Rockant will be officially launching Rockant in March as the premier virtual learning meet-up space for managers of international programs, products and services  So, if you have not signed up or started your own training group yet, don’t wait. Do so now. Open registration ends in 3 weeks.

But for right now, we want to talk about you

We bet you’ve got some exciting new projects you want to see come to life. The economy has done a hard shift. After the economic earthquake of 2008 (and all those aftershocks), managers of international programs, products and services are still figuring out what it means for them and their organizations.

Companies look different. Employment looks different. Recreation looks different. Relationships look different. Travel looks different. Translation technology is undergoing major revolution from heavy implementations to cloud-based solutions that work right away, on every major platform, and provide immediate benefits and ROI.

Everything right now is new and changing. Which, as you may have noticed, is exhausting. And creates stress. And that creates interesting problems that you can start solving for your customers — no matter what your area of expertise.

As long as we’re in this world of profound instability, you can help others by teaching them how to navigate that change and come out on top.

Your customers are learners – they need you

They don’t need stale authorities who mastered what was needed in the last century. They need the true experts who can teach them what they need to know today. There’s tremendous opportunity — and especially, opportunity to do great things by helping other people out. You can’t beat that.

Rockant provides you with a platform to do just that. Things you’ve been wanting to share for a while: You can make it FINALLY make it happen with Rockant – and using this virtual learning meet-up space is still free. And starting in April will help you make money with it too.

If that sounds interesting, we want you to remember this: You don’t have to be perfect right out of the gate. You just have to get started.

Most people and projects have humble beginnings. And anyone you think has it ‘all figured out’ once fumbled around in the dark to find their way.

Do you know this story?

Back when NASA started launching manned spacecraft in the 1960s, they found out that the astronauts couldn’t use pens to write with while in space. The ink wouldn’t flow down through the pen in a zero-gravity environment. NASA decided to retain a man named Paul Fisher to design a pen that would work in space.

$1.5 million later, they had a solution. NASA now had a pen that worked in zero gravity, in a vacuum, and in a drastic temperature range.

The Russian cosmonauts had the same problem, of course. So they used a pencil.

Get started now

We also want to hear about YOUR vision and plans for 2013 so we can help support you this year with helping you to get started, set-up your training group, and anything else we can dream up to help you grow your business – even if you only do it on the side.

We don’t care if you do it part-time or full-time. We just want you to do it. Start your learning group in Rockant now.

Talented yoga teachers certainly don’t mind the selection of instructional video (or their viewers). Sooner or later, if you want to improve in yoga, you will find an instructor.

Professional typesetting, graphic design and other disciplines have not gone away despite the high number of low-cost software solutions for the amateur. Only insecure careerists fight off technology. The professionals, though, those with real talent, use technological shifts to move up the food chain. It is easy to encourage buyers of translation services  to explore and experiment with crowdsourcing platforms. Professional translators bring more than just good tools to their work.

The best translators love it when clients use machine translation or crowdsourcing. The insight of their limitations pushes both client and translator to do better work.

Talented translators don’t fear the crowd or the cloud. Bring them on! When you need something worth paying for, they say, we’ll be here. And what we will sell you will be worth more than we charge you.

If you are upset by advancements in translation technology, get better instead of getting angry.

A recent report form Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL), Global Powers of Consumer Products 2012 states that “more consumer products companies are integrating business performance improvement, information management, and advanced analytics initiatives to meet the needs of their businesses. In many cases consumer products executives will seek to deploy existing and new technologies in a disruptive way, to further engage with consumers and customers…”

I have predicted that in December 2011 at the first Localization Forum of the Translator Association of China (TAC) and in April 2012 during my webinar for the Globalization And Localization Association.(if you missed it, you can watch it here):

The role of the translator and the in-house translation reviewer continues to change. The end-user is becoming the ultimate judge of the quality of translated text and usability of localized services and products. There  is great opportunity here for both buyers and providers of localization services to collaborate in harnessing the power of the end client and in integrating the voice of the consumer communities as early as in research and development.

Work Hard, Be Nice     Your Dig-IT Team

Increase Your Competence Security In Localization Project Management

A new blend of self-paced, online learning modules will help increase your impact on top and bottom lines of your localization program. The Localization Project Management Certification Program sharpens your skills to deliver localized products that are on time, on budget and on quality targets. Courses are self-paced sessions followed by a two-day project management training workshop and certification exam. Enrollment is open now. Learn More…

New Technologies Change $15 Billion Translation Industry

As new technologies continue to change the future of the translation industry, how do translation companies stay relevant and competitive? Andrew Lawless, Founder and President of Dig-IT Consulting, framed that question to members of the Globalization and Localization Association this month. Missed it? Watch the recording here.

See Growth in Your Organization Through Localization

LinkedIn has over 25 million users across Asia due to localization efforts according to The Next Web. It launched several local language websites and opened new offices to expand their growth in the Asian market.  Read more…

How to Be an Effective Global Leader

Harvard Business Review says that all global leaders need to have a global mindset. This includes being able to interpret situations from multiple points of view, be knowledgeable about economic and plitical issues worldwide, and transcend cultural barriers. Click here to learn more on how you can be a global leader.

Large Market for Arabic Language Localization in Mobile Marketing

There is a large Arabic-speaking market waiting for localized content, according to a Plus7 survey. Arabic consumers use their smartphones to make informed purchases and prefer for it to be in Arabic. Read more…

Tablets Quickly Becoming Primary Global Computing Devices

Global tablet sales expected to rise from 56 million in 2011 to 375 million in 2016, according to Forrester which predicst 760 million tablets in use globally by 2016. One-third of these tablets will be purchased by businesses, and emerging markets will drive about 40% of sales. Read more…

Why In-Person Collaboration is Important for Success

In-person collaboration has many benefits – including the promotion of innovation and good customer relationships says CMS Wire. Good collaboration can help resolve problems more efficiently, generate long-term relationships, and create opportunities- all leading to greater success. Read more…

Growing Diversity in US Foreign Languages Calls for Greater Localization

Arabic, Vietnamese, and Mandarin are among the most requested languages in the US’ largest cities., according to Language Line Services. Spanish is still number 1 but there is significant growth in request for other foreign tongues. Read more…

Best Languages for Microblogging

Chinese is the best language for microblogging: A 78-character tweet in English would be only 24 characters long in Chinese, according to The Economist. Japanese is concise too: fans of haikus, poems in 17 syllables, can tweet them readily. Read more…

Americans Make up Bulk of Twitter Users but Dutch Most Active Users

107.7 million of Americans have Twitter accounts. But they are more passive than the Netherlands, Japan and Spain, according to a Semiocast report.. Read more…

Multilingual SEO Tips From Google at SMX Munich

Have one unique URL per set of contents, targeted by country or language.  Find more  of Google’s multilingual SEO tips here.

Under the Hood Of Life/Science Localization

As life/science enterprises mature, the internal support services and the efficiency of multiple workplaces matter as much as cutting edge biological discovery, commercialization and manufacturing. Andrew Lawless will host a panel discussion on solutions for optimizing and scaling operations with two of the leading global scientific instrument manufacturers, Agilent Technologies and Waters Corporation, at Localization World in Paris from June 4-6.

Google Chrome #1 Browser in the World

Google’s Chrome browser became the world’s most popular browser for the first time, topping the charts for just a single day (on a Sunday no less). Read more…

Tips For Global E-Commerce

A solid localized launch plan for international e-commerce websites includes: localization, immersion in local market, research and implementation. Click here for more tips on selling globally from Econsultancy Digital Marketers United.

China: The World’s Largest Online Population

China now has over a half a billion web users. That is greater than the total population of the European Union or the US. Apple said that China was its second-most important market after the US, accounting for 16% of its total revenue in Q4 2011. If Apple cares, maybe you might to. For more facts on China’s Online market click here…

China Fastest Growing Mobile Market

China now accounts for 23% of all Android and iOS activations in the world, whereas just a year ago it was only 8% according to a Flurry report. Read more…

Over A Billion Worldwide But Social Networking not Global 

There are 1.43 billion expected social network users in 2012, but Facebook and Twitter do not command the global market. TencentQZone dominates China; Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki lead the way for social networking in Russia.  Other countries, including Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and Poland have their own social networking sites. Read more…

Facebook Adds New Indian Languages

Facebook added support several local Indian languages to increase the appeal of its phone app in India, according to The Next Web. Twitter and Google Orkut have also made changes to their sites and apps to engage their Indian audiences. Read more…

“For startups to succeed, they need access to strong relationships – DEMO is fantastic place to launch a startup and enhance the network of support for a young company,” said Scott Case, CEO of the Startup America Partnership. “4Mads, OmniStrat and Share With 911 are among the thousands of startups taking advantage of access to experts, resources, regional connections and large corporations – like FedEx – and new startups are joining every day at www.s.co.”

The three winning startups include:

• 4Mads, which enables users to create engaging rich media ads with simple drag-and-drop technology.
• OmniStrat, a powerful online tool that dramatically improves and simplifies the way you manage your business.
• Share With 911, which allows authorized broadcasters to create temporal, elastic social networks around emergency incidents, enhancing situational awareness for all those involved and leveraging the power of the crowd.

Young companies interested in becoming Startup America members can now join now at www.s.co/join. Once approved, each member has access to a personalized dashboard with which they can manage the resources they choose to take advantage of. The resources fall into five key areas that entrepreneurs find critical to success: Talent, Services, Expertise, Customers and Capital. New partner deals include:

FedEx

All Startup America member companies are eligible for reductions on select FedEx services, including FedEx Express^®, FedEx Ground^®, and FedEx Office^®

Acquia

Acquia, the Enterprise guide to Drupal, is offering Startup America members the ability to create rich immersive web experiences with a free “Starter” tier subscription on Drupal Gardens for 1 year and/or a free “Developer” tier subscription for 3 months (a $297 value).

AKTA Web Studio

AKTA is an industry leader for product innovation, user experience, and interface design specializing in human centered design across digital platforms including web, mobile, tablet, kiosk, television, and touchscreen. AKTA will be providing Startup America members with mentorship to help with UX/UI and product innovation. AKTA will also provide Rampup and Speedup members with a discounted rate on AKTA services.

billfaster.com

billfaster.com is a simple online invoicing, expense tracking, and accounting software for startup firms where no accounting knowledge or software training is needed. billfaster.com, a fast and easy online accounting software, is offering Startup America members twelve (12) months free of the Gold edition, for a total value of over $17M.

CultureRx

CultureRx is the official provider of the Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) implementation process in organizations of all sizes. CultureRx is offering two months of free membership to the ROWE Online Support Community to all Startup America Firms.

icanmakeitbetter

icanmakeitbetter.com, a social innovation and market research platform is providing a free one-year license to all Startup America Firms, for a total value of over $4 million. Startup America Firms now have the power to innovate faster, research smarter and make better decisions today by using icanmakeitbetter.com to crowdsource ideas, engage customers and conduct market research to rapidly innovate and grow.

Intuit ProAdvisors

Intuit Inc., the leading provider in business and financial management solutions for startups, offers 90 minutes of free QuickBooks, tax or accounting advice from a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. A ProAdvisor can help you manage your money and get your business set up properly and are typically CPAs, accounting professionals, and business advisors whose knowledge has been proven and tested on QuickBooks.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn connects the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful. With more than 150 million members worldwide, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network on the Internet. LinkedIn is providing Startup America members help in finding great talent to power their growth, by offering 3 free job posts on LinkedIn’s Job network (a value up to $900) and a 2-month free trial of the LinkedIn Premium Talent Finder account, allowing members to find and contact their ideal candidates on the LinkedIn network.

MEGAstream Media

MEGAstream Media is an online digital marketing solution provider specializing in website design and development, video production and online marketing.  MEGAstream Media is providing up to 35% off on various products and services.

PlanningShop

PlanningShop specializes in practical, hands-on books and resources for entrepreneurship and startups.  PlanningShop is offering an exclusive 40% discount on PlanningShop’s: brand new book, Bringing the Cloud Down to Earth; best-selling book, Successful Marketing: Secrets & Strategies; and marketing financial software, Marketing Budget Templates.

SmartRecruiters

SmartRecruiters is the free social recruiting platform that makes hiring easy.  SmartRecruiters candidate management and smart sourcing technology is entirely free, plus as a Startup America member, SmartRecruiters will offer free and discounted job postings to major and niche job boards.

In addition to these national partners, the Partnership brought on 5 new affiliate and community partners, including: Acceleprise.VC, Campus2Careers, Media Camp (Turner Broadcasting initiative), NewME Accelerator, and SimpleRelevance.

For more information, please visit www.s.co.

About the Startup America Partnership

The Startup America Partnership is a growing national movement of thousands of founders, experts and resources providing startups access to the corporations, investors, and services they need to grow. Launched at the White House in early 2011, the Partnership brings together startups and local champions from around the country focused on creating successful networks for young, high-growth companies to thrive. AOL co-founder Steve Case chairs the Partnership and the Kauffman and Case Foundations are its founding partners. American Airlines, American Express OPEN, Dell Inc., Intuit Inc., Microsoft and NYSE Euronext are corporate sponsors. For more information on the Partnership, visit www.s.co and follow us at www.twitter.com/startupamerica and www.facebook.com/startupamerica.

New technologies continue to change the future of the translator and the $15b translation industry:

• Quality is being defined by a crowd of end-users, not a few in-house reviewers and linguists

• Access to linguistic assets has become more important than owning them

• Process automation eliminates charges for project management and engineering

• Collaboration has become a competitive advantage, not word rates, turnaround times and quality

How do translation companies fit into this new economy?

This webinar presentation to members of the Globalization And Localization Association frames the issues for the current evolution of the localization industry.

Below is what else caught our attention about what’s important for going and being global. Enjoy the reading.

Work Hard, Be Nice     Your Dig-IT Team

Access over Ownership and the Power Of Numbers in Localization

What is the role – if any – of in-house linguistic reviewers in a world where thousands of client users tweet back at the maker of their cell phone, ranting about the poorly localized user interface? This webinar presentation will not only provide some answers, but also frame the issues for the current evolution of the localization industry.

Under the Hood Of Life/Science Localization

As life/science enterprises mature, the internal support services and the efficiency of multiple workplaces matter as much as cutting edge biological discovery, commercialization and manufacturing. Andrew Lawless will host a panel discussion on solutions for optimizing and scaling operations with two of the leading global scientific instrument manufacturers, Agilent Technologies and Waters Corporation, at Localization World in Paris from June 4-6.

Twitter to Increase Engagement by Adding Indian Languages

Twitter pushes its news and communications appeal to Indian users, but needs the support of brands and celebrities to compete, according to The Next Web. Twitter added new features — more languages and  ‘trending topics’ — to its site in an attempt to engage more of the Indian market, according to Pluggd.in. It wants to gain more users in order to compete with Facebook and Google’s Orkut in India.  Read more…

How to Reach the Latino Market in the US

Digital marketing and online marketing play a large role in reaching the Latino market. Latinos spend 10% more time online than the general public. 76% of in-store transactions are influenced by online research, according to a Terra and ComScore survey.  Read more…

Mobile Ads Work Better in Europe than US

Adults in America are fed up with digital ads on smartphones and tablet, according to a recent YouGov survey.  Europeans, however, are willing to make purchases online after viewing an online ad. Why the difference? Read more…

Global Marketing Budget Shift to Emerging Markets

Almost 60% of global marketers are shifting their budget to focus on new markets for growth, as reported by  the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) survey. Why? Read more…

French City Implements Virtual Currency

By 2013, participating local businesses in Nantes, France will be able to pay, or be paid in virtual currency units called “Nanto. ”The goal is to accelerate trade between local companies by limiting the use of cash, thereby reducing cash flow problems and facilitating easier exchanges. The concept promotes a balanced budget by penalizing companies for going over fixed limits of expenditure. Read more…

10 Places Your Not Allowed to See on Google Maps

Not every landmark can be seen on Google maps including, the Royal Palace in the Netherlands and a power plant on Cornell University’s campus, according to Mashable Tech. Click here  to see other places blurred on Google.

Startup World Competition: Applications Now Open

Are you building the world’s best startup? If you’re an entrepreneur living in Mexico City, Lima, Santiago, Buenos Aires, São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro you can apply for the competition, according to The Next Web. If selected, you will have the opportunity to pitch in front of a panel of expert judges in your city. Read more…

New Currency That’s Valuable Online and Offline

“We’re working on creating a special currency that will work in both worlds,” says Cemil Turun of Yogurt Technologies. He called it ‘Kayme‘. Yogurt Technologies is working on the creation of a currency that allows users to pay for services or complete transactions online and the real world without any exchanging . Read more…

Bad Localization May Taint Success Of Smart Phone in China

China’s first WP7 phone has Twitter and Facebook (both blocked in China) support, but appears to have failed to replace them with their Chinese equivalents, according to The Next Web. The phone does include some Chinese web apps or Chinese equivalents of a number of other Internet services. Read more…

Localizing your website can help you reach out to global markets. Case in point: LinkedIn Indonesia hit their one millionth professional member, after launching their local Bahasa Indonesia language site. Read more…

English vs. Mandarin: Global Language of the Future

Language always follows money.  In South East Asia most people feel it is necessary to learn English for success in business. However Mandarin Chinese is starting to rise up. Read more…

YouTube Adds New Languages for Indian Users

Youtube added new Indian languages to their site- including Urdu, Marathi, Bengali, and Tamil.  Read post…

Smartphones and Language Localization: Infographic

People may want to look towards Android phones when it comes to app development and localization. While Symbian’s operating system has the highest amount of languages localized, Android has the highest potential of reaching native speakers. Android also has the highest share of smartphone sales proving to be the best platform for developing apps. Read more…

Apple, Google, Facebook, And Amazon Compete In India Over Mobile, Social Networks, E-Commerce

Facebook, Apple, and Google are all trying to gain entry into India’s markets since Amazon created Junglee.com. If Apple and Google are successful in the Indian markets, it could mean a larger market for Android and iOS apps. Meanwhile, Facebook has potential for great growth in India’s emerging markets. Read more…

Google Translate and iPhone Saves Lives

Thanks to Google Translate and the iPhone a diabetic Chinese man was able to get safely to a hospital. The Chinese man was found exhausted on the side of the road and a state trooper used his iPhone to communicate with the man. Without Google Translate and the iPhone, the save would not have had the same outcome. Read more…

How much local control is needed and what happens when local cultural customs contrast with corporate values? What best practices are being implemented? What company does it better than everyone else? DiversityInc analyzed data and demographics with more than 100 responses from 17 countries across Europe, Asia and the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries. Read more…

Smartphones and Localization: Infographic

In preparation for the 2012 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Moravia’s Mobile Localization Group analyzed different Smartphone Operating Systems are localized. Read more…

Nissan to build crowd-sourced car

Japanese carmaker Nissan will use its Facebook fans to crowd-source a special one-off, track-ready, car model 370Z using off-the-shelf performance parts and accessories. The car will be built in four stages – power, handling/brakes, interior and exterior – with fans making their opinions known through comments, likes and wall posts. Read more…

How to Launch Your App in an International Market

It’s totally fine to start building your mobile app in one language, but if you want to tap the huge international market, you can’t stop there. How should developers go about taking their apps international? For starters, try this handy guide.

New study: Users take tablets on a honeymoon, and into the bathroom

Marketing firm Rosetta released a study in which tablet owners were asked how many of them take their tablets into the bathroom. The study found that almost 25 percent of tablet owners regularly use the devices while… otherwise preoccupied… and a full majority of users — 68 percent — also take the devices to the bedroom with them. Read more…

Apple’s mess in China: What you need to know (FAQ)

To learn more about Apple’s overseas labor situation keep reading. CNET has compiled a list of frequently asked questions on the topic.

Apple’s iPad trademark issues in China may extend to a complete trade ban

Apple could face a complete ban on the import and export of its iPad tablet in China after a Chinese technology firm which claims to own the ‘iPad’ trademark said it will seek a ban on shipments of the device. Read more…

Beware Twitter Censorship

Twitter users should take care with the information they tweet if they have  global audience. Recently in Brazil, authorities demanded the use of Twitter’s censorship to suspend and block Twitter profiles that warn of traffic controllers. According to the Brazilian authorities, accounts that share the location of radars and mobile road control points violate several laws.  Read More…

Make Your Quick Response Codes Global

You can now have a QR code (Quick Response code) that is universal. A new technology allows information from QR codes to be displayed in the handset owner’s language. The technology detects the default language of the handset owners browser after the owner scans the code. Read More…

Work Hard, Be Nice      Your Dig-IT Team 

Beat Tough Economic Times: Localize More Website Content 

Companies like HP have made enormous strides in moving content localization deeper and deeper into their country sites.  You can bet there is a sound ROI for doing so. Read more…

Apple Record Revenues Rely on Localization

Apple announced its results for their first quarter of fiscal year 2012: Net Income of $ 13.1 billion and $ 46.3 billion in revenues. Read more…

How Google Beats Facebook as Best Global Website of 2012

Google has beat Facebook as the best global website of 2012 due to its language growth – its search engine supports more than 140 languages and Google+ app supports 40. Read more…

What Twitter’s Censorship of Tweets Means For Your Country Strategy

A recent article reveals Twitter has the ability to reactively withhold content from users in a specific country. Subsequent articles show the censorship has already caught attention in several countries – Thailand, the United Kingdom, and China.

In India, Use Google For Smartphone Apps, But Facebook For Social Networking

A full 25 percent of Indian users’ time with apps is spent on those developed by Google, with the Android Market, YouTube and Gmail leading the way. However Facebook dominates social networking with 45 percent of user time. Read more…

Where To Find The Most Tweets in Africa

Reports form  Tweetminster and Portland  reveal that the use of Twitter in Africa is dominated by its richest country: South Africa sent 5,030,226 tweets – twice as many as the next most active Kenya who sent 2,476,800 tweets.  Read more…