Continuing its leadership in translation and localization, hi5 Networks this week introduced 10 new community-translated languages and dialects for its hi5.com site. Already the third-largest social network globally with 56 million monthly unique visitors, the move increases the company's reach into new markets worldwide. Localization has been key to hi5's success, with the popular site currently the #1 social network in more than 30 countries.
hi5's community-driven translation program, announced in May, enables the company to harness the power of crowdsourcing to rapidly introduce new translated versions of the site. Users who volunteer as translators benefit from building a community around their native language and local culture. To ensure high-quality translations, community-driven languages are rated by the community, validated by Lionbridge (NASDAQ: LIOX), the leading provider of translation and localization services, and tested by hi5's own localization team.
"The power of this program to deliver localized versions of our product has exceeded our own high expectations," said Ramu Yalamanchi, CEO and founder of hi5. "It is amazing to see the energy and enthusiasm of our global user community in action, taking our site into new languages and geographies that we otherwise wouldn't have the resources to address."
The 10 new community-driven translations include Catalan, Danish, British English, Finnish, Hindi, Macedonian, Slovakian, Spanish - Mexico, Spanish - Colombia, and Swedish. Later this month, hi5 plans to release a variety of new translations, including Albanian, Bengali, Bulgarian, Croatian, Formal French, Maltese, Norwegian, Serbian, and Spanish variants for Peru, Venezuela, and other countries. More than 30 new community-driven language translations are planned in the next 3 months, making the site available in 65 languages by the end of the year.
"Lionbridge and the community further broaden hi5's market reach across countries and across devices, we are setting a new standard for globalization and localization across the international web," said Rory Cowan, CEO, Lionbridge. "We understand how people in different cultures communicate, share information, and discover content. By teaming with Lionbridge and embracing the global community, hi5 is able to deliver a culturally-relevant social networking experience for its users while expanding the Company's global market opportunities."
The new language translations follow on the announcement last week of hi5's OpenSocial translation tool, which enables third-party developers to leverage the hi5 translation community to translate their applications into multiple new languages.
Global Translation Anecdotes
• hi5 launched the translation tool in Albanian first at the request of several members. Translation of the site was 20 percent complete with 1,203 total phrases translated, and 227 votes cast--all in less than 24 hours.
• Within 24 hours of launching the translation tool in Macedonian, 400 members joined and translation of the site was 16 percent complete. Today, the Macedonian group is a powerhouse of 2,215 members, and the site translation is complete. In fact, one member alone has submitted 3,653 translations and is an editor for the entire Macedonian group's translations.
• Catalan was the fastest translated language by the smallest group on the site with 1,962 members. After only 20 days, translation of the site was 80 percent complete.
• Mirandés is a language not widely used in the world, but because of community request the hi5 translation tool is now available to this group of people who have an interest in reviving use of the language in Portugal.
• Khmer is another example of a community-specific request. Members have used the translation tool to help each other solve keyboard setup and encoding problems online.
About hi5 Networks
Headquartered in San Francisco, hi5 is one of the world's largest and fastest growing social networks and mobile web networks. Our focus is to empower our users to build and maintain connections between friends and family online. With over 56 million unique visitors every month, hi5 is a top 20 website globally and the number one social network in 31 countries across Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. The service is available in 37 languages, delivering localized content and applications to users worldwide.
hi5's community-driven translation program, announced in May, enables the company to harness the power of crowdsourcing to rapidly introduce new translated versions of the site. Users who volunteer as translators benefit from building a community around their native language and local culture. To ensure high-quality translations, community-driven languages are rated by the community, validated by Lionbridge (NASDAQ: LIOX), the leading provider of translation and localization services, and tested by hi5's own localization team.
"The power of this program to deliver localized versions of our product has exceeded our own high expectations," said Ramu Yalamanchi, CEO and founder of hi5. "It is amazing to see the energy and enthusiasm of our global user community in action, taking our site into new languages and geographies that we otherwise wouldn't have the resources to address."
The 10 new community-driven translations include Catalan, Danish, British English, Finnish, Hindi, Macedonian, Slovakian, Spanish - Mexico, Spanish - Colombia, and Swedish. Later this month, hi5 plans to release a variety of new translations, including Albanian, Bengali, Bulgarian, Croatian, Formal French, Maltese, Norwegian, Serbian, and Spanish variants for Peru, Venezuela, and other countries. More than 30 new community-driven language translations are planned in the next 3 months, making the site available in 65 languages by the end of the year.
"Lionbridge and the community further broaden hi5's market reach across countries and across devices, we are setting a new standard for globalization and localization across the international web," said Rory Cowan, CEO, Lionbridge. "We understand how people in different cultures communicate, share information, and discover content. By teaming with Lionbridge and embracing the global community, hi5 is able to deliver a culturally-relevant social networking experience for its users while expanding the Company's global market opportunities."
The new language translations follow on the announcement last week of hi5's OpenSocial translation tool, which enables third-party developers to leverage the hi5 translation community to translate their applications into multiple new languages.
Global Translation Anecdotes
• hi5 launched the translation tool in Albanian first at the request of several members. Translation of the site was 20 percent complete with 1,203 total phrases translated, and 227 votes cast--all in less than 24 hours.
• Within 24 hours of launching the translation tool in Macedonian, 400 members joined and translation of the site was 16 percent complete. Today, the Macedonian group is a powerhouse of 2,215 members, and the site translation is complete. In fact, one member alone has submitted 3,653 translations and is an editor for the entire Macedonian group's translations.
• Catalan was the fastest translated language by the smallest group on the site with 1,962 members. After only 20 days, translation of the site was 80 percent complete.
• Mirandés is a language not widely used in the world, but because of community request the hi5 translation tool is now available to this group of people who have an interest in reviving use of the language in Portugal.
• Khmer is another example of a community-specific request. Members have used the translation tool to help each other solve keyboard setup and encoding problems online.
About hi5 Networks
Headquartered in San Francisco, hi5 is one of the world's largest and fastest growing social networks and mobile web networks. Our focus is to empower our users to build and maintain connections between friends and family online. With over 56 million unique visitors every month, hi5 is a top 20 website globally and the number one social network in 31 countries across Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. The service is available in 37 languages, delivering localized content and applications to users worldwide.