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Do we want prospective customers to love us?
Thread poster: Philippe Etienne
Michael Wetzel
Michael Wetzel  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:18
German to English
Is the basic premise correct? Jul 20, 2017

I'm certainly fuddy-duddy, but I think that makes me part of the majority and not a minority. Is it really an accurate assumption that most of the (highly international) buyers of our services are aware of and in-sync with these cutting-edge principles of site design?

Is there really solid statistical data about this and are the results really valid for an international audience and for the target group of our potential clients?

I'm not shocked and I don't really care,
... See more
I'm certainly fuddy-duddy, but I think that makes me part of the majority and not a minority. Is it really an accurate assumption that most of the (highly international) buyers of our services are aware of and in-sync with these cutting-edge principles of site design?

Is there really solid statistical data about this and are the results really valid for an international audience and for the target group of our potential clients?

I'm not shocked and I don't really care, but I have to agree with Philippe that a heart seems as out of place as a unicorn. On the other hand, I'm certainly not a native speaker of Advertising, so I really am willing to accept the experts' advice (and I think any translator can identify with this aspect of the issue). Still, before deferring to their expertise, I think it makes sense to at least humbly ask whether the designers are sure about this one.
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Philippe Etienne
Philippe Etienne  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 10:18
Member
English to French
TOPIC STARTER
I'm working on it Jul 20, 2017

Michael Wetzel wrote:
...Is there really solid statistical data about this and are the results really valid for an international audience and for the target group of our potential clients?

I just changed my profile pic, I'll let you know what difference it makes.
The more people change their pics, the more statistically significant the outcome will be.

Philippe


 
Jared Tabor
Jared Tabor
Local time: 06:18
SITE STAFF
Staff introduce and adjust features based on feedback, and also on usage Jul 20, 2017

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback on this. The star icon has already been in use for years for feedback (WWA), so there would be a greater potential for confusion in adding a second star with a different purpose to each directory entry.

The heart icon is commonly used and its purpose is already familiar on other platforms designed for finding freelancers, and this was taken as a basis for trying it out.

The purpose of the button is so that someone looking f
... See more
Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback on this. The star icon has already been in use for years for feedback (WWA), so there would be a greater potential for confusion in adding a second star with a different purpose to each directory entry.

The heart icon is commonly used and its purpose is already familiar on other platforms designed for finding freelancers, and this was taken as a basis for trying it out.

The purpose of the button is so that someone looking for freelance translators and interpreters can easily add candidates they like to a list, so it is important to make sure that it is being understood and used from that end. This kind of activity did increase upon the introduction of the new Save and Email buttons, so that is a good initial indicator. When making changes or introducing new features, staff regularly monitor usage, and adjust accordingly. In that context, a heart could become a plus sign that becomes just a "Save", or could disappear altogether if the feature is not found useful.

If anyone reading this works for a company or agency or regularly uses the directories to find new translators and interpreters, it may be interesting to hear your feedback here as well.
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Cilian O'Tuama
Cilian O'Tuama  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:18
German to English
+ ...
10 years laters Jul 20, 2017

Jared Tabor wrote:

The purpose of the button is so that someone looking for freelance translators and interpreters can easily add candidates they like to a list...

If anyone reading this works for a company or agency or regularly uses the directories to find new translators and interpreters, it may be interesting to hear your feedback here as well.


From this outsourcer's perspective: It sounds like a fantastic idea, 10 years later.

http://www.proz.com/forum/prozcom_suggestions/64184-for_outsourcers_a_track_this_profile_function.html#494210


 
Philippe Etienne
Philippe Etienne  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 10:18
Member
English to French
TOPIC STARTER
Pros of proz Jul 21, 2017

Jared Tabor wrote:
...
The heart icon is commonly used and its purpose is already familiar on other platforms designed for finding freelancers, and this was taken as a basis for trying it out.
...
This kind of activity did increase upon the introduction of the new Save and Email buttons, so that is a good initial indicator. When making changes or introducing new features, staff regularly monitor usage, and adjust accordingly. In that context, a heart could become a plus sign that becomes just a "Save", or could disappear altogether if the feature is not found useful. ...

Thank you for this information from the other side of the fence. I understand and appreciate that your revamping efforts are geared towards what's good for the site, its traffic and its members. I find the heart childish and irrelevant, but if underlying reasons justify it or my opinion is marginal, I don't mind.

I don't really know what's hot elsewhere since I don't visit "professional" platforms other than proz.com. So I didn't know that the heart was widespread in other places than chatting and small-talk websites. Honestly, I thought hearts were specific to early teenage female populations and their role models.

The static, outdated design of proz.com doesn't bother me, and I'm not really into bits and pieces flying around, hearts, bouncing windows, real-time feeds, etc.
I understand you have to keep up with such trends, but my interest in such things may be a bit ossified.

Thank you anyway for bringing my digital experience to the twenty-first century.
It follows the download of my first app to my smartphone: TrackID, which confirmed that being hip can be useful.

Philippe


 
Mirko Mainardi
Mirko Mainardi  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 10:18
Member
English to Italian
Nodding Jul 26, 2017

Philippe Etienne wrote:

Mirko Mainardi wrote:
...a simple check mark...


This would also be more relevant than a heart in my opinion. I also thought of a big plus sign.


Just wanted to add that I noticed this 'combined approach' on sites like IMDB and Spotify. That is to say, you have a (gray) plus icon that becomes a (green) checkmark icon when you click on it to add it to your favorites. I personally like it much more and would find it much more professional and appropriate than a heart... (and those websites aren't even geared toward professional use, so hearts would have been more justified there)

BTW Philippe, how is it going with your new profile pic? Any love letter from your clients yet?


 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 10:18
French to English
hell yeah Jul 26, 2017

Mirko Mainardi wrote:

BTW Philippe, how is it going with your new profile pic? Any love letter from your clients yet?

we're all waiting with bated breath here!


(serriously though I completely agree that a tick or plus sign or even a thumbs-up would be more appropriate than a heart, this is not a dating website)


 
Katalin Szilárd
Katalin Szilárd  Identity Verified
Hungary
Local time: 10:18
English to Hungarian
+ ...
Meanwhile... Jul 27, 2017

when you open the directory, give the required language pairs you will see the translators listed but if you click on the Email button under the Save (with heart) button then you are directed to the clean directory search page. So it seems the Email button under the "heart" is not working.

[Edited at 2017-07-27 07:42 GMT]


 
Yana Dovgopol
Yana Dovgopol
Local time: 11:18
SITE STAFF
It should be working now Jul 27, 2017

Katalin Szilárd wrote:

when you open the directory, give the required language pairs you will see the translators listed but if you click on the Email button under the Save (with heart) button then you are directed to the clean directory search page. So it seems the Email button under the "heart" is not working.

[Edited at 2017-07-27 07:42 GMT]


Hello Katalin,

Thanks for letting us know. It should be working now.

Please try this out and let me know how everything goes.

Best regards,

Yana


 
Katalin Szilárd
Katalin Szilárd  Identity Verified
Hungary
Local time: 10:18
English to Hungarian
+ ...
Yes, it's working now Jul 27, 2017

Yana Dovgopol wrote:

Katalin Szilárd wrote:

when you open the directory, give the required language pairs you will see the translators listed but if you click on the Email button under the Save (with heart) button then you are directed to the clean directory search page. So it seems the Email button under the "heart" is not working.

[Edited at 2017-07-27 07:42 GMT]


Hello Katalin,

Thanks for letting us know. It should be working now.

Please try this out and let me know how everything goes.

Best regards,

Yana


Thanks Yana for the prompt reaction. Yes, it's working now.

Best regards,
Katalin


 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 10:18
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
@Philippe Jul 27, 2017

I really love your new profile picture, ha ha. A concise reply to this entire topic.

In my Opera browser, there's only a heart symbol for bookmarking anything. Does it mean I love everything I bookmark? Hum, not necessarily, sometimes I only need to bookmark to facilitate finding a content later on.


 
Philippe Etienne
Philippe Etienne  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 10:18
Member
English to French
TOPIC STARTER
Hearts, love, people are nice and beautiful and all that Aug 7, 2017

Sorry for going on holiday, and thank you for screaming your interest in this topic of major importance.

Executive summary:
A ridiculous profile pic of more than 20 hearts was displayed for more than 2 weeks in the name of science, in an attempt to prove that heart symbols attract more business.
The data collected lead to the following assumptions:
a) Twenty+ hearts are too much. Prospects may think you are a very young troll or just taking the mickey.
... See more
Sorry for going on holiday, and thank you for screaming your interest in this topic of major importance.

Executive summary:
A ridiculous profile pic of more than 20 hearts was displayed for more than 2 weeks in the name of science, in an attempt to prove that heart symbols attract more business.
The data collected lead to the following assumptions:
a) Twenty+ hearts are too much. Prospects may think you are a very young troll or just taking the mickey.
b) A dominantly pink profile picture doesn't appeal to businesses.
c) Heart contours are in, solid-colour hearts are out.
d) A black background means the translator is mentally unstable.

Full copy:
The exact number of enquiries was not strictly monitored for lack of state funding, but about half a dozen were received from prospective agencies through the Directory, most of them directed to "Proz.com Member", and one through the Guinea pig's website (from the link in proz.com).
The majority were for yesterday, with small wordcounts, and evidence shows that being a "Proz.com Member"is enough to qualify for an enquiry.

This is the kind of activity one can expect during this period of shortage of into-French translators.
So no increase in enquiries with the heart-filled profile picture, and no increase in income.

Nobody, male or female, enquired for a date either.
So hearts are not necessarily linked to dating sites, which supports some of the previous comments made.

I have reverted to my previous image of myself, because after all my latest returning agency customer found me here back in May 2016 with that picture.

Now back to work.

Philippe

Edit: I couldn't find my image, so I put that of my dog.
Edit2: Thanks to Jean's wizardry skills, I replaced my dog.

[Edited at 2017-08-08 07:08 GMT]
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Jean Dimitriadis
Jean Dimitriadis  Identity Verified
English to French
+ ...
Found it Aug 7, 2017

Do you mean this one?

http://cdn3.proz.com/profile_resources/32125_r57a619ee451dd.jpg


 
Gabriel Csaba
Gabriel Csaba  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 06:18
English to Spanish
+ ...
Time warp scare! Aug 24, 2017

Cilian O'Tuama wrote:
It sounds like a fantastic idea, 10 years later.


Cilian, you gave me a brief moment of Alzheimer-tinged panic until I realized you had a link to click on.


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:18
Member (2008)
Italian to English
OPtion Aug 25, 2017

I'd like to have this as an option:

9351437-Stabbed-Heart-Stock-Photo-heart-broken


 
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