Speak

This is not the first time I have attempted to speak a posting to a website. I am using industry-standard voice-recognition software to transcribe these words as I speak them.

The only difference this time around is that I am attempting to take it a little more seriously. I use the voice recognition on my Galaxy Note 2, and recently realized how much prestidigitation it has saved me, not to mention its accurate spelling of lengthy words such as prestidigitation. I don’t think you should expect miracles with this stuff, but I have come to understand how powerful it can be.

My aversion to talking to a computer probably comes from my disdain for automated voicemail attendants and voice jail. Such things make me feel like an imbecile. But this is a different type of product after all. It has taken me a while to understand that.

One must speak unnaturally, and a bit stilted, at least until you train the software to understand that Instagram is not Insta Graham, for instance. I find myself typing characters in here or there but my goal is to be as typing free as possible.

I have spoken with a few people who have attempted to use this software, and they all seem to have the same expectations. I think people expect this software to basically read your mind, and miraculously transcribe your mumblings which even attentive human beings cannot understand.

I have in the past used the software to transcribe radio broadcasts. I had no expectations of perfection or even near perfection. I was using it as a poetry prompt. I might try that again, though I have no memory of it being very effective.

I can see myself becoming very skilled at this. It is unnatural though, and I might be nervous about doing it in the company of other people.