2017 Top 10 Blog Posts

As the end of 2017 is fast approaching, let’s recap on the year’s most popular blogs as we did in 2015 and 2016. 

2017 has proved a quieter year for blogging - especially when compared with my exceptionally busy year of 2016. The year's writing still resulted in some very popular blogs with readers judging by my analytics. Event blogs remained popular. They were beaten by a number of other blog subjects this year. The early year blogs were the most popular. The cultural blogs of 2016 seemed somewhat dampened by Brexit.

I have remarked on a number of occasions that clients are not interested in translation. I therefore try to engage them via cultural aspects or by illustrating important considerations using another subject - e.g. boat industry safety, ice skating, art, etc. As a number of these blogs appear in the top 10 below, I consider that this strategy is working. Blogs raise a freelancer's profile and go on working for you when you are busy. Old blogs are revisited frequently. That was certainly the case for this year's No. 1.

Top Blogs

1. French v. British Cultural Debate
Summary of a French Chamber of Great Britain debate that took place at the French Ambassador's Residence in London. It centred on the differences between French and British business approaches and education. 

Every time Brexit discussions became tricky, the visits to this blog seemed to increase. Analytics reveal around 3,500 views - not bad for a freelancer's blog.

Post from 25 January 2017

2. A Bubble about to Burst?

Summary of the FIT President's Presentation at the University of Bristol in the presence of the Chair of GALA and a former Chair of the ITI. There was much discussion on the night and following the event - especially about hype affecting the translation industry.

Post from 16 February 2017

3. Video for SMEs

Review of Guardian Masterclass on Video production and editing by Rosenblum TV - and my experiences of putting what I learnt into practice afterwards.

Post from 10 January 2017

4. Boat Show Quality Translated

This could be considered number 2 if I combined all the viewings for the French and German versions too. An example of trying to explain translation issues to clients using safety and quality considerations from another field.

Salon nautique : comment se traduit la qualité ?

Bootsausstellung: Qualität übersetzt

Post from 13 January 2017

5. Virtual Reality as an Art Form
This high entry surprised me. Art is a field that interests French clients. However, the subject is relevant to considerations on artistry and innovative tools in the translation industry. The possibilities are only just beginning. Real excitement tinged with concerns as with any new field.

Post from 12 January 2017

6. Is Speech Technology Unstoppable?
A blog inspired by a webinar on speech technology by TAUS. This is probably the most controversial subject matter and approach of the year. However, given how the year has developed with President Trump and North Korea, etc, the concerns seem even more relevant. The technologists have been dictating the direction of the translation industry for some time, it is time for the human-centred counterrevolution.

Post from 17 January 2017

7. Australian Impressionists - Glocalisation in Art?
Review of the National Gallery's Australian Impressionists' Exhibition. It was interesting how the Australian artists were inspired by French Impressionists to depict their own country. Is native expression better in art as in translation?

Post from 20 January 2017

8. Inspirational Legacies of Words
Summary of talk linked to South African exhibition at the British Museum. Consideration of the legacy of words left by Presidents Mandela and Obama. Some great quotations and an emphasis on the importance of education.

Post from  18 January 2017

9. Canary Wharf Winter Lights Festival
Review with video of the light festival in Canary Wharf, London.

Post from 25 January 2017

10. Choosing an Inspirational Statue
Comments on leadership inspired by the selection of models for the next Fourth Plinth Statue in Trafalgar Square.

Post from 26 January 2017

A reminder of last years' top blogs:

Top Business and Cultural Blogs in 2016

Plant Diversity in 2016-17?
What can you expect in 2017? The MSc in Plant Diversity at the University of Reading is keeping me very busy, but you can probably expect more on botanical, ecological and climate change subject matter. There's a rich seam of material and comparisons yet to be explored.

In the meantime, have you seen my Advent Blogs on Dr Alastair Culham's site at the University of Reading?
The Glastonbury Thorn
Christmas Cyclamen 

Have you seen the botanically-inspired blog about professional translation?

Cow Parsley or Hemlock








Season's Greetings and Best Wishes for 2018
Karen


Karen Andrews is a French to English marketer and marketing strategist, translator, transcreator, content writer and editor. She holds an MSc in Scientific, Technical and Medical Translation with Translation Technology from Imperial College London (2005-7). She is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists, Society for Editors and Proofreaders, Society of Authors and the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators. She can also offer your brand the value of over 15 years' expertise and experience in global marketing. Karen Andrews is  studying for an MSc in Plant Diversity at the University of Reading (2017-18).

Anglicity's Top 2016 Business and Cultural Blogs

2016 has proved a busy year for blogging. Unfortunately, any review of 2016 is not complete without a mention of Brexit. I think it is especially important for us to stress to current and potential clients how much we value our European connections.

The end of 2016 is fast approaching, so let’s recap on the year’s most popular blogs as we did in 2015. The most popular posts were the lists of largely European conferences and events. Many readers commented on how useful they found them. Thank you!

Mixing Business and Culture

Cultural posts are very popular. They are part of my marketing strategy - not a whim or a travel log. They reach out to both clients and colleagues. Cultural awareness is an essential part of translation. It is also an easier route to engage clients about translation issues.

When working with France, it is important not just to focus on business aspects. I noted with interest recently that a top tip for the British working with France is to:

‘Show an interest in French culture, history and society’

Le piège de la ressemblance / Light at the End of the Tunnel
French Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain

My blog is not just for France or French-speaking countries. I never cease to be amazed by my blog’s analytics and the number of countries that it reaches worldwide. It’s not all about high numbers. Sometimes a blog with just 40 readers can be more effective in reaching new clients than one with hundreds of readers. That said, here are the most popular blogs of 2016:

Top 3 Event lists:

1. 2016 European Language and Cultural Events

2. 2017 Preview: Language and Cultural Events

3. November 2016 - Localisation, Language, Terminology and Cultural Events 

December 2016 is now available as a separate post to include end of year and festive events.

Other Blogs:

4. Belgium’s Ninth Art 

Photo blog of visit to Comic Art Museum in Brussels. Status of comics in Franco-Belgian culture. Tintin, Asterix, the Smurfs. Humour of 'How to become Belgian'.

Post from 21 February 2016

5. Dutch is FUN

Dutch language and culture taster class at EU Representation in the UK's home in London. A highly entertaining and humorous event.

Post from 18 March 2016

6. Should you choose a robot or a human?

Reflections from music and robots to machine translation. Why you should choose a professional human translator for creative marketing translations.

Post from 3 April 2016

7. Elia Together Conference

Review of the 1st European Conference bringing freelance translators and language service providers together in Barcelona. Focus on communication, relationships, growth and technology.

Post from 18 February 2016

8. Commemorative Poppies

Commemorative display at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Created for Anzac Day, remembering the Battle of Verdun and Somme Centenaries and vigils.

Post from 29 May 2016

9. Big Data in Action

Transport for London's use of Big Data. London's transport challenges, data collection, planning and overcrowding. Future plans for open data and a personalised data service for passengers.

Post from 25 April 2016

10. Brexit Battles Ahead

Reflections on Brexit on the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. 

Post from 30 June 2016

Happy reading!

Big Data in Action

Big Data sounds big. It’s the buzzword on everyone’s lips with a BIG future. Attendees at the recent techUK Big Data Roadshow were treated to an excellent presentation on what big data means in action by Transport for London (TFL).

Lauren Sager Weinstein, TFL’s Head of Analytics, revealed how data is providing valuable insights into customer journeys leading to better business decisions. She described the benefits to both customer and the business, as well as the challenges.

The London Challenge

The challenge is huge. London is gaining new residents at a rate of 9 every day. Today’s the capital’s population stands at 8.6 million. This figure is expected to increase to 10 million by 2030. It sounds unsustainable on London’s creaking old tube system. TFL cannot make decisions in isolation. It has to liaise with the Mayor of London and other politicians.

Getting the Picture

Oyster cards, contactless data, traffic cameras, signal detectors on roads and bus location data are giving TFL a clearer picture of what is happening on the network in real time. Big data is proving more accurate than traditional clipboard surveys on designated routes.

Data Collection

The original Oyster card scheme was introduced in 2003 and was not designed for big data. Tapping in and tapping out at ticket barrier today creates a linked journey. TFL can track where passengers are going. With buses, you tap in but not out. An algorithm makes an assumption as to where passengers got off and resumed their journey on the Underground. It assumes the most efficient journey choice. Individuals are not tracked. Anonymised data shows Londoners’ journey patterns.

Planning

Lauren explained that such data helps with bus planning. TFL can look at a particular route. If a bus is 80% full, is it time to introduce a new bus? Or a bigger bus? Was it a special event day? How can routes be planned better in future?

TFL captures contactless data on entering buses

Overcrowding

In the case of the Victoria Line, a new signal system is recording the weight of trains to assess overcrowding levels. Overcrowded trains are slower as they have a longer dwell time in stations – due to passengers leaning on doors, etc. The challenge for TFL is how to communicate the information in real time so that customers can alter their journeys/behaviour. A proposal includes symbols on platform signs to show crowding levels.

Lauren displayed data for 9 October 2015. The busiest stations came as no surprise: Kings Cross, Oxford Circus, Victoria, Waterloo, Liverpool Street, London Bridge, Brixton, Stratford and Canary Wharf.

Given recent experiences, it didn’t surprise me that Oxford Circus featured in three of the busiest routes: Brixton to Oxford Circus, Liverpool Street to Oxford Circus and Victoria to Oxford Circus. On a couple of occasions recently, I have felt that Oxford Circus was so overcrowded that platforms were dangerous. I would have appreciated being told to take an alternative route before arrival, rather than deciding to get out quick and walk. Entry to and exit from Holborn Station seemed better managed, although that herded cattle feeling isn’t great.

Passengers with Luggage

I was pleased that Lauren showed an awareness of passengers travelling with luggage. As I watch tourists struggle through London’s rabbit warren of tunnels and steps, I do wonder. I get exasperated that my bus from Marylebone stops at Euston instead of Kings Cross/St Pancras. I am now hoping big data will favour a route change. At the end of an exhausting international trip, it’s hard-going.

Open Data

TFL hopes to find suitable partnerships to develop agile thinking and technology further. The focus is on open data. Any new process must have a solid business case behind it. It is seeking a more “joined-up” view for the future.

Personalised data service to customers in transit

Personalised Data Service

TFL is also keen to provide a more personalised service to customers. Passengers have the option as to whether they want to share their data. To do so, they need to register their device and preferences with TFL. This could mean that they would receive notices direct to their phone – e.g. about refunds, roadworks or other issues. TFL works closely with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on data protection.

When contactless was first introduced, I will admit that I was wary. Now, I like the time gained at the ticket barriers. So I’m looking forward to future developments. I remember learning at UKTI’s Big Data event in Paris that I fell into the most difficult group to persuade…

Can TFL persuade passengers to avoid overcrowded routes? Later that same day, I got off at the great new station at Tottenham Court Road instead of busy Oxford Circus. I approached my destination from a different direction on foot and arrived much happier for the experience.

Karen Andrews runs
Anglicity Ltd. She offers 

copywriting, translation

and transcreation services.

For further information,

 see Anglicity's website

Tricky Attributions

Friday was frustrating. A sudden unexplained spike in the analytics for an old blog revealed a copy pirate. Research lead to further discoveries in the murky waters of SEO and Google Analytics.

My blogging efforts were being redirected to another site. Grr!

The site even claimed to be “honest”. Double grr!

It was by no means certain that Google would give my site precedence. Triple grr!

In a black mood, I was glad to get out for the evening. I headed for some Italian culture at the Royal Academy of Arts. Little did I realise that that the tricky theme of attribution was to continue…

Venetian Artists

The Royal Academy of Arts is currently showing the works of early 16^th century Venetian artists. The exhibition is entitled “In the Age of Giorgione”. Our expert guide explained that all the paintings in the collection had been attributed to Giorgione at some time.

Art detective work lead to reflections on attributing and crediting translators and copywriters for their online work. Let me explain…

Guided Tour

Our guide explained that pretty much everything we know about Giorgione could be written on the back of a postage stamp. We know that he was born in Castelfranco Veneto. We don’t know the exact date, although we believe somewhere around 1478. We know that he lived and worked in Venice. He died in his early thirties, probably of the plague. 

The collection brings together paintings from a 10-year period in Venetian art. There was a whole new generation of artists. If we cannot be sure exactly which paintings are Giorgione’s, we do know that he had a new approach that influenced the others.

New Approach

Giorgione introduced a new focus on the sitter’s hands. He painted symbolic objects to reflect the sitter’s personality. There was an attempt to depict the sitter’s state of mind and introduce a narrative element. His paintings do not show underdrawings. Instead he painted directly onto the canvas while watching the sitter. As a result, his portraits give us the feeling of capturing a real individual. They do not stare absently into the distance. Our eyes meet.

False Attributions

Our guide drew our attention to the addition of landscapes into drawings. He stressed how some figures depicted are set within the landscape, rather than it merely being a backdrop. In the past, the presence of a landscape meant that paintings were attributed to Giorgione. In the 1900s a hundred paintings were attributed to him, now just 40.

Clarity is difficult. A list of 15 works was drawn up 15 years after his death. Only 3 descriptions are recognisable. We know some paintings were lost or are in too poor a condition to act as good verification. We know he shared a studio. We are told that he fell out with Titian. Unfortunately, the source is considered suspect and only offers a one-sided viewpoint.

Two of the gallery paintings demonstrated the difficulties of attribution very well. The altarpiece of the Virgin and Child with Saint Peter and Saint Mark and a Donor showed three different styles. The most engaging characters are Saint Peter and Saint Mark looking at each other. The donor in the foreground looks wooden by contrast and the way his hands touch the baby’s foot looks awkward. The Madonna and child lack the finesse of the two saints. Even worse is the shadow of a figure that is not even in the painting. This is a panel attributed to Bellini. It is part of a missing triptych and evidently the work of more than one artist of varying talent.

Ah, but it gets worse… Il Tramonto turns out to be a hotchpotch of paintings. A nightmare restoration.

Judge for yourself

At the end of his talk, our guide invited us to look again at all the paintings and ignore the attributions in the labels alongside. Compare the paintings. Is it possible for one artist to change his style so much in just 5 years?

Translation Memory

I found the guided tour intriguing. As I came away, I couldn’t help thinking about all the discussions in the translation world over who owns a translation memory. When a translation is divided up for the sake of speed, it often ends up like Bellini’s Virgin and the Child. Good in parts, but even the good parts are spoilt by the failure to maintain a consistent style. Some translations can end up like Il Tramonto – a case of too many cooks spoilt the broth.

Creative Influence

Creativity is generally a singular rather than a collective activity. A consensus approach can kill creativity. However, the creativity of one artist, translator or writer can inspire the creativity of another. While Giorgione died young, Titian was influenced by him and went on to develop some of his ideas.

Digital Attribution

Returning to the modern digital world, I love how one blog can influence a whole series of others. I hope that genuine authors will get the credit for their ideas and work, rather than the “pirates”.

At the AsLing 2015 Conference, Jaap van der Meer of TAUS mentioned that Oracle are working on a system that could identify the effectiveness of individual phrases. Now, it strikes me that this might identify exactly who is responsible for the copy with the most effective sales conversions. Such attributions could lead to fairer remuneration or a “bonus” for the best in the profession. The best work will be known, attributable and visible.

Karen Andrews runs
Anglicity Ltd. She is an 
entrepreneurial French
to English translator,
transcreator, copywriter,
and digital marketer.

For further information see
Anglicity's website

Big Data with UKTI in France

UKTI event at the Residence of the British Ambassador in Paris

On 19^th March, I attended a very informative event at the Residence of the British Ambassador in Paris entitled:

 "How Big Data and Analytics are Energising Economic Growth - Accelerating Innovation, Building Trust, Powering Performance".

UKTI's Lyon-based team planned the programme to explore the business, social and technical challenges created by Big Data and analytics.

Sir Peter Ricketts, the British Ambassador to France, opened the day's proceedings and underlined how both Britain and France are at the forefront in the field.

The day comprised of 4 panel discussions in the morning and a series of roundtables in the afternoon. The event was very successfully chaired by David Reed of DataIQ and involved a well-selected blend of knowledgeable UK and French panel speakers and roundtable hosts.

The 4V's

In his introduction, David Reed referred to the 4V's of Big Data:

·      Velocity

·      Volume

·      Variety

·      Veracity

He stressed the pace of change and the importance of unlocking the value in data. Unstructured data is of no value whatsoever. We need to work out how to structure it. A new skillset will be required.

Female caution

There were many knowledgeable female panellists. It was generally the women who raised the main notes of caution and ethics in this new Big Data "gold rush".

The event covered so much ground that it is impossible to do the subject justice in a single blog. My main takeaways are summarised below:

1. Infrastructure will be key

Structuring huge amounts of data will be power-hungry. 

2. Doubts over ability of mature cities to expand

Global Switch datacenters commented that most mature cities are struggling with ageing infrastructures. No additional capacity in London; tough situation in Paris. You need a window of 3-5 years to get a reliable new electricity supply. (Major financial centres cannot afford to lose even a day's trading or want to risk resorting to back-up systems).

3. Structuring data

Data needs to be structured and segmented to unlock value for different demographics, locations and requirements.

4. Right "TechCity" location

Four key factors:

(i) TechCities need to be sited near universities producing graduates with the right skills from data science courses with very current industry relevance.

(ii) Access to local staff with technical know-how (examples of Barcelona, Toulouse and Montpellier given).

(iii) A supportive local Government

(iv) Must meet demanding bandwidth requirements (rural areas should not be excluded. Reverse of UK trend to live in countryside in France).

4. Verifiable identity and privacy

The ability currently exists to identify more than 50% of the world's population. It was suggested that identifying the remaining 50% could be achieved within 5 years. Accessed via worldwide agreements, but dangers and concerns exist over privacy.

5. Consumer at the heart of regulation 

Concern for the consumer needs to be at the heart of regulation. Only the right people should have access to given data. Access rights need careful segmentation.

6. Standards and good governance

Standards are important - ISO/IEC 27001: Information security management.

Significant numbers of organisations are simply not doing enough on security protocols.

7. Data security breaches

US requires that data security breaches are reported within 72 hours. Most companies do not realise that they have been attacked for 200 days. The average cybercriminal only needs one day to succeed. In 69% of cases, a cyberattack is detected by third parties - usually the customer with a fraud on his account.

8. Hacking of health and medical data

Major and powerful pharmaceutical companies are very keen to access data relating to medicines. There is a major concern about the security of medical data. Credit card details can be changed. Medical data cannot be changed if hacked. French example given of hacked blood tests with extortion demands. 

9. Potential role of innovation centres

Example of TUBA in Lyon to capture local ideas. Aim for a bottom-up rather than top-down approach. Success of the Lyon scheme should be unveiled in October 2015.

10. SMEs for innovation

There is concern over private sector involvement in research. Often findings do not make it into the public domain. Innovation needs to happen with SMEs. Is FrenchTech competitive approach one to be copied? Tech clusters already exist around the UK.

What next?

UKTI hopes to build a UK/French collaborative business campaign around the Information Economy. Plans are already afoot in Big Data and IoT. The new Eurostars scheme may offer French and British SMEs opportunities to collaborate.

If you would appreciate help with your technical communications, email karen@anglicity.com or call Karen on +44 (0)20 8581 9369.

Karen Andrews runs
Anglicity Ltd. She is a

technical writer and 

translator with over

15 years' marketing

experience. Anglicity offers

marketing consultancy and

content marketing with a 

particular focus on innovation.