Closer to the Madding Crowd

In our series of portraits and perspectives on Localization Business Innovation, Francis Tsang, director of globalization at Adobe Systems Inc., explains the opportunities opened by using 'crowdsourcing' as a localization solution, and the language data sharing initiative as a key force for supporting the next level of globalization

Put simply, the economics of crowdsourcing involves leveraging a user community's skills and interest to deliver a specific service to the community and a (content) producer. The pay-off is a win-win: the crowd gains access to knowledge, while the producer expands its markets and builds greater product equity. Language data sharing will trigger a genuine ecosystem of services, lower the bariers of entry for smaller players.