Search by 'Last posted "What I'm working on now'? Thread poster: Lincoln Hui
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Lincoln Hui 
Hong Kong
Local time: 08:26
Member
Chinese to English
+ ...
Are you sure this is a good idea?
| | | | | Another means of detecting/evaluating active specialists | Aug 30, 2017 |
The "What I am working on now" feature is one way to share the kinds of projects one works on, tools used, etc. Entries are also searchable by language pair and keywords at https://www.proz.com/wiwo/ . From the standpoint of someone looking for a translator or interpreter for a specific project, it can also be a way to further evaluate candidates areas of expertise, and an indicator that they are actively work... See more The "What I am working on now" feature is one way to share the kinds of projects one works on, tools used, etc. Entries are also searchable by language pair and keywords at https://www.proz.com/wiwo/ . From the standpoint of someone looking for a translator or interpreter for a specific project, it can also be a way to further evaluate candidates areas of expertise, and an indicator that they are actively working in those areas. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:26
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Jared Tabor wrote: The "What I am working on now" feature is one way to share the kinds of projects one works on, tools used, etc. Entries are also searchable by language pair and keywords at https://www.proz.com/wiwo/ . From the standpoint of someone looking for a translator or interpreter for a specific project, it can also be a way to further evaluate candidates areas of expertise, and an indicator that they are actively working in those areas.
The catch here is that a dishonest translator can make up interesting-looking jobs and post them on a regular basis. In fact I might do it myself. Why not?
PS and believe me, there are plenty of dishonest people hanging out on this site.
[Edited at 2017-08-30 16:55 GMT]
| | | | | Indicators, not replacements for the screening process | Aug 30, 2017 |
Tom in London wrote:
The catch here is that a dishonest translator can make up interesting-looking jobs and post them on a regular basis. In fact I might do it myself. Why not?
For those who purposely try to deceive in that regard, you could do the same with your forum posts, profile information, and so on, I imagine. Most do not, and are simply looking for ways of better marketing their services to the right clients. These different indicators of activity or expertise are of course no replacement for the screening processes clients may use before beginning to work with someone new. They do make it potentially easier for the right client - service provider connections to happen.
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:26
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Jared Tabor wrote:
Most do not.....
Sure. But in a narrow field of expertise, for example mine, it only takes one cheater to skew the results for everyone else. And I do expect it to happen. It's dog eat dog in the translation market - as you probably know. So I agree with Lincoln: "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
[Edited at 2017-08-30 18:03 GMT]
| | | | Roni_S
Slovakia
Local time: 02:26
Slovak to English
I can't help it but to me, this particular feature has a cheap and very unprofessional feel. A bit like, hey, look, I'm tweeting what I'm having for dinner. Something you do on social media, not on a professional site where I assume people take their profession seriously.
But then again, that's just me. Maybe everyone could take selfies of themselves working on what they're working on now.
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Tom in London wrote: Jared Tabor wrote: The "What I am working on now" feature is one way to share the kinds of projects one works on, tools used, etc. Entries are also searchable by language pair and keywords at https://www.proz.com/wiwo/ . From the standpoint of someone looking for a translator or interpreter for a specific project, it can also be a way to further evaluate candidates areas of expertise, and an indicator that they are actively working in those areas. The catch here is that a dishonest translator can make up interesting-looking jobs and post them on a regular basis. In fact I might do it myself. Why not?
It COULD 'also be a way to further evaluate candidates areas of expertise, and an indicator that they are actively working in those areas', IF those entries were verified/verifiable and IF the search did allow you to specify a specialty for WIWO entries, and that's not the case on either count, as far as I could see...
Jared Tabor wrote:
For those who purposely try to deceive in that regard, you could do the same with your forum posts, profile information, and so on, I imagine. Most do not, and are simply looking for ways of better marketing their services to the right clients. These different indicators of activity or expertise are of course no replacement for the screening processes clients may use before beginning to work with someone new. They do make it potentially easier for the right client - service provider connections to happen.
You can't filter translators in the directory based on posts, and other entries, such as credentials, memberships, identity, WWAs, etc. can actually be verified...
This search option (just like the "social feature" it's based upon) says nothing about quality and is totally open to manipulation and plain falsification. What's more, it also creates an irrational differentiation even among the ones who use it. Those who post a WIWO each single day would appear in each WIWO-related search (i.e. day/week/month/any time intervals), while someone who posts a WIWO every x days/weeks/months (maybe because they're just working on a big project or forgot to change their status... erm, 'WIWO') would only appear if the "correct" option is selected...
Marketing is one thing if we do it, but making it a chore for us doesn't seem the way to go...
You already had a perfectly working "project history" feature (which also allows for corroboration by outsourcers) that you could have used to implement a meaningful search option with details such as specialties and even keywords (if you really thought that was necessary...).
| | | | | It's not just you... | Aug 30, 2017 |
Roni_S wrote: I can't help it but to me, this particular feature has a cheap and very unprofessional feel. A bit like, hey, look, I'm tweeting what I'm having for dinner. Something you do on social media, not on a professional site where I assume people take their profession seriously. But then again, that's just me. Maybe everyone could take selfies of themselves working on what they're working on now.
I mean: "This is a feature that enables translators to share descriptions with each other of the projects they are currently working on. It can be used to share experiences with colleagues", and you can also add photos, because "Including an image can be fun, and draw more attention to your post"... As you were saying, it's totally "something you do on social media".
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Lincoln Hui
Hong Kong
Local time: 08:26
Member
Chinese to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Matter of principle | Aug 31, 2017 |
Jared Tabor wrote: The "What I am working on now" feature is one way to share the kinds of projects one works on, tools used, etc. Entries are also searchable by language pair and keywords at https://www.proz.com/wiwo/ . From the standpoint of someone looking for a translator or interpreter for a specific project, it can also be a way to further evaluate candidates areas of expertise, and an indicator that they are actively working in those areas.
I see it as a feature that was designed to be more or less for fun, and that's the way it should stay. To me the social media functions and the professional functions of the site should stay apart from each other. It also looks like a rather clumsy way to try to make members participate in something that many have mixed feelings about.
Filtering by Kudoz participation would make more sense, AND I'M NOT ADVOCATING THAT.
[Edited at 2017-08-31 03:22 GMT]
| | | | Maija Cirule
Latvia
Local time: 03:26
German to English
+ ...
| This is an extremely bad idea | Aug 31, 2017 |
and I wander if my profile completeness out of the blue has changed to 88 % because I do not and will not participate in "what I am working now"? Descriptions of current work are worthless if neither client name nor project title are specified. I cannot specify my clients names and projects titles as I have signed NDAs. Of course, I may declare that I am working on a project in nuclear physics and this project contains 1000000000 words but I am not sure if a gullible customer who might get hooke... See more and I wander if my profile completeness out of the blue has changed to 88 % because I do not and will not participate in "what I am working now"? Descriptions of current work are worthless if neither client name nor project title are specified. I cannot specify my clients names and projects titles as I have signed NDAs. Of course, I may declare that I am working on a project in nuclear physics and this project contains 1000000000 words but I am not sure if a gullible customer who might get hooked on this blabbering will be happy with the results of the outcome. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | [OT] Profile completeness | Aug 31, 2017 |
Maija Cirule wrote:
and I wander if my profile completeness out of the blue has changed to 88 % because I do not and will not participate in "what I am working now"?
It recently happened to me as well. In my case, it was because of this. At any rate, this should tell you what part is considered "incomplete": http://www.proz.com/profile-completion
| | | | Maija Cirule
Latvia
Local time: 03:26
German to English
+ ...
| Can't find the cause. | Aug 31, 2017 |
Mirko Mainardi wrote: Maija Cirule wrote:
and I wander if my profile completeness out of the blue has changed to 88 % because I do not and will not participate in "what I am working now"? It recently happened to me as well. In my case, it was because of this. At any rate, this should tell you what part is considered "incomplete": http://www.proz.com/profile-completion
I have accepted security statements and do not see anything missing but it says: required 100 %, encouraged 88%. WTH??
Anyway, thank you for advice.
[Edited at 2017-08-31 11:39 GMT]
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