| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | My music video's up! Thread poster: George Trail
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George Trail 
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:49
Member (2009)
French to English
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Dear ProZ,
I am rather depressed at all the people on the ProZ forums who don't take me seriously as a translator. I have endeavoured to contribute to the global translation community for years. But then how many of you have made a music video to promote yourself, like I did recently?
If you won't read what have to say about translation in my blogs, perhaps you will hear what I have to say my music video. I know I'm not allowed to advertise on ProZ, so please go to Geor... See more Dear ProZ,
I am rather depressed at all the people on the ProZ forums who don't take me seriously as a translator. I have endeavoured to contribute to the global translation community for years. But then how many of you have made a music video to promote yourself, like I did recently?
If you won't read what have to say about translation in my blogs, perhaps you will hear what I have to say my music video. I know I'm not allowed to advertise on ProZ, so please go to George Trail Translator on Facebook to view it.
I'm a self-employed translator,
And I'm here on a mission
To show you that I am
For real about my position...
Yours,
George Trail ▲ Collapse
| | | | Michael Beijer
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:49
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
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| [insert hilarious smiley here] | Sep 25, 2016 |
George Trail wrote:
Dear ProZ,
I am rather depressed at all the people on the ProZ forums who don't take me seriously as a translator. I have endeavoured to contribute to the global translation community for years. But then how many of you have made a music video to promote yourself, like I did recently?
If you won't read what have to say about translation in my blogs, perhaps you will hear what I have to say my music video. I know I'm not allowed to advertise on ProZ, so please go to George Trail Translator on Facebook to view it.
I'm a self-employed translator,
And I'm here on a mission
To show you that I am
For real about my position...
Yours,
George Trail
OK, I must admit your video is pretty cool. You still need to proofread yr website more carefully though 
And please fix that slogan:
Regards,
Michael
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 15:49
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
George Trail wrote:
I am rather depressed at all the people on the ProZ.com forums who don't take me seriously as a translator.
It's not that people don't take you seriously as a translator, but rather that your blog writing style and the logic of your arguments is not what one might call "mainstream" and therefore easily digestible.
I have endeavoured to contribute to the global translation community for years.
You registered at ProZ.com in January 2009. Since then, you've posted about 100 forum messages. You first started promoting your blog on the forums in September 2009. You are a prolific blog writer. In what way do you think you have contributed to the global translation community?
But then how many of you have made a music video to promote yourself, like I did recently?
Perhaps the reason why most translators don't create videos about themselves is because they don't regard it as an effective marketing vehicle. That said, I have seen quite a few translator web sites that include a video introduction, some of which were also posted on Youtube. Yourself included, in June 2011 and March 2013.
Your video is not on Youtube, but on Facebook. Are you sure that that's wise? It is a rap song, but the lyrics are not included. You are creative and thinking out of the box, but the fact that your promote your video here tells me that that you're actually trying to achieve something with the video. So, what are you trying to achieve?
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 15:49
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
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| Saw it and heard it and not sure what to say. | Sep 26, 2016 |
I was distracted by the lamp ball, the annoying SF background beat, and the scattered clothes over the chair/bed (perhaps you may use breaks between translation sessions to tidy up your room).
It'd be more impressive if you actually knew your own lyrics by heart.
[Edited at 2016-09-26 07:20 GMT]
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Rosalind Haigh
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:49
German to English
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| On another planet | Sep 26, 2016 |
George, I have to admire your determination and your efforts at getting yourself noticed. But how on earth is an irritating video, shot in your bedroom of all places, supposed to persuade anyone of your professionalism as a translator? It's been pointed out ad nauseam that your English blogs [sic] are rambling and soporific. Not only do your written German and French leave much to be desired, but your sample translations posted on this site are full of errors - if these are your best work, selec... See more George, I have to admire your determination and your efforts at getting yourself noticed. But how on earth is an irritating video, shot in your bedroom of all places, supposed to persuade anyone of your professionalism as a translator? It's been pointed out ad nauseam that your English blogs [sic] are rambling and soporific. Not only do your written German and French leave much to be desired, but your sample translations posted on this site are full of errors - if these are your best work, selected to highlight your skills, I can only wonder about the standard of the work you chose not to post.
If you really want to be taken seriously, go off-radar for a couple of years, improve your language and writing skills, and then come back and try again. Who knows, you might actually become a decent translator. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Platary (X)
Local time: 15:49
German to French
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| Have a look at your French homepage... | Sep 26, 2016 |
George Trail wrote:
I know I'm not allowed to advertise on ProZ...
Indeed...
By the way, just have a look at your French homepage :
So?
With regards
[Modifié le 2016-09-26 09:39 GMT]
| | | | | [insert hilarious smiley here] | Sep 26, 2016 |
Michael Joseph Wdowiak Beijer wrote:
OK, I must admit your video is pretty cool.
can you send me some of the stuff you are smoking?  I think our George still lives with his parents...
| | | | | Every reason to be depressed | Sep 26, 2016 |
Hi George,
Your CV in German will convince every serious client to run away.
The "German“text on your website seems to be created on the fly by a MT system. It does an excellent job to prevent any potential German client from staying on your site for longer than a few seconds.
If you want people to take you seriously as a translator, do your homework. At the moment your CV and your website do harm you and our profession. Sorry for the harsh words, but you asked for fee... See more Hi George,
Your CV in German will convince every serious client to run away.
The "German“text on your website seems to be created on the fly by a MT system. It does an excellent job to prevent any potential German client from staying on your site for longer than a few seconds.
If you want people to take you seriously as a translator, do your homework. At the moment your CV and your website do harm you and our profession. Sorry for the harsh words, but you asked for feedback.
[Edited at 2016-09-26 13:30 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 14:49
Member (2007)
English
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Siegfried Armbruster wrote:
At the moment your CV and your website do harm you and our profession.
You may be doing it for a laugh. I can only imagine that you are. However, it isn't immediately obvious that it's a joke, not with so much dire copy out there on the web. The problem of the web is that nobody can see the smile, nobody knows your idea of humour, some won't share your idea of a laugh, some cultures in general fail totally to see a joke that will have another culture rolling on the floor, etc. So a professional translator's copy will be taken at face value and expected to be legitimate - and flawless. Frankly, having your texts promoted on this site does you no good, nor does it do any good to the profession as a whole.
You're bound to be getting a lot of visits to your website, CV, video etc from this marketing, and I know that's supposed to be worth something to Google etc., but what about the negative effects in the longer term? Potential clients here (translators who also outsource, agency owners such as Siegfried, etc) don't sound as though they'll be going back for more. How about marking them very clearly as a joke? Or removing them?
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Siegfried Armbruster wrote:
The "German“text on your website seems to be created on the fly by a MT system. It does an excellent job to prevent any potential German client from staying on your site for longer than a few seconds.
Unfortunately I have no option but to agree!
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 15:49
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Don't use a Google Translate widget on a translators' web site | Sep 27, 2016 |
George Trail wrote:
I am rather depressed at all the people on the ProZ forums who don't take me seriously as a translator.
Why do you have a "Google Translate" widget on your web site? You have a human translated pages in German and French already. If visitors use the Google Translate widget on the top right of your site, they get directed to a machine translation of your English page, instead of the French or German version that you yourself translated.
| | | | Tony Keily
Local time: 15:49
Italian to English
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| Come off it! | Sep 27, 2016 |
"I am rather depressed at all the people on the ProZ forums who don't take me seriously as a translator."
Nah you're not!
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matt robinson
Spain
Local time: 15:49
Member (2010)
Spanish to English
| Why do you care? | Sep 27, 2016 |
At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what other translators think of you. They will not in general be hugely influential with regards to your income as a translator (although there could be exceptions). Having said that, I imagine you get a lot of hits that are not followed up by potential clients. You really need to project a more professional image, which could easily sit alongside your obviously creative side.
Using a Google Translate widget is a definite no-no. A text that c... See more At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what other translators think of you. They will not in general be hugely influential with regards to your income as a translator (although there could be exceptions). Having said that, I imagine you get a lot of hits that are not followed up by potential clients. You really need to project a more professional image, which could easily sit alongside your obviously creative side.
Using a Google Translate widget is a definite no-no. A text that can be in any way associated with you must be perfect from the point of view of a native speaker. That means no short-cuts, and no writing in your source languages. Use a professional translator if you need to write in a language you are not 100% comfortable in.
In addition, I would only promote one language pair, but this is merely a personal opinion, as I know there are many translators who work successfully in more than one.
[Edited at 2016-09-27 10:13 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | A lot of the people I take seriously are difficult to find on the Net! | Sep 27, 2016 |
You obviously spend a lot of time drawing attention to yourself - but what are you actually contributing? What's in it for me?
I simply do not have time to do much marketing. No problem. My clients take me seriously as a translator, and my colleagues send me a mail if they think I can help them, or they call me. I do the same. Some of the real experts I consult are actually quite difficult to find by googling, but I have met them in person or through conferences and training session... See more You obviously spend a lot of time drawing attention to yourself - but what are you actually contributing? What's in it for me?
I simply do not have time to do much marketing. No problem. My clients take me seriously as a translator, and my colleagues send me a mail if they think I can help them, or they call me. I do the same. Some of the real experts I consult are actually quite difficult to find by googling, but I have met them in person or through conferences and training sessions, and we have exchanged phone numbers and mail addresses.
They contribute in several ways to the Danish translation community, on the language council and in forums, and one has worked on a dictionary, both the terminology side and managing the database. People thanked me very kindly for helping to organise a powwow a few weeks ago.
Others arrange seminars, and I know all of them are expert translators in their fields.
They make real contributions to the Danish translation and interpreting profession, and those who know them take them very seriously.
I don't actually need yhour services, and I don't need to market myself - my network does it for me! You may be an excellent translator, but there are so many others out there... If you find a circle of good clients and get to know some serious colleagues, then once you have proved your worth to them, you will get along fine, and your contribution will be truly appreciated by people who benefit from it.
We can't all be world famous, but the way to be taken seriously is to prove your sterling worth and make your contribution where and when it is needed. If you have anything truly original to give, that is the way to go. At the moment I do remember you, but not for the right reasons, I am afraid, sorry! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | German text is a catastrophe | Sep 27, 2016 |
I also looked at the German version of your website and it's a catastrophe. Worse than Google translate. There is not a single grammatically correct sentence. Why would anyone trust you to translate from German into English if your German is so bad.
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