The Global Crowd
The Global Crowd
Podcast Description
TheGlobalCrowd is a video podcast where I reconnect with brilliant friends and colleagues from the globalization and localization space—not to talk shop, but to talk life. We dive into stories, surprises, strange trivia, and whatever else comes up in one-take, unfiltered conversations. No sponsors, no scripts, no agenda—just a little tribute to the curious, creative, and kind people I’ve met over 25+ years in this industry. Sometimes insightful, sometimes ridiculous, always real.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores themes of personal stories, industry insights, and human experiences, with episodes delving into topics such as the impact of automation on language services, the subtitling versus dubbing debate, and the importance of passion in work. For instance, Episode 0 features guest Ricard Sierra discussing his transition from a translator to a CEO, and highlights personal anecdotes about favorite films.
The Global Crowd is a video podcast where I reconnect with brilliant friends and colleagues from the globalization, localization, and content community—not to talk shop, but to talk life. We dive into stories, surprises, strange trivia, and whatever else comes up in one-take, unfiltered conversations. No sponsors, no scripts, no agenda—just a little tribute to the curious, creative, and kind people I’ve met over 25+ years in this industry. Sometimes insightful, sometimes ridiculous, always real.
Welcome back to The Global Crowd—still the podcast you definitely didn’t need, but hopefully one you’ll keep around.
This is Episode 2, featuring Johan Botha—one of Africa’s most influential voices in localization and co-founder of ALCA (Association of Language Companies in Africa).
He’s the guy collecting hundreds of comic books, co-founding an industry association to unite and open Africa, and prioritizing bedtime stories over business calls and prime networking.
As you will notice, we also took some liberties with this episode and decided we’d treat each other exactly as we do in real life. What you’ll hear is two friends competing for who can be more successful while simultaneously undermining each other’s credibility.
🎙️ In this episode, we talk about:
- How one reluctant influencer became the voice of African localization
- Why Africa has been “the next big thing” for 10 years (and what’s really happening on the ground)
- The trust gap between the “global north” and a continent tired of being told how to do business
- Channeling your inner Batman, stealing Beatles vinyls, and the market opportunity for left-handed fountain pens
- How braai is the great equalizer in South Africa
- The art of saying no (and why Johan struggles with it)
- How rapid-fire questions look like in African time
As always, no sponsors, no script, no secret agenda. Just two friends, one take, and an improvised conversation that wandered from African intelligence to pottery meditation.
Chapter List:
00:00 Welcome and roasting warnings01:41 Meet Johan Botha04:07 From translator to influencer08:33 Explaining your job to kids09:49 Begging your way to the top12:19 Africa’s togetherness problem16:06 The curse of saying yes20:49 Collecting what you can’t afford21:32 Left-handed fountain pen struggles25:23 Comics, vinyl, and Beatles theft29:31 Bedtime stories and troll cupcakes31:28 Braai 10134:21 Rapid fire (African time)40:37 Why care about Africa?48:39 The ALCA conference vision56:23 AI predictions for Johan59:08 Why Johan made episode 3
Thanks for listening.
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