Terminology in the Age of Web 2.0

Do you use Adobe InDesign in your company to put your content in the best possible spotlight? Terminology has to be put into practice for it to achieve the desired effect. This dynamic process is made possible using a variety of measures and features. In our experience, it is extremely important that every stakeholder is not only able to access terminology as easily as possible, but that they are also actively involved in the terminology process. We make this collaborative process significantly easier with various social media features.

All successful terminology projects have one thing in common: constant marketing of the termbase by the terminology team. The idea is to keep bringing attention to the termbase to remind everyone of its existence.

Social Media @ Terminology

Social media teaches us how people can be motivated to voluntarily work towards a common goal. The "social terminology" features of Quickterm try to use the lessons learned from social media and apply them to terminology. Use "edutaining", fun but also interesting add-ons to the termbase to repeatedly attract everyone's attention to the termbase and motivate them to participate.

Term Quiz, Entry of the Week, etc.

One approach is the Term Quiz. It allows terminologists to prepare questions and organize them in quizzes. These questions may, but do not necessarily have to be, directly related to the termbase. At the end of the quiz, Quickterm will check the answers and summarize them to provide a learning experience. And for all termbase-relevant questions, the user can jump directly to the respective entry and thus end up exactly where you want them: in the termbase.

Another additional benefit is Entry of the Week. It allows the terminology team to prepare specific content and publish it on Quickterm. This content may relate to current topics, answers to frequently asked questions, or simply interesting and valuable information. The user can then jump from Entry of the Week back to the entry and then to the termbase again.

"Liked" and "Recommended Entries" in Quickterm Web
Facebook-like features such as "liking" an entry allow users to draw the attention of their colleagues to particular entries. Terminologists, on the other hand, can also "recommend" certain entries. Both of these lists can be presented to users in Quickterm, allowing them to click the links and jump to the respective entries.

All of these "social" features try to apply lessons learned from other collaborative platforms and strengthen the general interest in terminology through a more "edutaining" approach. All of this contributes even more to the marketing efforts of the terminology team and ultimately increases terminology visibility and acceptance in the company.

Fun with Terminology

If you want to make sure your users actually use your terminology, it must be presented in a time-saving, practical, and easy to understand way.

At the same time, you need to provide nifty search features. An intuitive display and easy access to data are key factors in a successful terminology process.

User Participation and Collaboration

Collaborative terminology life cycle management in your company will help to achieve these goals:

• Colleagues are motivated to search for terminology in the termbase and provide feedback on the entries, or even request new terms
• Subject matter experts and specialists work together to define new terminology or make changes to existing entries

• National subsidiaries, external or internal partners, and translators are all active participants in making the terminology data multilingual
• Decision-makers sign off on new terminology by voting for or against newly suggested entries
• End users become actively involved through feedback and participation, thus helping the termbase grow whilst also keeping it up to date

You will find more information on our terminology solutions here.

If you have any questions, please get in touch. We would be happy to advise you.