in other words: crowdsourcing translation for a video-driven web

In Other Words: Crowdsourcing Translation for a Video Driven WebJonathan MunarDirector of Digital Media and StrategyArt21

@jonnymoon / @art21

Susan Chun

A non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring a more creative world through the works and words of contemporary artists.

FILMS

TELEVISION/DVD“Art in the Twenty-First Century” (2001–present)“William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible” (2010)

FILMS

ONLINE

“Exclusive” (2008–present) “New York Close Up” (2011–present)

FILMS

ONLINE

“Exclusive” (2008–present) “New York Close Up” (2011–present)

Over 200 total episodesOver 12 total hours of video

FILMS

ONLINE

FILMS

ONLINE

•Largest global video site

•Second largest global search engine*

•70% of traffic comes from outside U.S.

•Localized in 53 countries, across 61 languages

SOURCES: YouTube Press Room; Nielsen

Online Video Trends

SOURCE: Nielsen, 2012

AUGUST 2012

Unique viewers 164,002,000

Total Streams 27,279,400,000

Streams per Viewer 166.3

Time per Viewer (hh:mm) 6:57

Video Producers

Global Internet Language Usage

1.English (27%)2.Chinese (25%)3.Spanish (8%)4.Japanese (5%)5.Portuguese (4%)

6.German (4%)7.Arabic (3%)8.French (3%)9.Russian (3%)10.Korean (2%)

SOURCE: Internet World Stats, 2010

We need to translate our video content...

Crowdsourcing Translation

IMAGE: Do Ho Suh, “Doormat: Home Sweet Home,” 2003. Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT.SOURCE: @art21org on Instagram

“It’s an act of generosity from many people, just sharing knowledge.”—Lidia Cámara de la Fuente, Volunteer Spanish Translator

“It’s an act of generosity from many people, just sharing knowledge.”—Lidia Cámara de la Fuente, Volunteer Spanish Translator

“To inspire people, to give hope to some people. This changes a lot of things in the world.”—Kristine Sargsyan,Volunteer Armenian Translator

“It’s an act of generosity from many people, just sharing knowledge.”—Lidia Cámara de la Fuente, Volunteer Spanish Translator

“To inspire people, to give hope to some people. This changes a lot of things in the world.”—Kristine Sargsyan,Volunteer Armenian Translator

“I go and read about the speaker, and his book, so I get the whole context.”—Anwar Dafa-Alla,Volunteer Arabic Translator

Art21 Translation Project

Art21 Translation Project

•Global access and accessibility

•Global community engagement and support

•Global reflection and dialogue

Art21 Translation Project

•Global access and accessibility

•Global community engagement and support

•Global reflection and dialogue

Crowdsourcing is the right fit

Crowdsourcing is...

Not about saving money.

Crowdsourcing is...

Not about saving money.

About building a community.

Keys to Crowdsourcing

•Engage the right communities

•Align project goals with community goals

•Establishing trust

•Rewarding the community

Evaluating Platforms

Evaluating Platforms

Targeting Languages

Targeting Languages

ChineseArt21 audience (0.65%) vs. Global (25%)

JapaneseArt21 audience (0.25%) vs. Global (5%)

ArabicArt21 audience (0.05%) vs. Global (3%)

Targeting Languages

ChineseArt21 audience (0.65%) vs. Global (25%)

JapaneseArt21 audience (0.25%) vs. Global (5%)

ArabicArt21 audience (0.05%) vs. Global (3%)

Let’s not be too aggressive (yet)

Targeting Communities

•Art21

•PBS NewsHour

•Amara

Project Launch!

Results

End of Week #1

80 translations31 active contributors15 languages

Results

End of Week #1

80 translations31 active contributors15 languages

End of Month #1

150 translations58 active contributors22 languages

Results

End of Week #1

80 translations31 active contributors15 languages

End of Month #1

150 translations58 active contributors22 languages

End of Month #3

253 translations78 active contributors27 languages

Languages: End of Week #1

BengaliBurmese

Chinese, Simplified

FrenchGerman

HebrewIndonesianItalian

Korean

Portuguese

Romanian

Serbian

Spanish

TurkishVietnamese

Languages: End of Month #1

BengaliBurmeseCatalanChinese, Simplified

FrenchGermanGreekHebrewIndonesianItalian

JapaneseKoreanLatvian

PolishPortuguese

Romanian

Serbian

SpanishSpanish, MexicanThaiTurkishVietnamese

Languages: End of Month #3

ArabicBengaliBurmeseCatalanChinese, SimplifiedChinese, TraditionalFrenchGermanGreekHebrewIndonesianItalian

JapaneseKoreanLatvianLithuanianPolishPortuguesePortuguese (Brazilian)RomanianRussianSerbianSlovak

SpanishSpanish, MexicanThaiTurkishVietnamese

Languages: Expected vs. Unexpected

ArabicBengaliBurmeseCatalanChinese, SimplifiedChinese, TraditionalFrenchGermanGreekHebrewIndonesianItalian

JapaneseKoreanLatvianLithuanianPolishPortuguesePortuguese (Brazilian)RomanianRussianSerbianSlovak

SpanishSpanish, MexicanThaiTurkishVietnamese

Expected Languages

ArabicBengaliBurmeseCatalanChinese, SimplifiedChinese, TraditionalFrenchGermanGreekHebrewIndonesianItalian

JapaneseKoreanLatvianLithuanianPolishPortuguesePortuguese (Brazilian)RomanianRussianSerbianSlovak

SpanishSpanish, MexicanThaiTurkishVietnamese

Pleasantly Unexpected

ArabicBengaliBurmeseCatalanChinese, SimplifiedChinese, TraditionalFrenchGermanGreekHebrewIndonesianItalian

JapaneseKoreanLatvianLithuanianPolishPortuguesePortuguese (Brazilian)RomanianRussianSerbianSlovak

SpanishSpanish, MexicanThaiTurkishVietnamese

Community Management

Community Management

•Frequent private messaging

•Frequent group messaging

•Public recognition

Community Management: Private Messaging

Community Management: Group Messaging

Community Management: Public Recognition

Community Management: Public Recognition

Community Management: Lessons

•Community management requires time and attention

•Lags in messaging came along with drops in activity

Volunteer Perspectives

Volunteer Perspectives

Expanding Access

Volunteer Perspectives

"I see it as a way of contributing to the community. By translating the content, I can give the opportunity to other people to listen to what these artists have to say; people that otherwise may not have that opportunity."—Carolina Tamara (Spanish/English)

Expanding Access

Volunteer Perspectives

"I see it as a way of contributing to the community. By translating the content, I can give the opportunity to other people to listen to what these artists have to say; people that otherwise may not have that opportunity."—Carolina Tamara (Spanish/English)

"This is a great opportunity to spread some ideas, or things that are worthy of being talked, or discussed about, globally."—Mary Keramida (Greek)

Expanding Access

Volunteer Perspectives

Individual Growth

Volunteer Perspectives

"I love to discover something new, outside of my usual field of work."—Isabella Martini (Italian)

Individual Growth

Volunteer Perspectives

"I love to discover something new, outside of my usual field of work."—Isabella Martini (Italian)

"I translate to process the information and delve deeper into the meaning."—Elinoar Almagor (Hebrew)

Individual Growth

Volunteer Perspectives

Careful Reflection

Volunteer Perspectives

"When you translate, you have to think a little bit more carefully about what the artist is saying."

—Carolina Tamara (Spanish/English)

Careful Reflection

Volunteer Perspectives

"When you translate, you have to think a little bit more carefully about what the artist is saying."

"[William] Kentridge mentions, in one of the videos, how the act of drawing something distressful or dreadful can actually turn it into something compassionate. I never thought about it that way. Why an artist spends hours depicting something painful? There is a transformative process. I'm not an artist, but I can relate to that."

—Carolina Tamara (Spanish/English)

Careful Reflection

Volunteer Perspectives

Contemplating Language

Volunteer Perspectives

"It provides a deeper tool to get to know the creative process, because it is necessary to reproduce a written, shorter voice of artists, without depriving them of their personality and of their unique voice."—Isabella Martini (Italian)

Contemplating Language

Volunteer Perspectives

"It provides a deeper tool to get to know the creative process, because it is necessary to reproduce a written, shorter voice of artists, without depriving them of their personality and of their unique voice."—Isabella Martini (Italian)

"Artists do have a unique way of expressing themselves, and that comes to language too. It's hard to understand them only by listening to what they want to say, you need to dig in very deep and read between the lines."—Mary Keramida (Greek)

Contemplating Language

Takeaways from Crowdsourcing

Takeaways from Crowdsourcing

•A passionate community exists

Takeaways from Crowdsourcing

•A passionate community exists

•Balanced community management yields higher output

Takeaways from Crowdsourcing

•A passionate community exists

•Balanced community management yields higher output

•Opportunities to convert passion into loyalty

Takeaways from Crowdsourcing

•A passionate community exists

•Balanced community management yields higher output

•Opportunities to convert passion into loyalty

•Effective management requires staff time and resources

THANK YOU!Jonathan MunarDirector of Digital Media and StrategyArt21

@jonnymoon / @art21

Susan Chun