Beijing-based start-up Stepes is aiming to revolutionise the US$38 million language services industry with its chat-based translation app that allows almost any multilingual person with a smartphone to become a translator and earn income.
Stepes founder Carl Yao, who launched the app in December, said he wants his company to become the “Uber of translation services”. He believes the translation industry is ripe for disruption.
“There are only 250,000 professional translators who service the world’s demand for translation, but there are over 3.65 billion people who are able to speak more than one language,” Yao told the South China Morning Post by phone on Thursday. More.
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Испания
Local time: 18:17
Член ProZ.com
английский => французский
And get your figures right, US$38 million is what I made alone last year.
"Translators are paid between US$0.05 and US$0.13 per word, while Stepes charges its clients US$0.10 to $0.16 per word.
Translators are paid between US$0.05 and US$0.13 per word, depending on the languages used.
Stepes already has 50,000 translators in its database, many courtesy of its investor CSoft, a localisation an... See more
And get your figures right, US$38 million is what I made alone last year.
"Translators are paid between US$0.05 and US$0.13 per word, while Stepes charges its clients US$0.10 to $0.16 per word.
Translators are paid between US$0.05 and US$0.13 per word, depending on the languages used.
Stepes already has 50,000 translators in its database, many courtesy of its investor CSoft, a localisation and translation company in Beijing ▲ Collapse
Великобритания
Local time: 17:17
французский => английский
+ ...
The attitude towards translation as a discipline reminds me of Duolingo.
"Seen 50% of the most commonly written words in language X at least once? Great! Start translating!"
США
Local time: 09:17
Член ProZ.com c 2009
русский => английский
I did. I told them what I thought about asking for free labor for the hope of potential paid work. Hello. Is this really a good marketing ploy for anyone involved except middleman?
Швеция
Local time: 18:17
албанский => шведский
Stepes rates are ridiculous. But not the worst I have seen. This morning a Hungary based "traditional" agency offered me USD0,02 for English to Swedish long-time cooperation, a record-breaking low.
США
Local time: 09:17
Член ProZ.com c 2016
английский => русский
+ ...
Judge for yourself:
First, I was contacted with regard to "a project for Google", with a pay of $0.04. I was sent a translation test that was graded as perfect, not a single issue found whatsoever. (I'm great, no doubt, heh. But it always raises my alarm when an editor has absolutely nothing to say)
After that I was told that the project will be completed via Stepes.
Over a couple of weeks, two things h... See more
Judge for yourself:
First, I was contacted with regard to "a project for Google", with a pay of $0.04. I was sent a translation test that was graded as perfect, not a single issue found whatsoever. (I'm great, no doubt, heh. But it always raises my alarm when an editor has absolutely nothing to say)
After that I was told that the project will be completed via Stepes.
Over a couple of weeks, two things have been happening in the app:
1) Lots of free jobs constantly posted. These are small, vocabulary like translations that consist of a word and its definition. There is no pay. I did a few, worth $10 my way and some $25 their way based on what the article says they charge their clients. These jobs keep coming but I am now waiting to see if there are any paid jobs.
2) Over time, there have been about 5 notifications of paid jobs available. I was right there using the app when it happened, a couple of times, or was using other apps when a pop-up would open. Still, I clicked instantly but immediately got a response that "another translator took the job".
At the moment, I strongly suspect that it is a ruse. There is no paid job and no other translator who was clicking faster.
As an extra carrot, I can see - but not react to - a list of paid jobs in other languages. They look very attractive, but mind it, they are there like a pretty wallpaper for me - can see but can't take them. And some are a mess - wrong language or meaningless sentences in other languages that I know.
I am waiting to see if there are any real paid jobs coming out of it. Otherwise, I will believe that it is a.brilliant setup to get professional translators to work for free while the inventors charge customers attractive fees. ▲ Collapse
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