Blog

Word Awareness, Inc. Achieves Business Goal With 500 Invoices Issued in 28 Months

2011-11-10T22:14:17Z

Word Awareness, Inc., a small network of professional translators established in California, proudly announces the achievement of a very relevant business goal: 500 invoices issued in the past 28 months of business, since its incorporation in 2009.

For a small business, it is critical to monitor the health and success of our operations and there are numerous achievements that can indicate these accomplishments. For Word Awareness, Inc., one of these achievements was found in a simple day-to-day operation. Just as it is important to recognize and surmount hurdles along the way, it is equally important to set business goals and celebrate when they are achieved.

Word Awareness, Inc. Names Jennifer Grenier Project Manager

2011-06-22T15:21:53Z

California translation company hires Project Manager to streamline assignments

Word Awareness, Inc. (http://www.wordawareness.com), a small network of professional translators established in California, announces the appointment of Jennifer Grenier as Project Manager. Ms. Grenier joined the team in May and will serve as the company's point of contact for clients seeking translation services and for freelance translators who wish to join the team.

In her new position, Ms. Grenier will be responsible for client outreach, project management, and identifying and selecting potential team members who can add value to the services that are currently offer by our network of translators.

Word Awareness and Zervaas Enterprises team up to translate Transit Times app

2011-05-23T21:36:41Z

California translation company and Australian app developer make public transport timetables available in Spanish for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad

Originally conceived and programmed in English, Transit Times uses an open data feed called General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) provided by each featured city in order to coordinate information on buses, trains, subways, trams, and ferries.

So far Transit Times is available in Adelaide and Perth in Australia, Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand, Philadelphia, Miami and Austin in the United States, and Vancouver in Canada. More cities will be added from time to time.

Word Awareness launches new website

2011-04-13T21:54:52Z

California translation company uses SquareSpace for new attractive web design

Word Awareness, a small network of professional translators established in California, has just launched a new version of its corporate website. The new attractive web design is provided by SquareSpace, a web-based software that makes web publishing easy.

“SquareSpace was the right option for us because we were looking for an affordable alternative that would yield a professional and ellegant final result”, Word Awareness CEO Rafa Lombardino explains. “Our old website had some limitations and a lot of content still had to be coded manually. Besides, we had been unable to fully integrate new advances with the old platform, such as social networking and other customizable sections.”

Business Basics Workshop Series Dedicated to Translators this Spring

2011-03-22T00:33:49Z

The University of California, San Diego Extension will be offering this Spring 2011 a workshop series targeted at translators. “Business Basics” is intended to introduce the business, financial, and marketing side of the profession.

Experienced and aspiring translators alike will learn more about how to apply for translation projects on-line and review the business skills related to freelancing.

Two of the workshop sessions this year will be presented by Rafa Lombardino, director of Word Awareness, Inc., a network of professional translators established in Southern California.

Word Awareness Implements New Project Management Platform

2011-03-18T22:43:35Z

Word Awareness, Inc., a network of professional translators established in California, implemented early February 2011 a new project management platform called ManyMoon to streamline translation tasks among different team members.

With ManyMoon, the Word Awareness team is able to have a centralized location to manage each project and all related tasks, including file conversion, translation, proofreading, and desktop publishing.

Why hire a professional translator?

2011-01-01T15:51:00Z

Being bilingual is not enough
Someone may speak two languages well enough to communicate with native speakers, but the skills demanded of translators go beyond effective communication.

It's not only words
Translators must bridge linguistic and cultural gaps between two groups that cannot speak the same language. This means translating concepts, instead of providing a literal word-for-word version.

Business Basics Workshop Series

2010-04-20T17:00:00Z

A new workshop series targeted at translators looking to improve their business skills will be offered at the University of California, San Diego Extension starting Fall 2010. It is called “Business Basics” and it is intended to introduce current or aspiring translators to the business, financial, and marketing side of this profession.

Two of the workshop sessions to be held this year will be presented by Rafa Lombardino, director of Word Awareness, Inc., a network of professional translators established in Southern California.

On October 2nd, 2010 "Tackling the Job Search" will help participants to put together an effective resume and cover letter template to apply for translation assignments on line. They will also be introduced to the job board environment, become familiar with translation sample requests, and brainstorm ideas on electronic and hard-copy marketing materials they may use in their job search.

Word Awareness Creates News Page on T&I and Language Industry

2010-04-20T17:00:00Z

In partnership with Paper.li, Word Awareness, Inc. has created a multilingual news page on Translation, Interpreting, and Languages using our corporate Twitter feed.

On our news page you'll find find news articles and multimedia content in English, Spanish, and Portuguese about current events in the T&I Industry, as well as language-related stories.

The news page is updated approximately every two days and readers can receive e-mail alerts whenever a new version is available online. Our page it is divided into several sections, including Arts & Entertainment, Education, Media, Business, Technology, and Living.

Nigerian Scams Now Targeting Translators and Interpreters

2010-04-20T17:00:00Z

There's a new twist to Nigerian Scams. Instead of trying to lure people who dream big with a winning lottery ticket or an African prince's inheritance, on-line scam artists are now targeting hard-working professionals in the Translation & Interpreting industry.

The plot is pretty similar: fake client sends a check and intentionally overpays the translator, who is then asked to deposit the complete amount and send back the difference through Western Union. A few days later, the translator receives a call from the bank saying that the check never cleared, while the wire transfer was completed and the so-called “difference” has already left the translator's account.

Scams of this caliber target beginners and experienced professionals, freelancer and companies alike. Daniel Shamebo, with Languages Translation Services, once fell victim to this kind of on-line deception and had to pay his translators and record a loss in his company books. “The business was good for our Japanese and Chinese translators and we paid them in full from our own pocket.”