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For many years now, localization managers at enterprises have known how they should create content tailored for particular markets, even if they haven't actually done it. Instead, the model that evolved in the 1990s invested in optimizing existing content for translation. Starting with text typically created for their home market, teams of editors religiously scrubbed away or fixed cultural references, embedded strings, and graphics that work in Topeka but might not be appropriate in Tashkent or Timbuktu. They followed the best practices of writing with translation in mind. They kept sentences short, made sure to use the correct terminology, and deployed technology systems to manage localizable content. However, CSA Research has found that many enterprises – including former masters of content optimization – have retreated from these practices in the past few years. Formal and robust policies to consider international needs at the beginning of a project have withered or disappeared. Some companies have confined content optimization practices to traditional technical documentation, even as new content types have emerged that escape their control. Why have these policies weakened or even vanished? What has replaced them? In our discussions with enterprises and LSPs, we found the following reasons for their disappearance:
E-Commerce Strings Pose Challenges for Translation and Optimization Source: eBay and Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
The shifting winds of content creation have left traditional content optimization processes behind, but content creators can still take three steps to ensure proper outcomes:
Whether you are developing your own content or helping your clients navigate the complexities of localization, the changing world of content raises new challenges. Adapting your approaches and understanding how and why authoring practices and requirements have changed are essential ingredients for global success.
Senior Analyst
Focuses on language technology, artificial intelligence, translation quality, and overall economic factors impacting globalization
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