Slides from my presentation at Sunbelt 2013 conference about freelance translators' social networks and how they are impacted by the Social Web.

1. THE IMPACT OFTHE SOCIAL WEB ON
EMOTIONAL AND FUNCTIONAL SUPPORT
IN PROFESSIONAL NETWORKS
OF FREELANCETRANSLATORS
Marie-Luise Groß, Center forTranslation Studies, University ofVienna
XXXIII Sunbelt Social Networks Conference, May 23rd, 2013, Hamburg, Germany
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2. TRANSLATION STUDIES
• interdiscipline
• drawing from linguistics, literature, sociology, computer science, terminology etc.
• systematic study and description of theory and application of translating written text
• new subfield Translator Studies*:
* Coined by Andrew Chesterman, 2009Marie-Luise Groß:“The Impact of the Social Web on Networks of FreelanceTranslators”
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3. TRANSLATORS
• hidden industry, but constantly growing
• majority of translators are freelancers
• majority of translators are women
• members of the “Freie Berufe”:
highly-qualified, creative individuals with
strong professional ethics and social norms
picture credits: http://www.zm-online.de/Marie-Luise Groß:“The Impact of the Social Web on Networks of FreelanceTranslators”
other members of the “Freie
Berufe” are e.g. physicians,
engineers or lawyers who are
self-employed
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4. RESEARCH QUESTION
Which impact does the Social Web have on the social networks
of freelance translators?
picture credits: inesmergel.wordpress.com
•user-generated content
•social network(ing) sites
•architecture of participation
(O’Reilly 2005)
•the long tail (Anderson, 2008)
•Enterprise 2.0 (McAfee, 2006)
Marie-Luise Groß:“The Impact of the Social Web on Networks of FreelanceTranslators”
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5. PREVIOUS RESEARCH AND
ASSUMPTIONS
• translation is a solitary profession
• translators are a hidden population
• freelancers rely heavily on their formal and informal networks for...
• emotional and functional support
• acquisition of new projects and customers
• production networks
• personal and professional advice
• translators use online-communities to connect with colleagues and agencies
(Dickinson, 2002)
• translators turn to online-communities for emotional and functional support
(Risku/Dickinson, 2009)
credits: http://www.zm-online.de/Marie-Luise Groß:“The Impact of the Social Web on Networks of FreelanceTranslators”
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6. RESEARCH DESIGN
credits: inesmergel.wordpress.com
• explorative, qualitative study
• cluster sample:
• 234 freelance translators (members of the largest GermanTranslators’Association
BDÜ) contacted with personalized e-mails
• response rate: 23%; only 6% of the responses were positive
• 4% (10 individuals) of overall sample participated in study
• 8 female, 2 male; between 5 and 35 years working experience
• observation and think-aloud-protocols at work places
• unstructured, narrative interviews
• structured interview + survey of first-order-zones (ego-networks)
Marie-Luise Groß:“The Impact of the Social Web on Networks of FreelanceTranslators”
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7. NAME GENERATOR
Adapted Fischer-Network (Fischer, 1982) and Global Social Survey (Bailey/Marsden,
1999; Burt, 1984) name generator for surveying emotional and functional support:
• Cooperation: Looking back over the past six months, who are the people with whom you
have worked together on a translation project?
• Knowledge exchange: With whom do you talk about your work on a regular basis?
• Information resources: Who do you contact if you need background information or help
with terminology when you are translating?
• Help: If you are facing difficulties with a translation or in a situation with a customer, who do
you ask for help?
• Functional support: If you are not well or prevented for any reason, is there someone who
takes on a translation project for you?
• Advice: If you need to make a professional decision, who do you ask for their opinion or for
advice?
• Feedback & four-eyes-principle: Who gives you feedback on your work?
Marie-Luise Groß:“The Impact of the Social Web on Networks of FreelanceTranslators”
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8. Marie-Luise Groß:“The Impact of the Social Web on Networks of FreelanceTranslators”
NAME INTERPRETER
• Density: Please also draw a line between people who have some kind of
relationship with each other.
• Multiplicity: Please highlight the people who you also have a relationship with
beyond the translation business.
•Map of first order zone
(ego-network + alters’
relationships with each other)
•I (= Ego) + 3 concentric circles
(very important, important, less
important) + periphery
•Multiplexity (blue curls)
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9. RESULTS
Impact of the Social Web on freelance translators’ networks:
• Weak ties to information resources disappear:WWW is main information
resource.
• Agencies’ participation in online-communities leads to dumping rates and market
erosion:Agencies suggest/generate competition which does not exist as such in
traditional translator networks.
• The majority of the participants in my study are not participating in online-
communities:
• not used to it (digital divide?)
• lack of confidence in qualifications and professionality of other users
• annoyed by questions and bored by discussions
• fear of free riders
• WWW is no marketing channel; projects and customers come through word of mouth
credits: http://www.zm-online.de/Marie-Luise Groß:“The Impact of the Social Web on Networks of FreelanceTranslators”
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10. SURPRISE, SURPRISE! (1/2)
• Business ethics and norms serve as market regulation techniques and
are passed on from experienced translators to novices through
cooperations both in online-communities and traditional, local networks.
However, their impact is much stronger in local, personal networks.
• Strong ties with regular customers are vital to satisfaction and
perceived success. Professional attitude and behavior is key to sense-making (cf.
Gold/Fraser 2001): Translators want to demonstrate their professionality directly
to the customer (deliver high-quality and on time, being reliable, doing extra
services, high availability to regular customers, be a trusted advisor in language,
culture and communications issues, understand customer needs).
• Negative impact: Agencies act as buffers between translators and
their clients:Translators become anonymous services providers, their sense-
making efforts come to nothing.
Marie-Luise Groß:“The Impact of the Social Web on Networks of FreelanceTranslators”
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11. SURPRISE, SURPRISE! (2/2)
• Participants of my study receive support (emotional and practical) through
their personal networks and their membership inTranslators’Associations.
• Participants of other studies (e.g. Risku/Dickinson, 2009) receive the same kind
of support through participation in online-communities.
➡ There are two ways of organizing / organization for freelance translators:
★ online-communities + personal networks
✴ translators’ associations + personal networks
➡ Ambivalent development of
the profession
➡ Digital Divide?
Dickinson, 2002
Marie-Luise Groß:“The Impact of the Social Web on Networks of FreelanceTranslators”
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12. • Why do translators choose one way
of organizing over the other?
• Are there differences in sense-
making, self-perception and
professional success (income,
satisfaction) as a result?
• What impact does this ambivalent
development have on the profession?
• Is there a digital divide between
generations of freelance translators?
FUTURE RESEARCH
Marie-Luise Groß:“The Impact of the Social Web on Networks of FreelanceTranslators”
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13. THANKYOU FORYOUR ATTENTION :-).
VISIT: TRANSLATOR-STUDIES.COM
...OR FOLLOW ME ONTWITTER: @MARIELUISEGROSS
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14. “Anything the theories say
should be tested on some
kind of non-theory,
quantitatively or
qualitatively.”
(Pym 2010)
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