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Last week the Tech Crunch Disrupt San Francisco 2012 conference, a popular launch venue for hopeful startups and a major tech-insider schmoozefest, offered their free event livestream with a fresh twist: real-time  translation for up to 12 languages.  As more events offer a livestream component, chances are that viewers from other countries who have a shared interest in the event will be drawn in to watch. Enter start-up, Babelverse.

The User Experience
Excited to give it a try, I selected Spanish from the language options offered by the conference. When I clicked on Spanish I was taken to a new page in Spanish and an audible dialing sound started. When it stopped, a live voice popped on and was in the middle of translating the livestream. The line connection had some static at first, but the  translator spoke clearly and I could follow along, given my basic knowledge of the language and hearing the English version at the same time to compare. The page also offered  users an opportunity to rate the translator, which is important since live translation is an art – think United Nations. Overall, it was a fun experience that was successful, though I didn’t listen for more than five minutes.

Babelverse Background
Babelverse officially launched its services in April 2012 at The Next Web, shortly after showcasing its real-time translation platform (6,796 languages) for President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union address.  In development since 2010, it has received funding and resource support from all over the world, including StartupChile,  500Startups and the European Union’s TechAllStars programme, among other Angel investors.

New Livestream Event Marketing Options
Livestreamed events just got more exciting to plan! If you have an event or conference that you know from past data attracts a global audience on site and earns a significant number of video views on your Web site or YouTube channel afterwards, you have an option to introduce a new revenue stream by offering paid access to real-time event proceedings using translation services like Babelverse. Or simply open up your event to the online world for free for increased exposure, as Tech Crunch Disrupt so wisely did.

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