"What the heck is Twitter anyway, and why should I (and my organization) care?"

Good questions. Ones that we at Language Line Services asked several months ago before we started "tweeting".

Twitter is a phenomenon in the world of "social media" (another term you'll hear more about). Ironically, there were several nearly identical online services when Twitter came along three years ago, but none that have taken on such a following.

Many millions of organizations and individual communicate with their "followers" on a daily basis. If there's a celebrity, politician, competitor, governmental agency or special cause you want to keep track of, you can likely follow them on Twitter.

In fact, we followed others on Twitter long before we started contributing to the flow of conversation ourselves.

Before we share some of our most recent "tweets" with you, here are links on a website (Mashable.com) that is chock full of useful information about using Twitter, just in case you care to learn more:

• What is Twitter...
• From the Twitter Book,
• On "the Social Media Guide," Mashable.com.

And, finally, here are five messages (tweets), with hopefully useful links, that we've recently posted on Twitter. Enjoy!

• Listen to NPR's All Things Tech "Need An Interpreter? Just Pick Up The Phone"- audio http://bit.ly/POjMf & article http://bit.ly/IbfdB


• New America Media: "In the US, Filipino Men Stay at Home as Nurse-Wives Work"... a dramatic reversal in roles. http://bit.ly/fpced


• Had your "Indian Yellow Milk" today? "Complementary and alternative" medicine (CAM) now known as "integrative medicine" - India Currents http://bit.ly/7iq7R


• Good Econ News: Health care could employ 1 million in California with earning power over $116 billion in wages by 2030 Report: - Sacramento Business Journal: http://bit.ly/md9Ng


• NYTimes: In counterinsurgency, "your interpreter is way more important than your weapon," Cory Schulz, an Army major http://bit.ly/1WwGjy

If you're interested, sign up for Twitter here

And remember to follow us here twitter.com/languageline and twitter.com/louisprovenzano.

Thank you!

I guess we're giving away a secret here, but New America Media has been a source of "In Other Words" stories for quite some time.

NAM says it is "the country's first and largest national collaboration and advocate of 2000 ethnic news organizations.

"Over 51 million ethnic adults connect to each other, to home countries and to America through 3000+ ethnic media, the fastest growing sector of American journalism.

"Founded by the nonprofit Pacific News Service in 1996, NAM is headquartered in California with offices in New York and Washington D.C., and partnerships with journalism schools to grow local associations of ethnic media.

It is "dedicated to bringing the voices of the marginalized - ethnic minorities, immigrants, young people, elderly - into the national discourse.

"The communities of the New America will then be better informed, better connected to one another, and better able to influence policy makers."

Among its co-founders are:

• The Annie E. Casey Foundation
• The Atlantic Philanthropies
• The California Endowment
• The California Wellness Foundation
• The Carnegie Corporation Of New York
• The David & Lucile Packard Foundation
• The Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund
• The Ford Foundation
• And several others

To learn more about New America Media and all it has to offer:

• Visit it's home news page
• Look into its various blogs, and
• Investigate its Polls dating back to 2002

All we ask is that when you see an article here at "In Other Words", please don't say you read it already at New America Media, OK? ;-)

The National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) organization is comprised of several national public service organizations, professional medical associations, and government agencies working in partnership to build breast cancer awareness, share information and provide access to screening services.

NBCAM and www.nbcam.org are a year-round resource for patients, survivors, caregivers and the general public.

If you or a loved one wonders about breast cancer, there are many forms of information on NBCAM's website. Here are just a few:

• About NBCAM and Q & A
• Breast Cancer Q & A, and
• Questions to Ask your Doctor

Please note that the above links are downloadable documents.

Here are two stories involving deaf or hard of hearing customers and patients, and how others are serving their needs.

Deaf Man Wins Settlement After Denied Interpreters

WCCO Minneapolis - St. Paul Wed, 23 Sep 2009

A 34-year-old deaf man who was denied access to a sign-language interpreter in jail has reached a settlement with two southern Minnesota counties.

Read the rest of the story here http://bit.ly/13SUnI

Mid-Maryland Musculoskeletal Institute To Ensure Effective Communication With Persons Who Are Deaf Or Hard-of-Hearing

Medical News Today Wed, 23 Sep 2009

Under a voluntary resolution agreement reached with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), deaf or hard-of-hearing patients at the Mid-Maryland Musculoskeletal Institute (MMI) of Frederick, Md., will be screened and provided with sign language interpreters whenever interpreter services are necessary for effective communication.

Read the rest of the story here http://bit.ly/pAZoT

If you have customers or patients that are hard of hearing, we can help. Take a moment to review the Language LineŽ Video Interpreter Service http://www.languageline.com/page/vis/. Thank you!

Selected News of the Month

• Language Line Services' - Cross-Cultural Update for September 2009. Useful Cultural News, Tips and Timely Information


• Test Development for National Medical Interpreter Certification Advances, Oral Exam Pilot Concludes and Written Exam Pilot Commences

Read more Language Line Services news here >>

Language Line Services, the leader in language interpretation, is seeking to increase its interpreter team in many languages.

Among other positions, we are now hiring experienced, professional face-to-face medical interpreters!

In: Santa Clara, CA and New York City, NY

Our experienced, professional face-to-face medical interpreters provide consecutive interpretation, have educated native fluency in two languages and are highly skilled in the cultural dynamics of the languages they interpret.

If you have native fluency in English and another language, at least one year of medical interpreting experience, are trained and/or certified as a medical interpreter and have excellent customer service skills, then apply online at www.LanguageLine.com/careers.

Interested in becoming an over-the-phone interpreter?

If you have excellent proficiency in English, with strong listening and comprehension skills as well as good customer service skills, you can become an interpreter for Language Line Services.

Visit www.languageline.com/careers.

View the "How to Become an Interpreter" Video.

Then, click on "Apply Today" under "interpreter Careers" OR "Corporate Careers" and follow the directions.

Here's what one valued client recently said about one of Language Line Services' excellent interpreters:

"...interpreter #6100 for Farsi was awesome fantastic and amazing. I am speechless as to how good the interpreter was. We have a very difficult client that he made so easy for me. Thank you..."

Join Us, Will You?

Each month you'll receive our free monthly email newsletter...

featuring news, tips, interviews, surveys, stats, special offers and other useful information to help you better serve your limited English-speaking customers.

If you have a story idea, drop us a note at newsletter@languageline.com.

Also, if you enjoyed this issue, share it with your colleagues and friends. Just ask them to send us a subscription request to newsletter@languageline.com or visit our website.

Your information will never be shared with anyone, ever! See our Privacy Policy here.