BuzzFeed to Become Multilingual: Why Critics Say It's 'No Bueno'
BuzzFeed, a website that claims to have "the hottest, most social content on the web" has certainly caught on like viral wildfire - and they are planning to ignite more buzz by tapping into multilingual media as well.
The popular website, which "features breaking buzz and the kinds of things you'd want to pass along to your friends," has rapidly become one of the most visited online properties. In August 2013, BuzzFeed had 85 million visitors, three times more than just a year ago; by next year, it expects to become one of the most popular sites in the world, Slate reports.
While some BuzzFeed's stories don't always contain much substance or journalistic integrity, the website receives more shares on Facebook than stories by any other site, including those of the New York Times and the Guardian," according to one recent study.
"Until now, there was just one barrier to BuzzFeed's plan for world domination: While many of its stories are highly visual, they still contain a fair amount of text - a barrier to non-English speakers. Well, this barrier is no more: BuzzFeed has struck a deal with Duolingo," Slate adds. The partnership will launch translations in Spanish, French, and Brazilian Portuguese.
What is Duolingo?
"Duolingo is a promising start-up for studying languages that was founded by Louis von Ahn, the person we have to thank (or blame) for inventing the anti-spam CAPTCHA system that prompts us to type what we see in two pictures to make sure we are not robots on a spamming mission. Initially, the CAPTCHA system relied on random text, but then Von Ahn realized that he could get people to fight spam and help to digitize books at the same time."
Will these multilingual offerings change the approach to foreign, hard news?
"National news players that produce genuine hard news - the kind that takes money to report and might not receive many likes and shares on social networks, as it focuses on issues that are grim rather than viral - would have a powerful new competitor," Slate points out. "There's no scenario in which BuzzFeed's 'cosmopolitan turn' is good for foreign news sites: They will be pressed to either soften up their own news coverage - to boost social media friendliness-or be faced with the prospect of making even less money off their online advertising."
A typical BuzzFeed story consists of 10 quotations accompanied by pictures, and or links and is often presented in a quiz-like format. The content is generated by staff and users in the website's "attempt to capture the essence of viral media currently resonating on the web." An example of this is a recent post created by a user called "Bilingual Problems," which listed the Top 12 silly problems that arise when being bilingual.
"Bilingual Problems"
Mo smarts, mo problems...
1. The confusion that comes when you're tired or stressed.
2. The endless assumptions people make about your ethnicity and culture.
3. The assumptions you make about other people.
4. Monolinguals' amazement when you speak half in one language and half in another.
5. The lack of equivalents between languages.
6. People always wanting you to say something in your other language.
7. The amount of times you become a translator.
8. When you know the idea you want to express, but can't remember how to say it in either language.
9. (For Spanish-English bilinguals) When you use Spanish pronouns in English, or English pronouns in Spanish, and you forget which accent is socially acceptable to use.
"Fui al Walmart.." "She's from San Juan."
10. (For Sign-language and Speech bilinguals) That awkward moment when you forget if you're supposed to be speaking with your hands or your voice.
11. Sometimes it all just makes you feel like this: (a picture of a cat yawning)
12. But it's okay, because in the end, you know this is true: "I am the smartest person I know." At least to some extent ; )
As you can see BuzzFeed has a comical, quirky spin that resonates with many audiences with an appetite for quick-fix, viral content, regardless of what critics say.
So, how did BuzzFeed gain such a large online presence and following - was it Americans need for escapism or is there a methodology behind it?
"Judging by the spectacular results, BuzzFeed has turned 'virality' into a science: Thanks to advanced analytics and tools of Big Data, they know exactly what needs to be said-and how-to get the story shared by most people," Slate adds. "Its approach is best described as Taylorism of the viral: Just like Frederick Taylor knew how to design the factory floor to maximize efficiency, BuzzFeed knows how to design its articles to produce most clicks and shares. The content of the article is secondary to its viral performance."
Journalistic credibility aside, it will be interesting to see if the multilingual versions of BuzzFeed catch on like the English version has, or if their intended quirkiness and comical sarcasm will be lost in translation.