Spring Brings Flowers and Language Conferences

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Global Watchtower

Common Sense Advisory Blogs

Posted by Donald A. DePalma on June 1, 2006 in the following blogs: Translation and Localization, Web Globalization, Business Globalization, Technology, Interpreting, Market Data, Global Marketing, Best Practices, Supplier Business Issues
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Perhaps it's a matter of cabin fever, with people ending their winter hibernation and wanting to jet to warm places like Barcelona and Miami. Or maybe it's that feeling of relief getting past the slow start of the first quarter and before the revenue dash to the end begins after mid-year. In any case, May and June tend to be thick with language industry conferences. Only November tends to be as crowded.

Which conferences make the most sense to attend? According to the two large-scale surveys on conferences that we have conducted over the last few years, people attend to network with peers and to learn. Thus, the higher the delegate count, the better -- assuming that it's not a supplier free-for-all. Smaller conferences "with the right people" can work, too, but we have found that the network effect is enhanced by more people, companies, and countries. So let's gauge the networking quotient (NQ) of each of the recent conferences, giving higher marks to the bigger events:

ClientSideNews' annual Expo and awards dinner took place in Miami, Florida. Usually a privileged gathering of 70 delegates, this year's event was even more intimate. Attendance was dominated by suppliers, including Lionbridge announcing its Localization 2.0 positioning and Freeway product initiative and SDL describing its global information management positioning. The event was under-attended by those representing the demand or client side of the business. NQ = low.

Delegates to the 5th international Language Resources and Evaluation Conference (LREC) gathered in Genoa, Italy. We weren't there, but some delegates told us about a raft of new language technology offerings on view to some 500 attendees. We know at least 2 people who were at LREC and associated events for a week, then went on to another week of conferences in Barcelona -- please join us for an intervention to keep them from hurting themselves and those they love. NQ = high, for both delegate count and new information.

The IQPC Web Site Globalization event in San Diego drew about 70 professionals, with many of the "regulars" on the service side in attendance. Brand-name buy-side companies were visible as well, occasionally overrun by over-eager vendors. While the mix was an acceptable ratio, it was still precarious. The organizers did a respectable job at providing a rounded program with case studies presented by the marketing managers who run the globalization show for their companies. NQ = moderate, for networking and for information.

The second Language Standards for Global Business (LSGB) was held in Barcelona, Spain. This non-commercial, highly interactive summit focused on language quality and process issues, with a large academic contingent among its 30 delegates hotly debating ASTM vs. CEN specifications. NQ = low due to headcount.

Localization World, also held in Barcelona, Spain, drew over 500 delegates to discuss collaboration, localization processes, and technology innovations. Over half came from the traditional services supply side of the aisle (that is, "practitioners" or language service providers). However, the organizers count some of these suppliers as both vendors and buyers. In any case, demand-side presentations dominated the agenda at what has become the largest language sector conference. Vendors were out in force in a lively, densely populated exhibition area. NQ = high on delegate count, not so high on new information.

The Globalization and Localization Association (GALA) held its annual member meeting in Barcelona. 90 out of 200 member companies participated in discussions about GALA's collaboration with groups such as Germany's tekom, joint promotions and advertising, and regional events. NQ = moderate on networking due to common business concerns of all delegates.

The Association of Language Companies (ALC) attracted 90 mostly American LSP entrepreneurs to discuss topics relevant to translation agency owner/operators. Topics included the implications of running a family business, public relations, finance issues, working for the government, and the omnipresent but frequently ignored language standards. NQ = moderate for birds-of-a-feather networking.

The Localisation Industry Standards Association (LISA) conference took place in the city of 8 million that never sleeps. This conference in New York City was another one that we couldn't attend. We heard from some participants that it drew as many as 100 delegates, with more buyers than suppliers. But we heard from others that sessions were not so well-attended. NQ = low, maybe moderate.

Compare these attendance figures with the Drug Information Association meeting (over 8,000 delegates) where we recently spoke about the perils of inadequate content management for multilingual pharmaceutical packaging. Tech publication conferences such as Germany's tekom and STC typically draw over 2,000 delegates.

So what keeps people from attending most localization-oriented conferences? While we didn't poll industry participants this spring, our past surveys on conferences did ask what keeps them away. Our interviewees cited cost, vendor-heavy attendance, bad logistics, inconvenient location, too many vendors (selling while) presenting, bad conditions, uninteresting or repetitive topics, and the generally low quality of presentations as reasons for a conference not succeeding.

The reality is that few localization conferences have any real traction. Who suffers from this life-out-of-balance? Everybody. For any attendee, more people typically translate into a better conference. Speakers are typically not paid, but they invest time, opportunity cost, content, and travel expenses, so they expect an audience. Vendors like a big audience because it means more people hear about their offering. Too many vendors, on the other hand, retard the number of buyers willing to "run the gauntlet" in search of useful information and valuable contacts. The bottom line: Conference organization has always been a question of putting "butts in seats" -- the more butts, the better the networking for everyone.

The perennial challenge to conference organizers is to establish and maintain a conference format that can attract the right balance, the right volume, and the right venues to keep quality and value moving in the right direction -- and do that year over year, against a changing market landscape, and with the tenacity of long-time conferences like AIIM and DIA. Until someone does, we expect that the hand-wringing of promoters and the kvetching of attendees will continue.

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