, but like Israel, English is widely understood by upper and middle classes. Jordan has more Free Trade Agreements than any other Arab country, including signed FTAs with the European Union, the United States, Canada, Syria, Algeria, Tunisia, Singapore, Malaysia and Libya. Primary imports include crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, iron, and cereals.

The United States’ second most important trading partner is Egypt. Business is stable and has the most diverse economy of the Middle East, with tourism being the strongest industry followed by agriculture. Since Egypt does not have a large industrial base, they import almost all of their capital goods like machinery and equipment. Food represents about 20% of its imports and other products and services include those related to the petrochemical, medical and the pharmaceutical industries. It is one of the most populous countries in the Middle East.

Tunisia is the smallest country in Northern Africa and is very modern oriented with 54% of its population under the age of 30. Agriculture is the main business sector, with exports going to France with whom they have close relations through economic cooperation, industrial modernization, and privatization programs. Tunisia has an association agreement with the European Union and it remains Tunisia's first trading partner. Primary imports include textiles, machinery and equipment, and chemicals. Arabic is the official language but due to the former French occupation, French also plays a major role in the country.

Remember, do your homework, get help, be responsive to contacts and leads, make sure you are understood even if English is spoken, and avoid cultural blunders.

Five Common Website Translation Mistakes

When translating and localizing websites there are many decisions that seem simple enough and you would think they would not create problems. However, depending on how the process is handled, they may lead to unforeseen issues. Here are five of the most common website localization mistakes. Fortunately these are the easiest to correct.

1. Using flags for language pull down menus

• Some languages cover several countries so there is no unified flag that can be used without being offensive or political incorrect. Two great examples of this are countries that speak Spanish and Arabic.  This only works if you have representatives in those countries, and the website is hosted in that country, or your company only conducts business in a particular country.
• Using flags can be rather assumptive. Believe it or not, many people would not know their own flag. 
• It can lead to inaccuracy. In Belgium, they speak French and Flemish. In Switzerland, French, German and Italian.  So, you need to decide what language you use for these countries, or have an additional drop down menu for the choice of language. It gets complicated.

2. Using the name of a country for language pull down menus

• Again, this could be inaccurate and you may inadvertently insult your audience and create the same issues as using a flag.
• If, however, you directly sell a product in a particular country like France and do not offer shipments to Madagascar, Rwanda or any of the other 29 countries where French is the official language, then the country name may be best.

3. Using the name of the language or country in English in the pull down menu

• If you took the time to translate the content, you should be sensitive enough to translate the name of the language or country so end users can easily find the translation.
• Do not assume that everyone knows enough English well to find their language in English. It is best to be culturally sensitive and inclusive not exclusive.

4. Misuse of foreign language capitalization

• In the English language, we capitalize language names. However, other languages do not follow the same rules. English speakers capitalize the “s” in Spanish and the translation would be español. Whereas, the “d” in Deutsch is capitalized in German.
• Foreign languages do not use initial capital letters in headlines.  For example, English:  Sale Items, French:  Articles en vente.
• Websites cannot be consistent in the use of capitalization or even the treatment of fonts for emphasis without the possibility of the layout changing.

5. Not verifying whether or not foreign language characters will display properly in all applications

• Be sure to test the localized website content before going live in all viewing applications so that double-byte languages like Japanese or Chinese do not show up as all squares or with random strange characters within it.
• This may mean that some languages will need to be treated as graphics to make sure they are properly displayed.

For further help and to have your website checked for any issues or mistakes contact Nancy Cardone at ncardone@confluenttranslations.com. Make sure your first impression is a good impression.

Dining with One Young World Delegates

One Young World brought more than 1,300 young adults to Pittsburgh from over 180 countries for a four-day summit designed to bring a youthful perspective to important global issues. The World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh did an amazing job organizing the One Young World Pittsburgh Partnership event. Thanks to the hard work of Melanie Gulasy and Steve Sokol the event truly showcased Pittsburgh.

The delegates had a chance to interact at dozens of breakout sessions with their peers to discuss health, education, business and human rights issues, to name a few. One Young World brought global leaders to guide their deliberations, including a kick off on Thursday night by former President Bill Clinton. The summit, held in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, wrapped up on Sunday with a series of speakers, including former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Confluent Translations took part in hosting one of the many community dinners held around the region on Saturday, October 20th. Delegates from Finland, India, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States joined us at Café Zinho for a truly memorable dinner. Their enthusiasm and excitement proved why they are considered the emerging leaders of the world.

The food was incredible and the conversation was lively. There were many different types of fish on the menu and describing them proved interesting. We shared some Pittsburgh fun facts and answered the delegates’ questions on how Pittsburgh was able to reposition itself as a leader in health, education and technology. The delegates shared with us their perspectives on the discussions they took part in, such as business ethics that are common to EC countries and the United States but are non-existent in countries where there is bribery and even death threats.

We asked what surprised them most about Pittsburgh and overwhelmingly it was how friendly Pittsburghers were. The young women from Spain and India marveled over the beautiful colors of our fall foliage. Interestingly, the delegates from the United States and the United Kingdom were surprised by how clean the city was, still having the impression of our steel-town heritage. Special thanks to volunteer Janine Hannan, who was responsible for the group’s logistics. We were affectionately calling her the delegates’ den mother by the end of the evening.

The One Young World Summit will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2013. We wish them continued success in grooming our young leaders of tomorrow. It was a once-in-a-life time opportunity to help showcase Pittsburgh and meet those shaping the course of the world.

Trust

An important thing to consider when establishing any business relationship is trust. No matter what industry, people expect confidentiality of proprietary information, exact quoting and billing procedures, an experienced and honest staff, and feel valued as a customer and that their best interests are being looked out for.

It is a shame that price many times means more than working with the best suited and honest company, which in the end sacrifices the quality of material and quite possibly safety of individuals. 

Is it because of the current economic climate that people can’t see the forest through the trees? Some clients only care about saving money on a key product component. However, over time it could equate to only .00002% of all products sold. What if one person dies from the use of that product as a result of the inadequate component? Would the cost savings be worth it then?

That is the reality when selling and purchasing translation services. Okay, maybe that is a drastic comparison that only happen s in extreme circumstances. Something else to think about is, what happens if people miss use the product, a product gets recalled, your company gets a poor rating, or your company name is in headlines and on YouTube for a comedy of errors? What impact does that have on your brand? Is the cost savings on one component really worth it?

There are many reputable translation companies. Unfortunately, people only talk about those that are “less than honest,”  persuade, entice, agree to poor methodologies, low ball and fudge pricing to beat out competitors, make claims on services, and ultimately deliver poor quality  performed by less than qualified translators.

Why do people go with these types of companies? Are decision makers not given all the facts? Are they not asking the right questions of their vendors? Are they not taking things other than price into consideration when making decisions? Do they think there really is an easier way? Did someone get paid off at some level? Are people tired of doing what it right? Is it truly all about the money? Do they not care about the consequences?

Ultimately, people get what they pay for. It is a shame people listen to this type of guidance, get burned in the end and assume all vendors are created equal. They are not. Luckily, clients still exist that see value in what a reputable translation service provides. We promise never to be discouraged from doing what is honest, fair and in the best interest of the client. It all comes down to trust.

Be Prepared When Going Abroad

Since the economic collapse of 2008 businesses are realizing the need to explore international opportunities. They may become extinct without adapting.

For example, a local manufacturing company with a revolutionary product and virtually no competition for the past 20 years now has a competitor in the Netherlands with a similar product. Slowly this competitor is taking a large portion of their business from China by translating their operator manuals – their differentiating factor. The local company did not want to spend money to translate it and felt the Chinese would understand the English. English is actually third to Chinese and Spanish of the languages spoken throughout the world.

A local consultant to businesses expanding into China was hired after a company made a costly mistake sending an engineer to China to give training on the production of a product without an interpreter. The engineer gave his presentation and everyone smiled, nodded and said yes when he asked if they understood. Unfortunately, he did not realize until the product prototype was done incorrectly and he engaged the consultant, that the Chinese were only being polite and spoke very little English.

Cultural misunderstandings happen frequently because international preparation is always an afterthought. Why aren’t people better prepared? The reasons range from wrongly assuming everyone speaks English, fear of the unknown, it is complicated, there’s no time, or it costs too much money.

There are many companies, not just the fortune 500, who successfully compete globally because they are prepared. They take advantage of local seminars and support or add internal staff to keep abreast of international markets. They may hire cultural trainers to coach employees before international meetings and engage a professional translation company for translation and interpreting services.

Companies getting started should reach out to their local resources such as small business development centers or attend international certification courses. A good place to start is the SBA’s website: http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/managing-business/exporting-importing. Many international programs are now being offered because American products are sought after globally with a huge potential for financial success. Check for federal grant money and other initiatives for trade missions which are a great way to explore international opportunities economically. For example in Pennsylvania, there is a state initiative called the TechExport program where companies can apply for up to $5,000 in federal grant money for translation and trade show missions.

You still need to be prepared when going on a trade mission or looking to expand business internationally. It is important to know local business laws, tax structures, export regulations and product required localization. To communicate effectively, have your business card and a one-page company profile translated into the country specific foreign language in which you want to do business, i.e. Simplified Chinese for mainland China. This shows respect and that you are serious about a business relationship, which will gain trust.

The next step would be to start with the translation of some of your product literature, marketing collateral or a portion of your website for additional sales support. A misconception is that everything must be done at once. Start small and do a little at a time. Once you get a sale you may be able to add in the cost of translation to the actual production cost for any support documentation.

In conclusion, plan ahead, utilize resources, seek grant funding and do research to develop an international strategy manageable for your business size and budget. After all, it's your reputation on the line. What international business is out there for your company?