String Update - Part 1

Hi String users, a few brief updates!

The good news
Master view is now updated. This includes the following improvements:

• - Right-click menu for adding dividers/keys and deleting keys
• - Completely overhauled interface including keyboard shortcuts
• - Batch modify master strings
• - Comment notification options updated
• - Faster loading of keys
• - Easy switching between master and slave views
• - You can now copy the master key to the master string. This is useful for gettext / PO users who start with .pot files.
• - .csv file format support (as used by Magento)
• - beta support for MovableType's language file format

Slave view improvements:

• - Faster loading
• - Comment notification options updated

Other improvements:

• - Fixes to the invite URLs (some emails sent had extra characters which were screwing up the URL)

From our initial feedback from senior translators, this is a massive improvement. We hope you feel the same way too.

The not-so-good news
Inline ordering is not quite ready - sorry! A few more bug-fixes and we should be releasing it this next week.  Stay tuned!

Tags: string updates

Posted 11am, Tuesday 31st August, 2010 by Matthew Romaine

A letter from India

We've been a bit quiet on the blog lately due to an incredibly busy July improving String and growing our Translate platform.  August is looking even more exciting - lots of great announcements for both customers and translators - but we just received an email that had to be shared.

I read your report and found it pretty useful. With machine translation and Google translation being so popular, I have always been worried about the future. Thanks to your report, it looks like at least till 2016, I have nothing to worry. I found the report very informative and useful.

What I liked about your site is that it is so honest about the rates upfront! What is so surprising is that these rates are from a company in Tokyo!

I am a French to English translator based in Mumbai, and have about 5 years of experience. Earlier was a technical writer for 20 years, mostly with American companies.

Best wishes.

Gurudutt Kamath

It's always exciting to know we're reaching a global audience from a little island called Japan.  While we strive to excite as many people as possible, we know the myGengo concept has ruffled a few feathers along the way.  Messages like these are another source of fuel to help us bring you the best product and service we can build.

Thanks, and keep 'em coming :)

Posted 2pm, Wednesday 4th August, 2010 by Matthew Romaine

String - Updates Coming Soon!

Thanks for trying out String!
(If you haven't yet, check out http://mygengo.com/string to create and manage multi-language sites)
The Beta of String has been successful so far - but we know it's not perfect yet!
We've had a lot of great feedback that will help us create a much better app.
 
You can help us even more by telling us your view, at:
http://getsatisfaction.com/mygengo/products/mygengo_string
 
String Update coming soon
We're launching a significant update to String soon, which will include the following:

• String + API connection so you can order human translation within String
• Much improved editing interface (Keyboard shortcuts, better UI, batch processing)
• More reliable progress bars
• More import formats (.resx anyone?)
• Better export options (e.g. auto-fill empty keys)
• and more...

You'll love the myGengo API - http://mygengo.com/services/api
We recently launched an API which allows you to plug human translation into any website or app. String is good for static content - but for your dynamic content the API is a really sexy solution. Customers are using the API within content management systems, for e-commerce, and for article and listings content, so that they can order and receive human translation efficiently within their own UI.
 
If you have specific questions that you'd like support for, feel free to write to us at support@mygengo.zendesk.com

Tags: string

Posted 6pm, Thursday 1st July, 2010 by Robert Laing

Be a part of an exciting Internet startup!

myGengo is looking for a bilingual Intern!

This is your chance to be part of an exciting Internet startup in Tokyo. If you're into languages, communication, and technology and seek a challenging environment with a mission to breakdown online communication barriers, there's really no hotter place to be than at myGengo. We're still very small, very influential, and we want your help in getting the whole world talking.

Here's the link to send in your application: https://www.survs.com/survey/EQTM1D7NG9

You are:
A college student or recent graduate
Native and Fluent in English (and proficient in Japanese)
Punctual, reliable, confident, positive, proactive and organized
Excited about a career in the web

You have:
Great writing skills
Good computer skills (but you don't need to be a programmer)
Good teamwork, but you are able to work independently too

You'll do this:
Write and edit new website and blog content
Spread the word about myGengo online and in the real world
Help us review translation tests
Give amazing customer support

You'll get:
Expenses paid (up to Y1000/day)
A foot in the door at a company that's going places
Something on your CV that will be important
The opportunity to learn loads - we are interested in helping you too!

You'll learn (and get way more than an internship at a big corporation):
A sense of achievement as you see myGengo grow
You'll do much more interesting work (no photocopying!)
You'll learn a lot more, because you'll be on the front line

Where?
Sendagaya (Map)

Commitment
2-5 days a week
If you are available for a longer period, part time, that's great!


https://www.survs.com/survey/EQTM1D7NG9

Tags: application internship mygengo

Posted 1pm, Wednesday 12th May, 2010 by Jennifer Richardson

API featured on TechCrunch

TechCrunch has picked up our news about the launch of our API.

Check out the full article here: http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/29/mygengos-new-api-lets-you-plug-human-translation-into-websites-and-apps/

Thanks for featuring us, guys!

Tags: api press

Posted 12am, Friday 30th April, 2010 by Robert Laing

Our “Translation Box™” (API) lets you plug human translation into any application.

We've just launched our “Translation Box” - an API that allows you to order and receive high-quality human translation directly within any application. We're making the announcement simultaneously in English and Japanese.

Here's more info - but head over to these pages to get the full scoop:

Developers: http://mygengo.com/services/api
Non-technical people: http://mygengo.com/services/api/translation-box

What is an API?

An API creates a direct link between a website and myGengo. Websites already use APIs to display things like maps, Twitter feeds, stock quotes or payment processing. Now you can use an API to get on-demand human translation within your existing systems - rather than copying and pasting text into an order form, or constantly emailing translators. 

Example uses of the Translation Box (API)

• E-commerce website owners will use the API to automatically send myGengo product descriptions to be translated, and automatically insert translations into their site, attracting foreign customers.
• Intranet site owners can automatically send articles for translation within the system, the moment they are published - fostering internal communication across countries.
• Community sites can re-sell human translation to their users, and earn a revenue share.

For more information about the Translation Box (API), visit http://mygengo.com/services/api/translation-box

Connecting to the API is free. Translation prices are best-in-industry

There is no license fee for using the API. Customers only pay when they order human translation - at myGengo's prices which start at $0.05/word. Switching to the API from a traditional agency solution could save a business as much as 70%, with additional benefits in efficiency, speed and volume. Website owners can also receive machine translation through the API for free if they choose.

Our API opens up a huge new revenue model

Websites using the API may re-sell translation on to their users, earning a markup. This is an exciting, non-advertising-based revenue model. For example, sites that display user-generated content can offer human translation to their users, so that they can publish in other languages. 

Our API offers capacity and quality

Unlike many other online translation providers, myGengo insists on pre-testing translators before they can work for the service. myGengo has a team of 800+ translators - all who have passed the company's proprietary qualifications. myGengo does not offer time guarantees, but normally turns around short jobs within a couple of hours - far faster than traditional services.

Our API is launching with code libraries for all major programming languages

To give developers a head-start, code libraries for PHP, Ruby, Java, C#, Perl and Python are provided for free. Any programmer will be able to use the API within their app without outside assistance.

Any questions? Send us a mail at support@mygengo.zendesk.com

Tags: announcements api

Posted 7pm, Monday 26th April, 2010 by Robert Laing

New Feature: Comment thread with job status embedded

Hello everyone, I realize we've been rather quiet on the blog but just know it's for good reason.  We'll be making a number of big announcements over the next few weeks, but I wanted to briefly point out an enhancement to the comment thread for each job.

Previously it was difficult to follow the workflow of a translation job.  As of last week's release, we have embedded job statuses within comment threads.  This should give customers and translators a much better idea of the sequence of changes a job went through, and the discussion that went on around it.

The screenshot example below is from a customer's viewpoint.  A job was made available, a brief comment exchange occurred between translator and customer, then Translator #1505 accepted ("picked up") the job.  The job was then completed by the translator ("made available for review"), and then automatically approved by the system as 72 hours had passed.

We hope this addition helps you - whether you're a customer or translator - better understand the workflow for each job you are involved with.  We continue to receive great ideas for improvement from our users so if you have one, don't hesitate to let us know through our contact form.  Thanks!

Tags: feature new

Posted 8pm, Monday 5th April, 2010 by Matthew Romaine

@myGengo’s @ translations

Since October 2009, myGengo has been translating celebrity tweets and as of March 2010, we have thousands of followers reading and tweeting about our Twitter Translations.

For your convenience, I thought I would take this opportunity to put together a list of our twitter translation accounts so that you can access them readily:

@HatoyamaYukio
English: @hatoyama_y_en

@BarackObama
Japanese: @BarackObama_ja

@aplusk
Japanese: @aplusk_ja

@cnnbrk
Japanese: @cnnbrk_ja

@kazuyo_k
English: @kazuyo_k_en

@ParisHilton
Japanese: @ParisHilton_ja

If you happen to follow any of our twitter translation accounts, why not RT and tell your own followers? The more people we have following these accounts, the more we'll be able to build a community on Twitter, and break down those language barriers!

Happy tweeting!
 

Tags: mygengo translation twitter

Posted 6pm, Friday 26th March, 2010 by Jennifer Richardson

New York Times Profiles Google Translate

Google Translate was featured this week in the Technology section of the New York Times. The article examines the endless possibilities and the impressive manpower and resources that Google and its Translate service has. In particular, Google has some interesting new features in the works, like translating auto-generated captions on Youtube videos, voice-to-voice translations for mobile phones running Google's Android OS, and taking pictures of non-English menus and getting it translated instantly.

All this technology is exciting and interesting, but the article glances over the disadvantages and shortcomings of machine translation. There's no denying the fact that Google Translate is getting better, but the accuracy and reliability of its translations still have a long ways to go. The article also features an interesting compare-and-contrast graphic of translations by Google Translate, human translators and other machine translation tools, but it's curious that Chinese, the most ubiquitous language, and Japanese, the language of the world's second largest economy, isn't used as examples (And let's not forget that English into and from Japanese/Chinese are notorious for generating some amusing translation results).

The article also portrays the industry with human translators on one end of the spectrum and automated machine translation tools on the other. It doesn't mention the new trends emerging in the middle, which (I think at least) is a lot more interesting and intriguing.

For more information check out:
"Google's Toolkit for translators helps feed its machine" on Bits Blog
"Google Chrome Translator vs. Microsoft Bing and Yahoo Babel Fish" on PC World
"Need a translation? Google awaits your call" on LA Times
"Franz Josef Och, Google's translation uber-scientist, talks about Google Translate" on LA Times
"Show and Translate YouTube Captions" on Matt Cutts: Gadgets, Google, and SEO

Tags: google machine translation new technology new york times

Posted 10am, Friday 12th March, 2010 by Jennifer Richardson

Is the Twitter glass half-empty or half-full?

We found an interesting article on TechCrunch this week that grabbed our attention. It said "Only 50% of Twitter messages are in English," and it's based on the research conducted by Semiocast who found that 50% of Twitter messages are in English, with Japanese at 14%, Portuguese at 9%, Malay at 6% and Spanish at 4%. It's great that ONLY half of users are now speaking in English (especially considering that the number was at 75% last year) and that the Twitter phenomenon is truly going global. But it's also hard to ignore that on the flip side, 50% of Twitter messages ARE STILL in English and that this "global" phenomenon is mostly speaking English. The number of non-English Twitter users are growing, and it's both remarkable and encouraging. But the internet has a long way to go to fully and accurately represent non-English language content online, which is something we discussed in greater detail in our Translation Report last year.

myGengo is doing its part to bridge the gap between non-English and English speakers alike with Twitter Translations. And if you happen to follow any of our twitter translation accounts, tell your own followers! The more people we have following these accounts, the more we'll be able to build a community on Twitter, and break down those language barriers!

Happy tweeting!


For more information, check out:
"Half of Twitter Tweets Not in English, Study Finds" on LA Times Blog
"Twitter Migrates into Mulitlingual Markets" on Global Watchtower
"Coming Soon: Twitter in More Languages" on Twitter Blog

Posted 6pm, Thursday 25th February, 2010 by Jennifer Richardson