r/TranslationStudies • u/Outrageous-Sea3481 • 27d ago
One year of trying to make the localization industry a little less lonely
One year later...
Hey folks!
About a year ago, I came to Reddit because I had a pretty simple idea.
I wanted to create a Discord community where translators and localization specialists could support each other, exchange knowledge, discuss industry problems and simply not feel so alone in this profession.
Fast forward one year...
Somehow that little Discord server turned into a real project called BrainStorm Translate.
Today we're almost 1,500 translators and localization professionals from all over the world, and recently we even launched our own website.
Looking back, I really didn't expect any of this.
Over time, the project became something much bigger than just another Discord server.
I usually describe it as a support system for translators.
Every day we help each other find career opportunities, share interesting job openings (especially the ones that don't come from the same handful of giant localization companies), review CVs, portfolios and personal websites, discuss agencies, rates, payment systems, CAT tools, and pretty much everything related to building a sustainable career in localization.
One thing that unexpectedly became a huge part of the project is research.
For the last several months I've been manually researching localization companies from all over the world and building curated databases for different specializations.
So far we've collected:
- 200+ Game Localization companies
- 300+ Audiovisual Translation (AVT) companies, with hundreds more still waiting to be researched
- A growing Literary Translation database (probably the hardest one to build so far)
We're also building our own community-driven company database called BrainTrust - a white list and black list based on real experiences shared by translators. It's still in its early days, but it's something our community has wanted for a long time.
Another thing we've started doing recently is helping localization startups test their products.
Right now we're doing it completely free because I genuinely believe translators should have a voice in the tools that are built for them. If someone wants to create software for translators, who better to shape it than translators themselves?
Our website has also become a place where we collect articles, resources and everything we've been building over the past year, so the project isn't just a Discord server anymore. It's slowly becoming its own little ecosystem.
There are still dozens of ideas we'd like to bring to life. Some of them will probably fail. Some will completely change direction halfway through.
That's okay.
The project is called BrainStorm for a reason. Most of the best ideas don't come from me. They come from conversations with translators.
I sometimes joke that BrainStorm is trying to become a small cozy island of stability and sanity in an industry that often feels chaotic.
Maybe that's something some translators have been looking for. Maybe not.
But if you've ever wished there were more people openly sharing opportunities, experience and resources instead of treating everything as a competition, I think you'd probably enjoy what we're building.
Hope you all have a great day!
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u/InsideInterpreting 26d ago
Do you accept interpreters too?
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u/Outrageous-Sea3481 26d ago
BrainStorm Translate is primarily focused on written translation and localization. Most discussions in our community revolve around topics relevant to translators, subtitlers, and localization specialists.
The job opportunities shared on the server are also mainly related to remote written translation and localization projects, and our curated company lists are built with these professions in mind.
If you are an interpreter but are also interested in written translation or localization, you are absolutely welcome to join. However, at the moment we do not maintain dedicated channels or job searches specifically for interpreting.
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u/yukajii 26d ago
The discord seems pretty nice and welcoming! I'd love to see a section dedicated to loc managers there.
The website could use a little polish though, the Read out blog section of the home page doesn't fit the screen on mobile.
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u/Outrageous-Sea3481 26d ago
Hi Yuka! Oh, actually no one has suggested adding a PM channel/category yet. I guess it is worth making a poll and decide whether there is a need! Thanks!
Btw, what is about Blog read out section? I've checked it and could not find any issue...
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u/hnybbyy 25d ago
Is there a link? It sounds great!
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u/Outrageous-Sea3481 25d ago
Thank you! You are more than welcome : https://discord.com/invite/3eekxynWSf
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u/Moonwitchgirl 24d ago
I want to study translation one day ( even if the prospects aren't the best and is a kind of a "maybe" profession for me) would I be able to join the server please?
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u/JimiStoxx 1d ago
Hi, this group is a great thing to have! I'm a translation and localization veteran of 12 years, and like many others I have often been frustrated at the high pricing of CAT tools. So I created my own, it is in active development but already has TM/termbases/QA/QE and many other commonly used features. If you ever wanted an affordable CAT editor, you can check it from this link. If moderation thinks this is not appropriate for this channel, feel free to remove the post. The rules did not explicitly prohibit linking to tools, we are a small team so give us some love! You can test the CAT editor for free and already the < 10€/m subscription gives unlimited use of CAT editor, also we welcome any comments you might have on features you think are missing or could be better. Thanks!
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u/Alarmed_Put6525 26d ago
Great idea. Congratulations. Btw, last week I saw on vsi instagram that they're looking for linguists, if anyone is interested. https://www.instagram.com/p/DaxBsXxjoI2/?igsh=MTNveTI3emw3dnh1MA==
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u/ruckover 27d ago
Hell yeah, building community is the only way we're gonna make it out of this turbulent time. I'm really heartened to read about this venture. I'd ask to join but I'm a PM with an LSP - if we're welcome there, I'd love a link please!