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Mid-year report to members, 2010
Thread poster: Jared Tabor
Jared Tabor
Jared Tabor
Local time: 19:38
SITE STAFF
May 12, 2010

Dear members,

The mid-year membership campaign will be starting shortly. Members are what make ProZ.com possible, so to begin with, thank you for supporting the site!

To report on the advancements made in this first half of the year:

  • Job flow on the site, which began to bounce back towards the end of last year, has continued to increase. March saw an all-time high in client activity. Some companies and organizations which have recently used Pro... See more
  • Dear members,

    The mid-year membership campaign will be starting shortly. Members are what make ProZ.com possible, so to begin with, thank you for supporting the site!

    To report on the advancements made in this first half of the year:

  • Job flow on the site, which began to bounce back towards the end of last year, has continued to increase. March saw an all-time high in client activity. Some companies and organizations which have recently used ProZ.com to find language professionals include: Xerox, Google, Microsoft, Nikon, Myspace, Credit Suisse, Leatherman, Technicolor, Tyco, Paramount Aviation Resources, Merrill Brink International, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Tyco Electronics, Siemens, PETA, Farmers Insurance Group, Nike, Thomson Reuters, Antarctica Films, Hippocrene Books, UNESCO, Total, Wizards of the Coast, Administrative Office of the Courts, State of Maryland, and Rosetta Stone.

  • In January, the "Translators Without Borders" screening center was created to facilitate efficient first-stage vetting of the large number of translators who volunteered to work with Translators Without Borders (Traducteurs Sans Frontières) in response to the earthquake in Haiti.

  • The ProZ.com Wiki was released. All translators are encouraged to add to it and collaborate on building a strong source of information related to the profession.

  • The ProZ.com translation news feature was released, where language professionals can stay up to date on industry and related news, and discuss and submit news items.

  • In response to a petition concerning the ProZ.com job posting system, submitted to the site team in early March, a host of changes were planned and made to the job posting system. Other changes have been planned or are already underway with the aim of facilitating collaboration in supporting the livelihood of translators. Some of the changes introduced so far include:

    1. The ProZ.com professional guidelines were expanded to include the line: "[Professionals] set their rates at levels that allow them to deliver, on an ongoing basis, the quality levels that their clients require". The ProZ.com Professional Guidelines have now been endorsed by over 16,500 translators. See [Member activities > Professional guidelines]
    2. The policy of keeping rates information out of the body of job postings was implemented, and the option was made available to indicate one's preference concerning the display of client budget information when deciding whether or not to quote.
    3. The articles Determining your rates and fees as a translator and Translation: Determining what service you need and what it will cost were started in the ProZ.com Wiki, and all are invited to edit or add to it to improve upon them.
    4. Some job posts will now show when the budget offered is below minimum average member rates (for example, "The budget entered for this job is below the rates charged by at least 80% of ProZ.com members for this pair and currency.").
    5. A new setting that allows members to control whether or not they receive notifications of job postings that are below their set rates was introduced. Update your setting here (bottom of the page).

      Details on the changes to the job posting system, staff reaction, and member involvement and feedback can all be seen at http://www.proz.com/about/ipetition/


  • A new channel for feedback and ideas on how to improve ProZ.com was been introduced, where members can propose new suggestions, and vote for those they would like to see at ProZ.com. Several suggestions submitted through this new feature have already been implemented, and others are in the pipeline to be developed. To participate, just look for the "Ideas" link at the top right of any page on ProZ.com.

  • Further improvements have been and continue to be made to the invoicing system, based on member feedback http://www.proz.com/topic/158290 . Over 15,000 invoices have been generated in the year so far, representing over 2.5 million EUR invoiced.

  • In response to some incidents where member hosting suffered outages, the manner in which staff detect, coordinate on and resolve site service outages was improved. Prevention of site service outages was attacked more aggressively. The results of both these efforts are expected to lead to services which experience increasingly less downtime.

  • ProZ.com seminars were launched, and two successful seminars have been held so far: Montevideo, Uruguay and Cairo, Egypt. Upcoming events in 2010 include:

    - São Paulo, Brazil
    - Prague, Czech Republic

  • New local payment options were introduced for members residing in India and Poland. Local payment options in Argentina were expanded to include quicker, more convenient methods of local payment.

  • The training platform has been improved, and offers for online and self-paced training, webinars and videos are continually expanding.

  • The option to share news and discussions through social networks was introduced. The ShareThis feature allows members to share forum discussions, powwows and other events, training, TGBs, KudoZ questions, etc. through various social or work networks.

  • A new forum, Marketing for translators was created as an area where translators can share marketing approaches for their businesses.

  • Support to members continues to improve. Instant support for job posters through an online chat support feature has been available since the beginning of the year. The average wait time on a support request has been reduced. Support hours will be further expanded, with a goal of 24x7 support within 2 years.

  • Overall, membership has grown significantly since the last report. With over 15,000 members, ProZ.com further advanced as the world's largest community of translation professionals.

    Appreciation

    Many members contributed to the accomplishments listed above, and many other changes and improvements being made to the site. In particular, I would like to thank the following members for community activities, suggestions or feedback that have influenced activities so far this year:

    The 2009-2010 class of site moderators, Hazem Hamdy, Laureana Pavon, Hacène Dramchini, Katalin Horvath McClure, Conference organizers and conference sponsors, Niraja Nanjundan, Astrid Elke Johnson, Balasubramaniam L., Rodion Shein, Dr G. Palka, Philippe Boucry, the translators involved in the working group for the proposals for changes to the job posting system, and all the members who took the time to provide valuable feedback on the proposals and the changes being made.


    Once more, and on behalf of the ProZ.com team, thank you site members for your support. Your membership is what drives improvements and features like those above, and many more.

    For those who are not yet ProZ.com members, the mid-year campaign will be starting shortly. ProZ.com is the number-one source of new clients for translators. Membership is the starting point for taking full advantage of the opportunities and tools the site provides. Consider using ProZ.com as a serious tool to meet new clients, expand your business and enhance your professional opportunities.

    Happy translating,

    Jared
    Member services
    ProZ.com

    If you are a translator or you work with translators, the ProZ.com mission statement explains how the site works for you: By providing tools and opportunities for you to network, expand your business, improve your work, and have more fun. If you have questions about membership, or need answers or help regarding anything else at ProZ.com, do not hesitate to contact staff through the online support system.
    Collapse


  •  
    Mónica Algazi
    Mónica Algazi  Identity Verified
    Uruguay
    Local time: 19:38
    Member (2005)
    English to Spanish
    A note of appreciation May 13, 2010

    We appreciate your silent, tireless effort to improve the site and make our Proz experience increasingly rewarding, Jared. In the specific case of Uruguay, the seminar organized by Laureana Pavón on April 24 was a resounding success and a great opportunity to learn, see old friends, and meet new colleagues.
    Thank you all!


     
    Niraja Nanjundan (X)
    Niraja Nanjundan (X)  Identity Verified
    Local time: 04:08
    German to English
    Thanks! May 13, 2010

    Thanks, from me too, for all your hard work. As I mentioned in one of your recent surveys, the response of the staff and management to the petition on changes to the job posting system has been particularly impressive and highly professional, in my opinion.

    Thanks, too, for mentioning my name - much appreciated although I feel my contributions are very small compared to what many other members have done over the year
    ... See more
    Thanks, from me too, for all your hard work. As I mentioned in one of your recent surveys, the response of the staff and management to the petition on changes to the job posting system has been particularly impressive and highly professional, in my opinion.

    Thanks, too, for mentioning my name - much appreciated although I feel my contributions are very small compared to what many other members have done over the years.



    [Edited at 2010-05-13 04:28 GMT]
    Collapse


     
    Angelica Kjellström
    Angelica Kjellström  Identity Verified
    Sweden
    Local time: 23:38
    German to Swedish
    + ...
    Thanks, Jared! May 13, 2010

    Thanks, Jared for all your work! It is a pleasure serving the ProZ.community as a moderator and I enjoy all the contacts I am getting via ProZ as well as the possibility to participate in relevant programs/courses:-)

    Take care,

    Angelica Kjellström


     
    Laureana Pavon
    Laureana Pavon  Identity Verified
    Uruguay
    Local time: 19:38
    Member (2007)
    English to Spanish
    + ...

    MODERATOR
    Thanks May 13, 2010

    Thank you, ProZ.com, for offering such a variety of great features and constantly striving to improve.
    Thanks, Jared, for your personal contribution to the site.
    Last but not least, thanks, Monica, for your incredibly kind words about the Montevideo Seminar.
    I look forward to being part of the community for many more years to come.
    Laureana


     
    Suzanne Aubin
    Suzanne Aubin  Identity Verified
    Canada
    Local time: 18:38
    Member (2007)
    English to French
    Merci! May 13, 2010

    I really appreciate this report!

    The presentation makes it easy to consult and get quickly up to date, as sometimes the workload takes over our lives and keeping the beat with this community falls on the back burner.

    Thank you for preparing it and letting us know it's there for us to read!


     
    Saleh Ayyub
    Saleh Ayyub  Identity Verified
    New Zealand
    Local time: 11:38
    Member
    Arabic to English
    + ...
    Thanks for your continuous support and efforts May 13, 2010

    Thanks for your continuous support and efforts,

    Regards,

    Saleh Ayyub


     
    Emad Badr
    Emad Badr
    Local time: 00:38
    Arabic to English
    + ...
    Thanks for this grear report May 13, 2010

    Thanks a lot for this great, useful report and hope more success for Proz and all members.

    Regards
    Emad Badr


     
    traductorchile
    traductorchile  Identity Verified
    Chile
    Local time: 19:38
    English to Spanish
    + ...
    My Kingdom for a Proz May 13, 2010

    Thanks Jared and all the team. Without Proz, and you behind the curtains, it would be like not having a leg or an arm. In fact Proz is like the Hydra, but with many more heads and a peacefull purpose.

    zum Wohl! Cheers! Salúd! Tchin Tchin! Salú!


     
    Emma Ratcliffe
    Emma Ratcliffe  Identity Verified
    Mexico
    Local time: 16:38
    Member (2009)
    English to Spanish
    + ...
    Thank you May 14, 2010

    For the past months as I begun my membership in ProZ it has been nothing but excitement, fun, learning and giving, as well as meeting colleagues, working with them, receiving the help many times needed and a great place to step into.
    Thank you for all the changes, I have used many of them and are wonderful!
    Life becomes easier with people like you backing us!
    Again, THANK YOU!


     
    Gilbert Lin
    Gilbert Lin  Identity Verified
    China
    Local time: 06:38
    English to Chinese
    + ...
    Thanks May 14, 2010

    It's nice to see Proz always improving, I like this site because of quick response and great efficiency in business.

     
    Zareh Darakjian Ph.D.
    Zareh Darakjian Ph.D.  Identity Verified
    United States
    Local time: 15:38
    German to English
    + ...
    Thank you, Jared for your tireless work! May 14, 2010

    Jared wrote:

    Dear members,

    The mid-year membership campaign will be starting shortly. Members are what make ProZ.com possible, so to begin with, thank you for supporting the site!

    To report on the advancements made in this first half of the year:

  • Job flow on the site, which began to bounce back towards the end of last year, has continued to increase. March saw an all-time high in client activity. Some companies and organizations which have recently used ProZ.com to find language professionals include: Xerox, Google, Microsoft, Nikon, Myspace, Credit Suisse, Leatherman, Technicolor, Tyco, Paramount Aviation Resources, Merrill Brink International, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Tyco Electronics, Siemens, PETA, Farmers Insurance Group, Nike, Thomson Reuters, Antarctica Films, Hippocrene Books, UNESCO, Total, Wizards of the Coast, Administrative Office of the Courts, State of Maryland, and Rosetta Stone.

  • In January, the "Translators Without Borders" screening center was created to facilitate efficient first-stage vetting of the large number of translators who volunteered to work with Translators Without Borders (Traducteurs Sans Frontières) in response to the earthquake in Haiti.

  • The ProZ.com Wiki was released. All translators are encouraged to add to it and collaborate on building a strong source of information related to the profession.

  • The ProZ.com translation news feature was released, where language professionals can stay up to date on industry and related news, and discuss and submit news items.

  • In response to a petition concerning the ProZ.com job posting system, submitted to the site team in early March, a host of changes were planned and made to the job posting system. Other changes have been planned or are already underway with the aim of facilitating collaboration in supporting the livelihood of translators. Some of the changes introduced so far include:

    1. The ProZ.com professional guidelines were expanded to include the line: "[Professionals] set their rates at levels that allow them to deliver, on an ongoing basis, the quality levels that their clients require". The ProZ.com Professional Guidelines have now been endorsed by over 16,500 translators. See [Member activities > Professional guidelines]
    2. The policy of keeping rates information out of the body of job postings was implemented, and the option was made available to indicate one's preference concerning the display of client budget information when deciding whether or not to quote.
    3. The articles Determining your rates and fees as a translator and Translation: Determining what service you need and what it will cost were started in the ProZ.com Wiki, and all are invited to edit or add to it to improve upon them.
    4. Some job posts will now show when the budget offered is below minimum average member rates (for example, "The budget entered for this job is below the rates charged by at least 80% of ProZ.com members for this pair and currency.").
    5. A new setting that allows members to control whether or not they receive notifications of job postings that are below their set rates was introduced. Update your setting here (bottom of the page).

      Details on the changes to the job posting system, staff reaction, and member involvement and feedback can all be seen at http://www.proz.com/about/ipetition/


  • A new channel for feedback and ideas on how to improve ProZ.com was been introduced, where members can propose new suggestions, and vote for those they would like to see at ProZ.com. Several suggestions submitted through this new feature have already been implemented, and others are in the pipeline to be developed. To participate, just look for the "Ideas" link at the top right of any page on ProZ.com.

  • Further improvements have been and continue to be made to the invoicing system, based on member feedback http://www.proz.com/topic/158290 . Over 15,000 invoices have been generated in the year so far, representing over 2.5 million EUR invoiced.

  • In response to some incidents where member hosting suffered outages, the manner in which staff detect, coordinate on and resolve site service outages was improved. Prevention of site service outages was attacked more aggressively. The results of both these efforts are expected to lead to services which experience increasingly less downtime.

  • ProZ.com seminars were launched, and two successful seminars have been held so far: Montevideo, Uruguay and Cairo, Egypt. Upcoming events in 2010 include:

    - São Paulo, Brazil
    - Prague, Czech Republic

  • New local payment options were introduced for members residing in India and Poland. Local payment options in Argentina were expanded to include quicker, more convenient methods of local payment.

  • The training platform has been improved, and offers for online and self-paced training, webinars and videos are continually expanding.

  • The option to share news and discussions through social networks was introduced. The ShareThis feature allows members to share forum discussions, powwows and other events, training, TGBs, KudoZ questions, etc. through various social or work networks.

  • A new forum, Marketing for translators was created as an area where translators can share marketing approaches for their businesses.

  • Support to members continues to improve. Instant support for job posters through an online chat support feature has been available since the beginning of the year. The average wait time on a support request has been reduced. Support hours will be further expanded, with a goal of 24x7 support within 2 years.

  • Overall, membership has grown significantly since the last report. With over 15,000 members, ProZ.com further advanced as the world's largest community of translation professionals.

    Appreciation

    Many members contributed to the accomplishments listed above, and many other changes and improvements being made to the site. In particular, I would like to thank the following members for community activities, suggestions or feedback that have influenced activities so far this year:

    The 2009-2010 class of site moderators, Hazem Hamdy, Laureana Pavon, Hacène Dramchini, Katalin Horvath McClure, Conference organizers and conference sponsors, Niraja Nanjundan, Astrid Elke Johnson, Balasubramaniam L., Rodion Shein, Dr G. Palka, Philippe Boucry, the translators involved in the working group for the proposals for changes to the job posting system, and all the members who took the time to provide valuable feedback on the proposals and the changes being made.


    Once more, and on behalf of the ProZ.com team, thank you site members for your support. Your membership is what drives improvements and features like those above, and many more.

    For those who are not yet ProZ.com members, the mid-year campaign will be starting shortly. ProZ.com is the number-one source of new clients for translators. Membership is the starting point for taking full advantage of the opportunities and tools the site provides. Consider using ProZ.com as a serious tool to meet new clients, expand your business and enhance your professional opportunities.

    Happy translating,

    Jared
    Member services
    ProZ.com

    If you are a translator or you work with translators, the ProZ.com mission statement explains how the site works for you: By providing tools and opportunities for you to network, expand your business, improve your work, and have more fun. If you have questions about membership, or need answers or help regarding anything else at ProZ.com, do not hesitate to contact staff through the online support system.


  •  
    Thomas Johansson
    Thomas Johansson  Identity Verified
    Peru
    Local time: 17:38
    English to Swedish
    + ...
    Thanks May 14, 2010


    ProZ.com is the number-one source of new clients for translators


    Thank you for a very informative and interesting report.

    The sentence quoted above, however, sounded a little bit exaggerated. Proz.com is definitely a very good community for translators overall, and can benefit translators in many ways, including getting new clients, but... I think most of us get the majority of our clients from other directions...

    Overall, one of the main things I have very much appreciated with proz.com over the years is its very factual, down-to-earth and modest approach to language use. For instance, most other sites would have entitled their reports ""Mid-Year Report to Members, 2010" - i.e. with capitalized initials (or something like that) -, but you keep it nicely and soundly with small initials. And in the navigation bar, we have e.g. "Jobs & directories" and "Member activities", and not the more hyped "Jobs & Directories" and "Member Activities". I really appreciate that.

    Thomas


    [Edited at 2010-05-14 03:50 GMT]


     
    Ruth Rubina
    Ruth Rubina  Identity Verified
    United States
    Local time: 18:38
    Member (2008)
    Hebrew to English
    + ...
    Thank you, Jared! May 14, 2010

    Thank you for all your time and effort you invest in doing what you do. I rely on Proz for jobs, information, new ideas, kudoZ, the blue board, and... well, there is so much in this site.
    Thank you, thank you, thank you.
    I give you a standing ovation for this wonderful site.
    Ruth Rubina -(USA) Hebrew English Spanish


     
    Giuseppe Bellone
    Giuseppe Bellone
    Italy
    Local time: 23:38
    English to Italian
    + ...
    Thanks for your precious effort May 14, 2010

    All of us will appreciate what you've done. Thank you.
    MisterBeppe


     
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