Thursday, August 30, 2007

Odiogo - Listening to Blogs - Why Not?

I came across a post from Jeff Pulver the other day that really caught my eye, and I wanted to share it here.

His post was about a company called Odiogo, and they use text-to-speech to automatically convert your blog posts into audio posts. I think that's a great idea, and am going to look into this for myself.

Jeff provides a link where you can listen for yourself. There's also an audio sample on the company's website. The meter and cadence of the speaking is a bit robotic, but you can certainly follow the narrative. For people who don't have time to read your posts, or have a long commute, this is a great way to get your content out there and reach a broader audience. As with regular blogs, you can set up RSS feeds and subscribe to your favorite blogs who are using it. Download the files before hopping on the train or plane, and you'll never miss a post from your favorite bloggers.

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea. The website even tells you how to embed ads in your audio posts, so you can truly maximize your revenue potential, if that's what you're into.

Ideally, bloggers would voice record their posts so their followers can hear them in their natural voice, but who has the time to do that? Odiogo is an automated process, so you make a bit of a trade off in not having to do any extra work to extend your reach as opposed to strengthening your personal brand with your own audio posts. For most of us, the trade-off is a small price to pay.

I also like the fact you can do this with articles as well, so for people like me who write beyond the blog, Odiogo allows me to get a lot of content out there in a new format without a lot of extra work.

Thanks for the post, Jeff! I see that Odiogo is based in Jerusalem, and it looks like all your recent travels there are yielding some nice finds.


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4 comments:

Jon Arnold said...

Posted by: Markus Goebel

I wouldn't want to listen to blogs. Yet reading takes too much time but you can at least skim over the texts.

Jon Arnold said...

Posted by: Dan Schawbel

I think this open up the opportunity of giving your readers a choice. You should post in regular format and include the audio portion.

Jon Arnold said...

Posted by: Jon Arnold

Thanks for your quick comments.

Dan - I agree with you 100%, and Odiogo has already been in touch with me, and look to see audio posts here very soon!

Markus - good point, and I actually feel the same, especially if it's not my actual voice. However, as mentioned, for the times when you're on the go, it's a great alternative to follow your favorite bloggers.

Everyone else out there - Markus has a very grounded view of things, and if you have concerns that Odiogo is yet another way to keep us Always On, 24/7, you should read his blog. He's got a great post from the other day pushing back on things like Twitter and Facebook. http://www.goebel.net/technews/2007/08/why-are-people-like-jeff-pulver-so.html Enjoy it!

Jon Arnold said...

Posted by: Moshe Maeir

Jon,
Thanks for alerting me to Odiogo...
I installed it in a few minutes and it is great.
Moshe