ITD 2020 : Building trust on the Internet Q&A follow up
Thread poster: Mike Donlin
Mike Donlin
Mike Donlin
Local time: 04:57
SITE STAFF
Sep 30, 2020

Good morning,

As part of ITD 2020 https://www.proz.com/tv/ITD2020, I gave the presentation "Building trust on the internet". There is limited time for Q&A so I wanted to take the time to provide some answers to your questions and help keep the conversation going. I will try to add this to the ProZ.com blog as well. Please feel free to pull out questions and answers for your responses.
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Good morning,

As part of ITD 2020 https://www.proz.com/tv/ITD2020, I gave the presentation "Building trust on the internet". There is limited time for Q&A so I wanted to take the time to provide some answers to your questions and help keep the conversation going. I will try to add this to the ProZ.com blog as well. Please feel free to pull out questions and answers for your responses.

Here were some of the questions asked:

What do you recommend for risk management on ProZ.com and other sites?

Risk management is important for all freelancers at ProZ.com and other sites. As noted in the presentation, it is especially important at ProZ.com because you are free to create your own relationships with outsourcers - and to take your relationship off the site for the rest of your career.

Approach each new relationship appropriately. At ProZ.com, reputable outsourcers should identify themselves and the company they represent. Those individuals and the company should have a profile and page. All outsourcers are able to be listed on the Blue Board https://www.proz.com/blueboard which provides feedback (the social proof from the talk).

Two blog posts that have discussed some of this are here:

Six ways to assess new outsourcers
https://go.proz.com/blog/qualify-new-outsourcers

Do you know how to spot a potential scam?
https://go.proz.com/blog/spot-a-potential-scam

A simple google search, and search of other platforms should be your first step. You can search names, company domains and emails for traces of your new contact on the web. Take those extra 3 minutes.

If your contact is not willing to register for a site, or does not have much other evidence of positive interactions ... it would be worthwhile to be careful.

Fantastic talk. What would you recommend in terms of trust-building actions (not just building professional sites)? Blogs, seminars, live chats...?

Trust-building actions would be anything that provides the social proof of your expertise in the industry - and existence. In addition to writing blogs, hosting or attending seminars, or meeting someone via Skype. I would suggest commenting on blogs, adding to the conversation on forums, Facebook groups, Twitter conversations, etc. There are also opportunities at sites like ProZ.com to show off your expertise (KudoZ).

The areas for discussion that were referenced on the talk:

Translators and Interpreters (ProZ.com): https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProZcom - also a group on LinkedIn

Translation Mastermind: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thetranslationmastermind

ProZ.com forum: https://www.proz.com/forum

ProZ.com KudoZ: https://www.proz.com/kudoz/


It's hard to trust anyone if you do not place trust in yourself.

This is true. It may require working on your own mindset. Once you trust in yourself and are comfortable with who you are... you will build more trust. Some may enjoy commenting on every controversial topic on social media, others may like creating videos that show off their work but never appear with their face, others may be silent experts who answer topics in more intellectual type streams (like KudoZ). Not everyone has to become a published author to establish trust. Hoping people will take a chance on you without any signals of trust will make freelancer success more difficult.

More talks on how to get translations memories and techniques on ProZ.com.

I will share this request. Any experts out there? Opportunities are available for creating training, a guest blog post and giving presentations at these events.

How can we offer volunteer work at Proz.com?

There are non-profit and volunteer job opportunities often posted on the site. Translators Without Borders https://translatorswithoutborders.org/ has worked with ProZ.com community for years and is currently helping connect with Translation Commons : www.translationcommons.org

There are often other opportunities posted on the site.

How to balance transparency (e.g. using your full name when signing up) and privacy (e.g. being careful to WHOM you provide WHICH of your data, to be used HOW)?

I would be sure to ask questions every time. Be sure you trust the person you are sharing the information with. Ask the platform what their policies are. ProZ.com for instance will not share your email address. This is to keep you from receiving spam (among other things). I'm comfortable with spam and my professional email out there - but that alone might be something you do not want out there.

Ask your banking institutions directly what can be shared. Your account numbers may be "deposit only" so safe to share, but be sure you are clear on what is shared.

Certain aspects build trust without being too personal or too much data. Your name, image and other identifying aspects can build trust. This concern with WHICH data is why it is helpful to build your name as a brand and helps make successful freelancers.

I have a few customers (also translation agency) with whom I worked, who first-contacted me via Gmail. I don't know why they didn't use other addresses!

What is wrong about having a Hotmail or a yahoo email account?

What's wrong with gmail? How do I devise a better address? How can I get my own? Thanks in advance


GMAIL is fine, it works great, but if you are recruiting or being recruited an address like mikeyd123@ gmail.com might not be the branding you want to give off to your prospect. Be especially concerned about recruiters that use personal addresses.

You said Gmail is not recommendable to use, with a high school nickname. What other domain do you suggest?

Personal branding of your own URL is available. Here is a link to how you may want to do this: https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/how-to-get-a-free-email-domain-quick-and-easy-methods/

Note, that is a quick google search ... I have not vetted any of the companies suggested in the blog post.

Here is a response from Jason Grimes - ProZ.com site staff in the forum: https://www.proz.com/forum/prozcom_hosting/346111.html

If having a proper e-mail address and domain name is so important, why is ProZ ditching the hosting program that we pay for through our ProZ membership?

Others are doing the hosting better. The service was provided when websites and domain hosting were not easily available in the marketplace. It has not been an area of strength for ProZ.com for several years.

It is better explained in this forum post: https://www.proz.com/forum/prozcom_hosting/346114-prozcom_hosting_service_is_coming_to_an_end_december_1.html

Is the Translation Mastermind Group on ProZ.com site or Facebook? Thanks.

Translation Mastermind https://www.facebook.com/groups/thetranslationmastermind is a facebook group. Membership is included for professional plus members.

How does translation test help in building trust?

If you have completed a test from a reputable agency or organization and the results are verified, that is one way to build trust. Be sure the name matches on the certificate.

I presume agencies send tests in order to see if they can trust your expertise with work as well. Forum commenters will have plenty of feedback on tests.

Thank you Mike for your presentation. These are aspects we often forget about but need to be reminded of to better manage our online presence.

Agreed. I hope most of it is common sense. Think of your own profile and how others view you in the same way that you make decisions on the internet.

How did you start in this industry and how was it dealing with trust and privacy at the beginning of your career?

Hopefully others can answer this question. I would consider myself an outsider to the industry. My "trust" came about via a community based relationship with ProZ.com staff.
https://go.proz.com/blog/the-people-behind-proz.com-mike-donlin

Is there anything specific a person needs to do if he/she is making a migration from a different industry to translation?

When migrating from a different industry, I would start by being honest and authentic about this transition. Often your translation skills from that industry would be of interest to outsourcers.

Thanks a lot!! How to get rated/ask testimonials from your 1st clients if you have only worked 4 agencies (won't usually recommend their vendors to others!!)

We do know that some agencies and vendor managers like to keep great translators as their secret weapons, and do not wish to share with others. I might think about taking work solely for the testimonial. This may mean volunteering or taking on something that pays less than normal. It may help to offer your services to those who have recommended vendors at ProZ.com. Check out the profiles of your peers and see who they are getting feedback from. Do others have suggestions here?

Do you consider very important to have a professional Facebook page with your real name? Thanks for the great presentation!

Do you recommend having distinct profiles - a personal profile and a professional one - on social media? Or sharing both could offer clients a clearer picture?


I do not think Facebook has to be a place where you talk about your freelancer business. However, since there are groups of active freelancers and businesses - using your name may be something you want to do to build your brand. There are over 43,000 in the ProZ.com facebook group, so it is a worthwhile place to make yourself known. I do not like to mix my personal facebook page with the business.
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Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Where is the recording of day 1 please? Oct 3, 2020

I can only find the recording of day 2🤷‍♂️

Mike Donlin
 
Mike Donlin
Mike Donlin
Local time: 04:57
SITE STAFF
TOPIC STARTER
Recording of day one Oct 5, 2020

Hi Chris,

There is an "Event post" icon in the upper right of the livestream area at https://www.proz.com/tv/ITD2020

Click there and it will lead you back to the day one videos as well.

Through the livestream interface is the way to get back to day one right now.

Mike


 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Thanks Oct 5, 2020

Mike Donlin wrote:

Hi Chris,

There is an "Event post" icon in the upper right of the livestream area at https://www.proz.com/tv/ITD2020

Click there and it will lead you back to the day one videos as well.

Through the livestream interface is the way to get back to day one right now.

Mike


Brilliant. Thanks!


 


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ITD 2020 : Building trust on the Internet Q&A follow up







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