Hello Translator!

Today's we-can't-believe-this-is-really-true post comes courtesy of a friend and colleague, who received the e-mail with the image that you can see above. We will let you see and judge for yourself. We have included a large image so you can read some of the hilarious text (click on it to enlarge it). The e-mail came from jair (virtualbusiness25@yahoo.com). And yes, we are not making this up (although we'd very much like this not to be true) -- this is an actual e-mail that a fellow professional translator received. The image is priceless!


5 comments:

Michael Schubert on June 30, 2010 at 12:10 PM said...

Du-u-u-u-de! "All you need is your computer and internet connection to get started" ... and they will actually pay you for every word you translate (except for repetitions, matches, fuzzy matches, prepositions or anything that's easy, and only after 90 days and multiple unacknowledged reminders).

... yeah, I got this one too. Outlook did not load the picture and I didn't stop to laugh at it before deleting it, so I'm grateful you brightened my day with a recap. :-)

Anke Betz on June 30, 2010 at 12:20 PM said...

I had gotten that e-mail, too. Immediately deleted it, of course, after first laughing, then groaning - sadly, there will probably be some translator(s) out there responding...

Kevin Lossner on July 1, 2010 at 1:35 PM said...

This loser has been spamming me for a while despite my requests that he knock it off. Translation agency lists may have been useful a decade ago, but today the smart translators do more focused marketing. A certain translator I know in the US is fond of spammy mailshots to a large list of agencies at frequent intervals (same people every time). Some of the recipients are clients of mine, and to judge from their comments, I think he has ensured that he'll never see work from them.

Tenesor on July 5, 2010 at 6:42 AM said...

Hi,

I have also received several mails from him but went directly to the bin. This is the first time I could see the picture. This is real marketing!!! Lol.

I fully agree with Kevin. This kind of lists are just to be remembered but this is not the way of offering translation services any more. The mails I recevied were in the poorest Spanish I have ever read. In fact, if he/she wants to improve communication with (hahahahah) potential clients, I think he/she should hire one of the companies he/she has on the database.

Congratulations for this blog.
If you want to read mine, visit www.tenesor.wordpress.com (in Spanish).

Greetings from the Canary Islands.

Miguel Llorens M. on July 7, 2010 at 2:50 PM said...

I'm wondering if the photograph reflects the image that clients have of translators.

Join the conversation! Commenting is a great way to become part of the translation and interpretation community. Your comments don’t have to be overly academic to get published. We usually publish all comments that aren't spam, self-promotional or offensive to others. Agreeing or not agreeing with the issue at hand and stating why is a good way to start. Social media is all about interaction, so don’t limit yourself to reading and start commenting! We very much look forward to your comments and insight. Let's learn from each other and continue these important conversations.

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The entrepreneurial linguists and translating twins blog about the business of translation from Las Vegas and Vienna.

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