Language-learning AND Crowd-sourced Translation?
Duolingo, a free language learning platform, was built upon a project started at the end of 2009 by CMU professor Luis von Ahn (creator of reCAPTCHA) and his graduate student…the idea is to create a program that served two purposes, a “twofer” as Luis von Ahn said, teaching its users a foreign language while having them translate simple phrases in documents [1]˳
Most of us have heard of the free platform of language-learning but few really know how Duolingo monetizes the content generated by language-learners˳
Value Creation
Free and Convenient – Duolingo offers high-quality language courseware for free, which is a nice alternative to traditional language-learning spending hundred-dollars and sitting in a classroom˳ The software is available in both desktop and mobile version across multiple operating platforms˳ As Duolingo expands, millions of users now can conveniently access and learn more than thirty languages on its platform, anytime and anywhere˳
Gamification and Network Effect – Its gamification features certainly make learning more interactive and fun˳ Vocabularies are categorized into different themes such as Food and Travel which offers utilitarian value˳ User learn in variety of content formats including pictures, sentence translation and speaking exercises˳ Once you hit your learning goal with limited tries, you will be awarded new badges and gain experience points˳ There is also a network effect as users are also encouraged to share progress with friends and learning community˳
Value Capture
The real dilemma is how would companies make money if the content is free? Well, someone has put it nicely – if you are not paying for the product, then you are the product!
Translation Service – Duolingo turns users into “workforce” and every translation practice done by user produces a piece of a translation product that Duolingo could monetize˳ Specifically, Duolingo would have multiple users translate the same sentence; software compares those results to settle on a final translation˳ After many sentences are put through this process, they are combined to create a translation of an entire document˳ The results, says von Ahn, are better than an automated translation but typically just short of professional quality˳[2] Duolingo has announced partnerships with BuzzFeed and CNN to have their content translated by Duolingo’s community of language learners˳ The service is much cheaper than current professional translation and provides an interesting option for social contents that are easier translate and requires less accuracy˳
Language Test – Duolingo also captures value from the $49 language test, which is to compete with the many $200 language tests out there˳ According to the company, this test is now accepted by many prestigious universities˳ [3]
Incentivizing and Managing the crowd
Duolingo has experimented with rewarding experience points and introducing a rating system to encourage participation in translation exercise˳ However, some users found the current scheme less motivating as there is nothing that really shows how much you have contributed to translating versus points collected from participating regular lessons˳ [4]
I would say, for the most part, learning is the primary motive˳ There isn’t any monetary reward or social recognition for users performing translation tasks˳ The only incentives for users to participate in translation is the opportunity to learn new languages for free while Duolingo keeps innovating on gamification features and better product experience˳
Challenges
User Participation – I wonder if the current scheme is enough to keep users engaged and deliver high-quality translations˳ As more users get familiar with Duolingo’s business model, more would demand to see an explicit link between the reward and their contribution in translation˳ How could Duolingo make the process from selecting and blending translation works from different users to attributing contribution and rewards properly, so as to create a virtuous cycle?
Quality and Timeliness – If Duolingo continues to expand and establish partnership with news and social media companies, speed to delivery and quality of translated content would be a key to success˳ How should Duolingo leverage technology to improve accuracy of translation and properly match supply and demand in a timely manner?
Moving Forward
In July 2017, the company raised a $25 million Series E round˳[6] As the founder once said, Duolingo decided its purpose was teaching, not translation˳ I remain curious about the next move Duolingo takes – growing its business while making language learning accessible for everyone˳
Sources:
[1] https://en˳wikipedia˳org/wiki/Duolingo
[2] https://unicornomy˳com/how-does-duolingo-make-money-business-model/
[3] www˳duolingo˳com
[4] https://www˳duolingo˳com/comment/1032964/Reward-for-Translating
[5] https://www˳technologyreview˳com/s/506656/the-cleverest-business-model-in-online-education/
[6] https://techcrunch˳com/2017/07/25/duolingo-raises-25m-at-a-700m-valuation/
[7] https://www˳fastcompany˳com/3027354/the-founder-of-duolingo-tells-us-the-secret-to-creating-value-from-chaos
Photo Credit:
Conor Walsh
www˳windowsmode˳com
