Top 5 LinkedIn Groups for Translation, Localization, and Interpretation

In a recent GALA blog post titled "To Be Linked... What is the Value Proposition?", Rebecca Petras recently noted the value and influence of LinkedIn in the translation and localization industry. As she hinted, there is not enough time in the day to participate in every networking and expertise-building discussion you could have in the dozens of translation-related LinkedIn groups. So, to help you out, here is a concise list of the largest and most active translation-related groups on LinkedIn. Join these first if you are looking for member and discussion volume, then you can worry later about the niche groups that fit a particular need of yours.

1. Localization Professional (3600+ members, 150+ recent discussions)
2. Language Jobs (1500+ members, 80+ recent discussions, 10+ recent jobs)
3. Localization and Globalization Fusion Society (1500+ members, 80+ recent discussions)
4. Lingua (1200+ members, 60+ recent discussions)
5. G11n - Globalization Professionals (1100+ members, 50+ recent discussions)

The Localization Professional (LocPro) group is far and away the most active, thanks to active management by group owner, Serge Gladkoff. Serge helps promote good discussion and even negotiates perks like discount subscriptions to MultiLingual for group members. It probably helps that LocPro already has more than double the membership of any other translation-related group on LinkedIn.

I intentionally left some groups off this list, including groups with a broader focus like content management. ProZ's large LinkedIn membership would make it number 2, but discussions and basically all participation have been disabled, so joining the ProZ LinkedIn group is all but completely worthless.

Some groups may never reach the above membership levels, but they can be great for networking because of their focus. For example, the Automated Language Translation Group may never reach 3,000 members because of its more focused target audience, but it currently has 800+ members and 20+ recent discussions, and group owner Kirti Vashee helps ensure that the discussions are lively and get a lot of participation.

In short, if you 're not already a member of LinkedIn, then you should join. Plenty of people like me have formed many mutually beneficial relationships in this professional networking environment. If you're already a member, then consider becoming more active by connecting to a few more of your colleagues, posting a few more jobs, or asking/answering a few more questions. Not only you, but also your connections will benefit from your participation.