Web Theologian

The localization industry is where I have spent the last ten years of my career. Localization is is the process of adapting a product or content to a specific locale or market. It is obscure to many that are not directly involved in it, and even to many who use our services seem to be in the dark about what really goes on. I’m taking a look at some of the misconceptions or myths that I hear often with our industry itself, in Part I, I addressed the Misconception that I ended up here by accident.

Localization is an insular industry. There are a number of localization related events globally each year, and often I hear from people in the industry that they are tired of these events because they always see the same people. This is used as proof that we are an insular industry.

The people I hear this from have little exposure to other industries, if they did they would see that often there are the same people that make it to events whether it is within Travel, Fashion, or any other industry vertical. So this is common to how people work in general, they meet and collaborate with people that work on similar ideas.

Localization does have a few qualities that I find very interesting compared with other industries. While localization and translation are an ancient trade that has enable commerce since the beginning of time, as an ‘industry’ it is very young. There have always been translators willing to work, but organizing good process, scale, and the other dynamics of a mature industry have only happened recently. I point this out because even now within the industry the people that have started Computer Assisted Translation (CAT), Unicode, and other industry changing moments are still around. Without having to go too far these people are all within reach and in my experience often are extremely generous with their experiences.

Lastly on a very personal note, many people I work with in localization I would consider close friends and are people that I care about deeply. Since arriving to LocWorld Dublin early I have had the chance to catch up with my friends that make working in this industry the best experience of my life. In general, people that end up in localization have a large, imaginative, and creative view of the world and others. These are the folks I find great joy in talking to about how the world will be changed for the good. because of our work and presence in it.

If you haven’t read Part I of this series go back and do it, over the next few days I’ll also be talking  on additional Misconceptions within Localization as I explore the following: we are lagging regarding technology and there is no money.

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.

-C. S. Lewis

There are numerous localization errors that are shared on the internet and everyone outside and within the industry have their favorites they like to share at a cocktail party. Though there are a few misconceptions (or myths) that I generally hear from people in this industry that are worth exposing over the next few days.

I ended up here by accident. Whenever a person begins to tell their story of how they ended up in localization it often can be summarized as one big mistake on the way to what they really wanted to do. That doesn’t matter if it was to be a translator, interpreter, entrepreneur, or software developer, they often will share how they have ended up here and…can’t get out.

I grew up in a family where both my father and grandfather had similar stories of how they ended up in their careers, my dad was an engineer that ended up a window cleaner and my grandfather was a veterinarian  that ended up a cattle trader. Both seemed to live with a ongoing regret about their careers even though each was remarkable at their jobs, provided for their families, and maintained a sold reputation in the communities they lived and worked.

As I have looked at how I ended up in localization, it is surprising and yet I know that I was born to be here. This is what every step in my professional career has led me to, and I am incredibly grateful for where it has led. For me I didn’t end up here by accident rather I was born for it.

Check out the next few posts on Misconceptions within Localization as I explore the following: the industry is insular, we are lagging regarding technology and there is no money.

I truly believe that everything that we do and everyone that we meet is put in our path for a purpose. There are no accidents; we’re all teachers – if we’re willing to pay attention to the lessons we learn, trust our positive instincts and not be afraid to take risks or wait for some miracle to come knocking at our door.

-Marla Gibbs

Over a week ago, I was discussing the Game of Thrones Hodor failure just before I attended the Fast Company LA Innovation conference with a co-worker and client. The very next day I had learning how one media company was taking steps at source creation to prevent such failures. At this conference we were driven around LA, California visiting companies in a neighborhood that were doing innovated things.

My neighborhood was Culver City, and the first stop was Skybound. This is the company formed by the creators of The Walking Dead. After learning about the companies philosophy and vision, they shared with us an upcoming project they have call Five Year. It is an apocalyptic show that focuses on an family dealing with the news that the world will be destroyed in five years, and sustaining themselves in the midst of ever growing chaos. Instead of merely releasing in English or subtitling the series in another language. They have partnered with Viki, a platform used to share K-Dramas and crowdsource the translation of their subtitles, to use the IP in the English version of Five Years and fully localize (rewrite in a Korean context). This approach to content solves so many challenges companies face and completely eliminates what happen with the Game of Thrones Translation.

Skybound is creating one way to put out the best possible quality global content, perhaps the down side would be it is costly and requires trusting others with your ideas. In my opinion this benefits the entire world and creates a collaborate relationship that is stronger then merely translating, it is a level deeper in the creative process that captures something magical related to being global. Korean is only a first step for Skybound look for other languages to follow. In this experimentation it is the fans that truly benefit.

In addition the global writing team also benefits. At some point I came across the conversation of economists comparing the pie model vs. the candle model. In the pie model there are only so many slices and you must make sure to secure you piece of the pie. Where as Thomas Jefferson was give credit for the Enlightenment perspective of ideas that drive an economy as a candle, and when I share my light with you it makes the entire room brighter. In looking for references on this I came across the article:

Traditional Economics Failed. Here’s a New Blueprint.Why true self-interest is mutual interest. By Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer

It is worth a read an hopefully will inspire you to share a good idea with someone else today. Let’s think about how our work together, especially creatively, leads to better content for everyone.

It is paradoxical, yet true, to say, that the more we know, the more ignorant we become in the absolute sense, for it is only through enlightenment that we become conscious of our limitations. Precisely one of the most gratifying results of intellectual evolution is the continuous opening up of new and greater prospects.

-Nikola Tesla

Game of Thrones is a cultural phenomenon, impacting the world globally where passionate fans are engulfed in a world of ancient battles, mystical characters, political struggle, and most importantly dragons. So much of what they do is excellent from a story telling perspective and if you are a fan, the episode on May 22^nd was one of the best stories to have experienced. If you have not yet watch and do not with to have it spoiled please stop reading now.

For those who have seen it, the backstory of the character Hodor was revealed. A giant of man with a strong gentle heart that physically cares for the crippled son of a ruler, Hodor can only speak one word, which is “hordor”. He has become a fan favorite and even inspired Game of Thrones as told by Hodor. This past episode we learn at Hodor’s death that he was actually saying, “Hold the door.” A picture of the martyrdom he would face, giving his life for Bran Stark.

A wonderful story, and yet a complete failure when it comes to translation, as Hodor only works in English as a shortened version of “hold the door”. The fail comes in that all the translations of Game of Thrones translated the character’s name as Hodor, rather then localizing it in that language for this event. Localizing characters name is a practice in the book, just this one key instance was a complete fail and set up a horrific situation for the translator working on this show. The entire play of language was lost in every language but English, that is what I would call an opportunity lost. For the international fans, this is a big disappointment.

Tomorrow I will follow this up with what one company (Skybound) is doing to make sure such failures do not happen with their content…

Translation is like a woman. If it is beautiful, it is not faithful. If it is faithful, it is most certainly not beautiful.

-Yevgeny Yevtushenko

One of my grad school professors was asked early in his career to give a homily for a man that had died in his church. The man was notorious for how cruel and horrible he was. He was dishonest at business, cheated on his wives, unsavory when you ran into him in public, and even had been seen kicking his dog on occasion.  All this made the task extremely difficult for my professor, in seeing this an older manager offered to take this one for him. When the homily began the older man began to talk about the apple tree in front of the deceased home, what a beautiful apple tree and how much the man that had passed cared for and pruned this tree. In short I learned a valuable lesson from this story, EVERYONE has an apple tree in their lives.

There are some people that are very easy to right a recommendation for, they shine in all areas of their life and all you have to do is pick a few to share with the world. Others make you wonder, but if you wait, listen and watch you can find their apple tree. This doesn’t mean you have to write the a recommendation, that is a personal choice, but it is good to acknowledge their apple tree. Also for those that are multitalented and easy to write about, search out that one area that they do spend more time on. Find the place where they shine like few others in the world, and then be a megaphone on their behalf!

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”

Martin Luther

Got to interview Dino Pick for our podcast while in Monterey last month. It was so much fun and re-enforced why I’m involved in doing podcasts. There were hours we could have spent with Dino sharing stories, he didn’t even get into his honored military career, I’m sure you will benefit from the time invested into this episode, enjoy!

http://globallyspeakingradio.com/

‘I wish life was not so short,’ he thought. ‘Languages take such a time, and so do all the things one wants to know about.’

J. R. R. Tolkien

“A trigger point is a tight area within muscle tissue that causes pain in other parts of the body. A trigger point in the back, for example, may produce referral pain in the neck. The neck, now acting as a satellite trigger point, may then cause pain in the head. The pain may be sharp and intense or a dull ache.” When you have one of these it can be rather debilitating, and as a runner one in you calf muscle is no laughing manner.

There are a few lessons I’m taking away from this experience:

• One friend said, “Just sit in it (the stretch) and exist in the pain.”
• Healing takes time.
• Having someone else work the knot out hurts but is possible.
• Working the knot out myself is not as effective.
• Tools help, but another person is better.
• It can return on the furthest point of your run away from home.
•  The pain is rough but you are physically alright

But you come to a point in your life when you can’t pull the trigger anymore.

Evel Knievel

The limits that many of us face on a daily basis are self imposed, or the result of systematic failures over history that will not stand. Compared to the manner in which the rest of human history has lived there is not much that we face that cannot be over come. This is highlighted for me at the Digital Travel Conference  in Las Vegas I attended a few weeks ago. The final speaker was Jamie Clarke  a Canadian adventurer, author, filmmaker, inspirational speaker and business leader. Jamie has summited Mt. Everest twice, climbed the Seven Summits, and ridden camels across The Empty Quarter of Arabia. Jamie’s books are best sellers and his films have aired on National Geographic TV. he is also the founder of LiveOutThere.com. When Jamie was first mentioned to me I asked the question, “Oh, is that the blind guy?”

When I made the joke to Jamie, he immediately said…you mean Erik Weihenmayer. Erik is the founder of No Barriers.

How wild is it that Jamie has accomplished so much and yet there are others who have gone even further in from their starting place.

This is not to say what you are facing today is not hard, but it is to encourage you that it is possible to overcome the limits and barriers that are facing you today…more possible then perhaps ever in the history of the world.

Success is not just the crowning moment, the spiking of the ball in the end zone or the raising of the flag on the summit. It is the whole process of reaching for a goal and, sometimes, it begins with failure.

Erik Weihenmayer

 

When training it is necessary to spend time on the treadmill. It provides protection from the harshest elements of nature, control over speed, consistency to focus on form, and you can even catch up on TV while doing it. When you have a knot in your calf muscle it is a great way to keep up your fitness while not further frustrating an already painful situation.

This environment is not real though, and you do have to go out and brave the elements, disciple yourself for the speed you want, choose form over ease, and maybe you can still listen to a podcast. There will be moment when even though you are extremely careful you will run across the street and not see that it is unleveled and scrape your foot making your calf muscle feel like it will explode. Not to mention the areas you know are filled with bumps that you have to breath deep and relax and trust your not going to injure yourself.

Life is interesting and reading, studying and dreaming about it is necessary, but go ahead and step out. It’s not flat, but that is what makes it so much fun and interesting.

The most glorious moments in your life are not the so-called days of success, but rather those days when out of dejection and despair you feel rise in you a challenge to life, and the promise of future accomplishments.

-Gustave Flaubert

When thinking about a challenge too much or dealing with challenging person in my life I will often move into the space of trying to be cool, which is not cool at all. This is where insecurity drives and common sense is lost in trying to look good. Is there an alternative?

Sometimes yes, the ability to quiet that voice and walk gently embracing the uncool optimist, very childlike in delighting in the moment or the excitement of the moment. And then there are other times where the voice gets louder, then I try to embrace it. Accepting trying to be cool as an extreme in my personality that I can laugh at, and hopefully minimize the repulsiveness of the whole thing by turning it into a silly spectacle.

For me the cool must be manage either way, because being cool really isn’t.

Richie Cunningham: [Fonzie has just advised Joanie not to make the same mistakes he made, growing up] You made mistakes?
Arthur ‘Fonzie’ Fonzarelli: The mistake I made was not my fault!