Emily Taylor's Portfolio

Translation Crowdsourcing: Only Nonprofits Need Apply?

Written on April 17, 2016 – 8:24 am | by Emily Taylor

Seven years ago, LinkedIn made an ill-fated attempt to venture into translation crowdsourcing, a tool many businesses are turning to as a way to reduce the costs, increase the speed, or to expand the scope of their translation projects. LinkedIn sent a survey to 12,000 of its members who had labeled themselves as professionals in the translation field to gauge their interest in volunteer translation.

The LinkedIn group that sprang into existence as a result captures the outrage perfectly: “Translators Against Crowdsourcing for Commercial Business.” LinkedIn is a for-profit company, so many of the professional translators who received the survey felt miffed, or even angry, that it was attempting to solicit translations “for free.”

We have seen similar backlash before.

In 2010, Gap responded via Facebook to overwhelming criticism following the unveiling of its new logo (right) with:

Thanks for everyone’s input on the new logo! We’ve had the same logo for 20+ years, and this is just one of the things we’re changing. We know this logo created a lot of buzz and we’re thrilled to see passionate debates unfolding! So much so we’re asking you to share your designs. We love our version, but we’d like to see other ideas. Stay tuned for details in the next few days on this crowd sourcing project.

Gap attempted to pose the proposed crowdsourcing project as a community activity – a way to engage its fans and demonstrate that the company cares. Designers, however, viewed it as exploitation, and Gap became a punching bag on Facebook and Twitter. Days later, the company admitted its mistake, and the crowdsourcing project never saw the light of day.

Even Facebook, whose innovative translation crowdsourcing project is now often cited as a model of success, faced opposition. In fact, the backlash led to the formation of a Facebook group called “Leave Translation to Translators!” protesting the use of volunteer translation.

I have written about Google Translate’s crowdsourcing before as well; it is an excellent model that makes translating fun and addictive. And yet even Google is not immune to crowdsourcing gaffs.

Meanwhile, nonprofits seem to fare extremely well with crowdsourcing, including translation crowdsourcing.

Duolingo, Mozilla, Wikipedia, TED – all have attracted professional translators to volunteer their time for free. Why? For the greater good: to make the Internet and its content more available to people across the globe. Translators do not need to question the motives (and ethics) of nonprofits who call for volunteers. It’s fun –  and sexy – to make the world a better place by volunteering for nonprofits.

That is great for nonprofits, but the sentiment among many seems to be: Companies that make a profit should pay for translations.

What’s the takeaway here? Certainly, for-profit companies such as LinkedIn may face opposition from their communities when they request what is seen as, well, translation work for free. However, I believe that they can be just as successful as non-profits, so long as they accept that not everyone will be responsive to the call to volunteer, and, most importantly, keep in mind the motivations of their members.

What is the motivation of members, specifically translation professional, on LinkedIn? For some, to find work. For others, to network.

How cool would be it if LinkedIn gave your profile a badge indicating that you had helped translate its content?

It would be a resume boost for some, especially those just starting out with no work experience. Many employers love to see candidates that have relevant volunteer experience, and for positions related to localization crowdsourcing, they might even require it. An official badge on your LinkedIn page would be a gold star for these candidates. And of course, it would be a way to connect to others. If I were viewing the LinkedIn page of a new acquaintance after, say, a networking event, and I saw that she also has a LinkedIn volunteer badge, that is another conversation point I can use next time I meet her.

LinkedIn has the potential to be just as successful in translation crowdsourcing as Facebook is, so long as they do it in a way that benefits its community. While some may cry foul since LinkedIn is a for-profit company, let’s face it: translation crowdsourcing is no longer uniquely the realm of nonprofits. LinkedIn, my advice to you is this: you can be the next big translation crowdsourcing success, but always remember your community. They want to feel important and appreciated. Make sure they feel both. And don’t mind the haters.