LIST
10 Translation Blogs to Follow
By RENATO BENINATTO
In recent years, blogging has fallen out of favor for many language professionals and companies as social media platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram have taken precedence. This decline reflects the constantly evolving nature of digital communication preferences. While translation blogs were once thriving online spaces for community building and knowledge sharing, today, many of these once-popular blogs lie dormant.
I distinctly remember the excitement around translation blogs emerging in the early 2000s. For the first time, language professionals worldwide could discuss industry issues, share advice, and showcase their work to colleagues and clients through blogging.
However, the rapid rise of social media in the late 2000s led to a major shift. Platforms like Twitter and Facebook provided quicker, easier ways for language professionals to distribute content and connect. When I revisited the blogs from that era, I was disheartened to find many had not been updated in years. Numerous prolific blogs from the 2000s have been taken down entirely. A 2019 survey found almost half of translation blogs had no new posts in over a year.
For those still blogging, integrating content promotion on social platforms has become essential to driving traffic. Topics like productivity tips and industry commentary seem to gain more traction than time-sensitive posts nowadays. Blogging requires substantially more effort than social media but remains worthwhile for showcasing expertise and enabling creative expression.
Fortunately, some stellar blogs continue to produce valuable content for language professionals. I’ve compiled a list of 10 thriving translation blogs worth following today:
Advertisement
TRAINING FOR TRANSLATORS
This useful blog by Corinne McKay focuses on providing professional development resources for translators. It covers topics like productivity, marketing, technology skills, and more through detailed tips and tutorials.
TRANSLATION TRIBULATIONS
One of the most popular and long-running blogs in the translation industry, Translation Tribulations is written by expert translator Kevin Lossner. It provides helpful commentary and analysis on CAT tools, technical translation issues, and business best practices. Known for its honest takes and advocacy for translators.
BORN TO BE GLOBAL
Started by marketing executive and author Nataly Kelly, Born to be Global offers tips on international marketing, productivity, and business strategy without getting too technical. It’s great for people who don’t want to talk about translation, but things that generate translations.
EMPTY PAGES
This blog by Kirti Vashee, an expert on machine translation (MT) technology and its impacts on the language industry, provides insightful commentary and food for thought on the role of MT and post-editing.
YOLOCALIZO
Here, gaming executive Miguel Sepulveda provides readers with fantastic infographics and visual content related to localization. Covers industry trends, terminology, transcreation, and more.
Advertisement
PROZ.COM BLOG
This blog serves as a content hub for the popular ProZ translator community website. Features posts on business tips, CAT tools, terminology, and other topics of interest to translators.
TRANSLATOR FUN
In this blog, translator Romina Bona focuses on the lighter side of translation through humor and stories. Provides a fun perspective on the translator’s life.
TRADUÇÃO VIA VAL
While this article focuses on prominent English language blogs, it’s important to note there is a vast world of valuable blogs in many other languages. I could have included countless blogs in languages from Arabic to Zulu that offer global insights, but I selected this one by my friend Val Ivonica to represent the many excellent non-English blogs. Even for those who don’t speak Portuguese, Val’s blog shows how our peers worldwide are leveraging blogs to engage readers.
MUSING OF AN OVERWORKED TRANSLATOR
This blog by German-to-English translator Jill Sommer chronicles her experiences juggling translation projects. Offers a personal lens into the translator world with plenty of humor and wit.
iesCSA RESEARCH BLOGS
CSA Research is a market research firm covering the translation and localization industry. Their blogs provide data-driven analysis and insights on industry trends.
These blogs demonstrate that for professionals with unique experiences to share, blogging can still provide irreplaceable value. In a crowded digital landscape, thoughtful blogs offer much-needed space for in-depth insights and creative expression.
The diminished role of blogs may be discouraging for those who found community there. However, the heart of great communication remains the same — creating content that resonates with your intended audience and is shared through platforms where that audience is active.
By clearly defining their audience and goals, language professionals can shape an effective content strategy for today’s digital era. Rather than specific platforms, the focus should be on utilizing the formats and channels that allow professionals to build meaningful connections and share their expertise.
Advertisement
Renato Beninatto co-founded Nimdzi to provide insights to investors, analysts, buyers and suppliers of language services. He has written three books on global business.
RELATED ARTICLES
