I was using Google Translator to say something sweet to my fiance in foreign tounge and the thought came to me, “if it’s this easy to translate whole phrases, paragraphs even, then why can’t they just build this into the application as an option?”  I have Facebook friends in various countries and they do regularly talk in other languages.  What would happen to the cultural barriers if the dialect was not a factor?

A suggestion would be some manner of notifying the reader that the post has been translated.  Perhaps a small icon with a “T” for translated, or a similar thing.  Person A from one location types a caption in one language and attaches it to a pic of an amazing looking meal.  Then person B, C, and D all respond universally to the picture and are able to take in the information about it, all reading about it in different languages; perhaps ingredients or cooking methods.   They can then comment and share feedback in a language they don’t know.

The implications are far reaching.  Crisis or natural disaster in one country, can be met with support and encouragement from another.  This results in a greater understanding on both sides.  Let’s chill out about stock prices, and figuring out how to maximize mobile user advertising profits, and get back to the product.  Let’s get back to what a social network is supposed to be providing.