I would like to ask you some questions concerning the importance you attach to the participation in the community of translators on ProZ.com.
What motivated you to join the network?
What benefits/risks are in your opinion related to the usage/membership in the community?
Knowledge is generally seen as private good and most people protect what they have learnt, invested efforts time, and money in. Do you think (and why) that online communities such as ProZ.com make it easier to share what they know?
Do you think that exchanging knowledge/ideas is easier due to the technological changes in recent years and is it a positive phenomenon (for you as a language professional)?
Why (not) is ProZ.com an important tool for you to network and find answers to questions and acquire the state-of-the-art knowledge? What other (online) sources do you use to be up-to-date?
I am interested in these issues as I am a translator myself (however, a beginner), and just writing my Master thesis on online communities of translators at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Currently, I am looking for respondents (mainly in the Netherlands, but also in Germany and Poland) for interviews about the usefulness of this kind of networks so please feel free to contact me if you would like to share your experiences as a user/member of an online community. I'd really appreciate your comments and suggestions.
Many thanks for your feedback!
Best regards,
Agata
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Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 13:28 Member (2008) Italian to English
Too generic
Jan 10, 2011
AgataCh wrote:
Hello members and users of ProZ.com,
I would like to ask you some questions concerning the importance you attach to the participation in the community of translators on ProZ.com.
What motivated you to join the network?
What benefits/risks are in your opinion related to the usage/membership in the community?
Knowledge is generally seen as private good and most people protect what they have learnt, invested efforts time, and money in. Do you think (and why) that online communities such as ProZ.com make it easier to share what they know?
Do you think that exchanging knowledge/ideas is easier due to the technological changes in recent years and is it a positive phenomenon (for you as a language professional)?
Why (not) is ProZ.com an important tool for you to network and find answers to questions and acquire the state-of-the-art knowledge? What other (online) sources do you use to be up-to-date?
I am interested in these issues as I am a translator myself (however, a beginner), and just writing my Master thesis on online communities of translators at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Currently, I am looking for respondents (mainly in the Netherlands, but also in Germany and Poland) for interviews about the usefulness of this kind of networks so please feel free to contact me if you would like to share your experiences as a user/member of an online community. I'd really appreciate your comments and suggestions.
Many thanks for your feedback!
Best regards,
Agata
Hi Agata - I tried to answer your questions but I find them a little too generic. I suggest you break them down a bit more and that you individually number your questions, which will make it easier for others to answer them.
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Annett Hieber Germany Local time: 14:28 Member (2008) English to German
Hello Agata,
Jan 10, 2011
I'll try to answer some of your questions. I'm in the translation business for almost 16 years now and a full member here since 2008.
I was very happy when I discovered that such a platform for translators existed. As translation is a rather lonely work, it is very nice to have the possibility for exchange with other translators, be it virtually or personally. My everyday life is since then much less lonely, and you also have the possibility to meet other translators in person at "powwows" or conferences in person if you like.
Another very positive feature is the information you obtain here. You are always up to date what is currently happening, for example, on the CAT-market plus personal opinions about the pros and cons.
Furthermore, you can help out colleagues via KudoZ with difficult translation terms and vice versa receive their help.
I also have several customers who found me through ProZ although I do not very often bid for the jobs posted here.
All in all I am benefitting very much from ProZ.com and enjoy it as well.
I hope this will help you a little bit in your research!
Annett
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