How it works

Exfluency is a digital ecosystem designed to address the fact that a huge majority of digitised content is only available in the language in which it was created. There is an urgent need to address this issue to unlock commercial value and expand global communication.

In fact, at Exfluency, we believe language is the greatest asset owned by humans.

Language enables communication. And with positive communication, we can solve problems and break down barriers. That’s why we’re promoting global communication by creating a platform where language can be shared easily and effectively.

Digital ecosystems are becoming more common across industries. They are technology platforms where buyers (in our case, those in need of translation services) come to purchase services from talented people (like you and everyone else in the Exfluency community).

Our goal is to make Exfluency the world’s most reliable and secure way for organisations to get high quality translations done. That will also make it the single best place for global talent to find translation work.

We use a combination of human and artificial intelligence to translate texts. This is what’s called hybrid intelligence, where humans and machines effectively collaborate on the work.

There are several phases in our translation workflow in the order listed below.

1.

Request

The Requester is the purchaser of translation services. In this phase, the Requester sets out the parameters for the work they need done, including their desired level of quality, the level of specialisation required to do the work, the confidentiality of the text, and when the project must be delivered.

At Exfluency, a requester’s source data is anonymized automatically prior to passing through our auto-translation workflow. Only then is it made available to our community of subject matter experts. The first of those is the Redactor.

2.

Redaction

Redactors prepare content for translation, performing optical character recognition to obtain files in an editable format, cleaning the editable electronic files for proper layout and formatting, and checking for errors and anonymizing sensitive information as necessary.

Redactors are the only people who see Requester’s documents before anonymization. With proper skills and expertise, you may find work at Exfluency as a Redactor.

3.

Immediate Translation

The first translation of a text is performed by our AI (artificial intelligence). This translation creates an initial understanding of the text and is typically the handoff point to Exfluency community members for subsequent phases of our process.

During this process our platform uses several NMT (neural machine translation) engines simultaneously, along with our own linguistic asset store from previous work done on the platform. This methodology for machine translation is unique in the industry.

4. Enhancement

Enhancers take the AI translation of the text and use their subject matter expertise to enhance it for detail and overall accuracy.

This is often the largest piece of work someone does on a project.

5. Trust Mining

Trust Miners review the enhanced texts provided by Enhancers to ensure the quality of the translation. They provide revisions as necessary.

Ultimately, trust mining is a form of quality assurance. The Trust Miner, through proven expertise, has the final word on any given text.

Requesters can also ask for Trust Mining II, a second round of trust mining that ensures superior quality in the final text.

6. Final Redaction

Final redaction is also performed by Redactors.

They ensure formatting, layout and such important elements as proper names, numbers and spelling are all correct.

This is also the phase where the content is deanonymized before a final text is provided to the Requester.

There are significant interdependencies amongst the roles in our workflow.

We call it the Exfluency ecosystem in part because it’s the collaborative, interdependent parts and people that enable us all to deliver the best possible work.

Working together in a peer-to-peer community is a core part of working at Exfluency.

There are a few answers to this question, but the first place we’ll focus is on technology.

As you may know, Exfluency uses several innovative technologies as part of our translation workflows and overall ecosystem.

They are: blockchain technology, the Language Coin, hybrid intelligence, and the Trust Chain™.

Many people struggle to understand blockchain, but at its core, blockchain is a database or ledger of information and transactions.

So how is it different?

It offers significantly higher efficiency, security and transparency for businesses. With blockchain, information isn’t stored in a central location. Instead, it’s distributed across hundreds or thousands of places (computers) across the internet. Because those records are distributed, no single person or organisation controls them. They can’t be altered and anyone with access to the blockchain can view the transactions. Transparency is built into the system.

The way blockchain makes Exfluency’s approach to translations better is that we can eliminate many of the costs and security issues associated with middlemen in the translation industry. Instead of a freelance translator being hired by a Language Service Provider (LSP) to do translation work for the LSP’s client (a bank for example), the freelance translator can work directly with the bank without that LSP middleman being involved. That means lower costs for the bank and better rates for freelancers, amongst other benefits we’ll discuss later in the article.

That’s ultimately what we’re creating here – a place where the global community of translation buyers and sellers come together.

Your language skills, combined with your experience and expertise, are a unique asset. And so, we’re rewarding your participation in Exfluency not just with the traditional (fiat) currency you charge for your services but also with a new cryptocurrency we’ve created.

You set your rates and get paid for your work in your preferred currency. But you also get our cryptocurrency for the work you do. It’s called the Language Coin.

Each time you create a unique linguistic asset within the Exfluency community, you’ll be rewarded with Language Coins. Every time you create terminology, you’ll be rewarded with Language Coins. The more language you create and share, the more positive impact you’ll make on the Exfluency community – and the greater the value of the Language Coin.

In the future you’ll be able to hold onto your Language Coins as they appreciate or exchange them for fiat currency. They’re yours to do with as you please.

Hybrid intelligence is a way for humans and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to interact where the AI is not just enhancing human intelligence but responding in real time to the preferences of a human user. This, then, optimizes both algorithmic creativity and human creativity.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is, effectively, a computer or software than can do some of the same tasks that humans do, only faster and more efficiently. At Exfluency, we use AI early in our translation process. So, if you’re working on a text at Exfluency, it’s already been through an AI-enabled translator first. That text will still need refinement by freelancers like you, but the first step has been completed by our AI.

The overall efforts towards a translation – yours and that of the AI – constitute hybrid intelligence.

Exfluency’s Trust Chain is a blockchain-enabled means of verifying an individual’s capabilities.

Each person completing projects at Exfluency – in any role – will eventually have their own personal Trust Chain, which is stored on the blockchain.

Most commonly, Trust Miner’s revisions to an Enhancer’s work generate a score – what we call the Exfluenscore – on the specific project. That score is tied to the subject matter of the text and the language combination the project required.

The more changes a Trust Miner deems necessary to an Enhancer’s work and the more serious these changes are, the lower the overall Exfluenscore for the project. 

An individual’s Trust Chain is the total sum of the Exfluenscores for the projects completed in the last 24 months, divided by the number of projects completed. Projects older than 24 months are not included in the calculation, as you should be able to improve your reputation over time

As Enhancers complete their projects, and their work is trust mined and scored, the algorithms built into the Exfluency platform enable us to identify the best people to work on projects in different language combinations and skillsets.

Exfluencers (that’s you!) are assigned projects based on a mix of criteria including their skills, availability, price, ability to deliver projects on time and, first and foremost, their Trust Chain.

A client can either choose you directly based on their own assessment of the factors above or use the Exfluency algorithm to do the same. There’s a mix of these two things happening at any given time.  

The so-called first Exfluencer – be it Redactor, Enhancer or Trust Miner – to be offered a project typically has one hour to accept or reject it, depending on the size of the project. If nothing happens within one hour, three additional Exfluencers will also be offered the project. Each will receive a notification, and whoever accepts the project first will get it.

Community Managers and Gated Community Managers for our confidential client communities manage the people, projects and processes in our ecosystem.

If you’re reading this, you’ll have been recruited to join Exfluency by one of our Community Managers. You’ll have received emails and newsletters from them, and perhaps they have helped you out with some process or questions about your projects.

Our Community Managers and Gated Community Managers are the beating hearts of our communities.