I had mostly intended to write about how the different functions of Wave could (and will be) used to change many things related to the functionality and use of languages on the Internet. . .and had been mostly forming my post around faster/new ways that translational services could operate [which, i admit, is a pretty transparent use of the features in Wave, like Rosy] but of course Google the wonderful hub of innovation that it is already came out with a Translator Toolkit that makes use of a good number of the functions that will be in Wave (plus some), and i am sure that they will be continuously adding sexy Wave-like features to it.

For example, in the video they attached to their revealing blog-post they mention how you can take an article from Wikipedia, have google translate it for you (instantly), and then you correct any errors in the translation. On top of that, you can then check other translations for the same article, and invite others to translate as well. Although, at the moment this last collaboration part doesn't look like it is 'live' like in Wave, imagine how powerful it will be when it is. Here's the vid:

Considering that the google translator has about an 80% accuracy [according to various freelance translator forums i've scoured], and is continuously learning (either from the individual translator or from how the given language is commonly used on billions of webpages), this will make online translation extremely fast/accurate/effeicient and a more "flat" service.

Things like this are pretty exciting, we could come to get unfiltered information REALLY from anywhere in the world without missing a beat.

Though many would say that this kills the industry of online document translation, who needs translators anymore when you have google?, I think it should be seen as a beneficial change that comes with advnacements in technology. Like the great book I am just finishing up, "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman, frequently mentions many of the easiest jobs/services will be taken over by a cheaper labor country and/or technology, which leaves more time/labor available to work on where the real value is. . .which is in the unique creativity that can be formed stemming off from the newly simplified service.

So the real question is, now that we are but a few hops away from widespread efficient translation on the web, what can a former document translator or someone with vast language ability (like i hope to be hehe) do in an interesting and creative way, to once again add meaningful value to this skill in terms of things in the digital realm?

Seeing these tech trends coming, this has been something i've been thinking about personally for a while now and think is a good question to answer for any language enthusiast [disregarding the spoken/real world aspect of langauge].

Maybe i'll tackle this in another post, along with other things that have been on my mind, in the multilingual context, like Entrepreneurship, other up and coming Tech, and how to make the most of the languages your learning. . .

Some things to think about in this Just 1 World we have.