Xiha Life was a multilingual social networking website. It integrates Google's automatic translation software, Google Translate, which enables users to instantly translate comments and posts within the site itself.[1][2] The user interface has been translated into 42 languages, and the system supports communication in 56 languages.[3] Xiha Life has 750,000 members worldwide, with no single country comprising more than 5% of its membership.[2][4]

History

Xiha Life was founded on September 28, 2007, by Jani Penttinen, who serves as its CEO.[5] The name, "Xiha", is Mandarin for "happy" or "joyful".[6] In 2009, Xiha was named one of the Red Herring 100 Europe, an award given to promising European tech companies.[3][7]

Board of Members

Its board includes Jaiku co-founder and former Google Project Manager Jyri Engeström,[5] Jan Achenius and Ville Miettinen.[8] Xiha Life is operated out of Sunnyvale, California, Switzerland, and Finland.[5][8]

References

  1. ↑ "XIHA Life partners with Blue Teach to offer social learning marketplace". Tech Crunch. December 17, 2009.
  2. 1 2 Thompson, Clive, "No Language Barrier: How auto-translation software is saving the world's mother tongues", Wired, vol. 18, no. 7, p. 42.
  3. 1 2 Koskenlaakso, Leena, The Red Herring awarded XIHA LIFE: Multilingual social networking site continues to grow, Forum Virium Helsinki Newsletter, retrieved July 29, 2010.
  4. ↑ "XIHA Life: A Social Network For Multilinguists". Tech Crunch. August 26, 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 Butcher, Jack (January 25, 2010), XIHA Life secures $1m and adds Jaiku's Engestrom to board, TechCrunch, retrieved July 29, 2010.
  6. ↑ Finnish Xiha Life world's first multilingual online community, Finnfacts, May 18, 2009, archived from the original on August 13, 2009, retrieved July 29, 2010.
  7. ↑ Red Herring 100 Europe 2009 – Winners, Red Herring, retrieved July 29, 2010.
  8. 1 2 XIHA Life Receives $1 Million in Seed Funding, Veraventure, January 27, 2010, retrieved August 5, 2010 (Xiha Life press release).


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