Filtered By: Scitech
SciTech

Facebook rolls out Bing-powered translation tool


Members of social networking giant Facebook can now understand posts on a Facebook Page even if they are written in a different language, thanks to a translation service powered by Microsoft's Bing search engine. Facebook said the new translation tools allows people to translate posts directly inline on Facebook Pages, via Bing Translate. "With this service, we are making it even easier for people to enjoy Page content on Facebook regardless of the languages that they know," it said. Under the setup, when someone clicks on the translate button on a public Page post, a Bing translation will appear in a popout window. People will have the opportunity to submit their own translation by opting in to using inline translations. "After their generated translation has received enough positive votes, it will replace the Bing translation and will appear each time someone clicks on the translate button associated with the post," Facebook said. But it also noted page administrators can always control how their content is translated within the "Your Settings" tab in the Edit Page view. A separate article on Search Engine Watch said the option comes weeks after Microsoft's announcement for the new Microsoft Translator API. "Bing is excited that its friends at Facebook have now implemented the API to enhance their site with real-time, in-place translation. Bing had nothing new to report about any integration partnerships with Facebook," a Microsoft spokesperson told Search Engine Watch. On the other hand, it noted the translation is not automatic, as translation is provided via an app that users must give permission to, to translate Facebook pages into their own language. Microsoft's gain, Google's loss? Search Engine Watch also noted this is "another win" for Bing on multiple fronts, as it gained one more commitment from a social network into their service. Facebook is another major player to use Microsoft's translation API, it added. On the other hand, Search Engine Watch noted many companies may be forced to decide what to do about translation, as Google decided to make its Translate API a paid service only. It said Google is "effectively" shutting down its free translate API as of December 1. — RSJ, GMA News

Tags: facebook
LOADING CONTENT