With the gloomy weather of the winter now firmly in our rearview mirror, T for Translation celebrates the long-awaited Beijing sun by featuring another of our shining stars: Marisa Bowers, Senior Director of Global Account Management. Here, she discusses how she maintains her laser-sharp focus on results, as well as the challenges of being a roaming client-interaction doyen!

This week at T for Translation, we zoom halfway around the world – much like a bird a plane a copyright-protected superhero from our fondly remembered childhoods – to hear from Jesse He in the latest episode of CSOFT Stories. Read on to find out more about Jesse’s super abilities.

With all the hustle and bustle going on here at T for Translation, we’d like to take a second to share another CSOFT Story. This week we hear from CSOFT’s Senior Director of Global Delivery, Sherry Wu, who, as it turns out, happens to be an expert in the field of multi-hat wearing. Check out her interview below!

So, blue sky days aren’t all that prevalent here in Beijing. However, a silver lining to the nigh-on perpetual “cloud” hanging over the city is that when blue skies do occur, we’re all that much more appreciative of them. So much so that it’s actually quite difficult to have a bad day – the world just seems like a brighter and happier place. One person with whom this particularly resonates is Justin Wang, our latest interviewee in the series of CSOFT Stories. Dive on in to this week’s post and see what Justin has to say below.

A few weeks ago, we documented several examples of localization mishaps. To follow up, this week at T for Translation we’re providing a few success stories of companies that properly employed localization strategies and benefited immensely as a result.

KFC

Having gained mention in the previous post for the near-catastrophic mistranslation of its slogan, KFC has in point of fact done a rather impressive job of infiltrating the Chinese market. KFC’s most famous product is, of course, its fried chicken. Coming to China, the famous blend of 11 different herbs and spices remained largely unchanged; however, KFC introduced a range of China-specific food options to accompany the standard western fare. Pots of Chinese porridge, traditional Chinese breakfast breads, and a variety of rice-paired dishes all helped establish KFC’s image and popularity in China. The more adventurous young folks came to try out the American food they’d seen advertised, while those more set in their culinary ways enjoyed traditional dishes served with American fast-food flair. Chinese consumers were quickly won over by KFC’s speedy service and range of meal options.

Who’s ready for spring? It might be a little early to break out the picnic baskets and sunhats, but we at T for Translation are getting excited about this week’s rising temperatures. Just like this week’s weather, CSOFT is only getting warmed up. And no one better to tell us than CSOFT’s Vice President of Global Operations, Jason Xue. So strap in for this week’s installment of CSOFT Stories, as we gain further insights from CSOFT’s leadership.

This year marks CSOFT’s 10^th year anniversary. What does that mean to you?

It’s been 10 years since we started in 2003. For me, after 10 years of growth we’re clearly not a small company anymore. We are one of the top 30 language service providers in the world – this is a tremendous accomplishment, but for us, we believe there’s still a lot of room to grow. Our people, innovation, the spirit of CSOFT… we are full of energy, full of ideas, and we’re excited; we’re more than ready to keep building.

Localization entails far more than simply translation. It requires, above all else, a cultural understanding of the practices and norms of the country into which you are localizing. A famous historical example would be JFK’s memorable Berlin speech where he began by stating “Ich bin ein Berliner,” which didn’t announce him as a native of the city as he intended, but rather as a brand of popular German doughnuts. If you’re still unsure about the importance of localization, take a look at some real-world localization blunders below.

Just as the western world is finally settling into (or perhaps falling out of) all those ambitious New Year’s resolutions, countries following the lunar calendar – such as China, Indonesia, and Singapore – are gearing up for Chinese New Year celebrations. Headquartered here in Beijing, we at CSOFT can’t help but be influenced by the festive atmosphere all around us. But just because everyone else is closing shop for the week doesn’t mean we are too.

If you have any urgent localization requests over the Chinese New Year holiday, don’t panic: we’ve got your back! We work in multiple shifts to provide you with 24/7 service throughout the year, even over the holidays, so feel free to contact us with any requests or inquiries you might have.

That said, we intend to take part in at least some of the festivities, whether that be setting off fireworks to ward off the evil Nian or sharing some predictions about the future, supplied by the all-knowing, irrefutably  accurate Chinese zodiac.

There are many new and exciting things to look forward to in 2013 – having a new lease on life after we survived the Mayan ‘doomsday’ prophecies, Game of Thrones Season 3 returning to HBO, and more snake references than you can shake a stick at. Hearing it officially from T for Translation, make sure you add another to the list: CSOFT turns 10!

As we begin preparations to celebrate this incredible milestone, it seems prudent to also take some time to reflect. In this vein, T for Translation will be interviewing team members to get some insight on the past, present, and future of CSOFT. Dubbed “CSOFT Stories,” this campaign seeks to share some of the mysteries and tales of CSOFT’s early days, as well as hear from the next generation of leaders. See below for insights and thoughts from Matt Arney, CSOFT’s VP of Localization, as he kicks us off!

Guest blog entry by Daniel Tenge-Nottingham, Marketing Intern at CSOFT

Given all the media regarding India in recent times, it is always interesting to come across a skeptical opinion questioning the notion of whether or not this “BRIC” (Brazil, Russia, India and China) country has become a more significant global stakeholder than ever before.

Just by comparing 20th-century India to 21st-century India, we can argue to a large extent that yes, India is rising rapidly in the global market. It is an understatement to say that India’s economic, social, and political reforms have been through a remarkable and dramatic transformation. What was once a third-world country just beginning to develop its economy to compete in the global market about three decades ago, has today transformed into the world’s fifth largest economy in terms of GDP, and only second to the United States in terms of its network of paved highways.

Today, India holds claim to being the world’s largest producer of milk and among the top five producers of sugar, cotton, tea, coffee, spice, rubber, silk, and fish. India’s role as one of the major (economic) forces in the world is all but guaranteed. It is no longer a question of whether India is going to play a major role in world economic and political arenas; it is only a question of what role India will play. Today’s post will highlight some of the main drivers that we can attribute to this awoken titan’s rise.