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5+ Google Reader Replacements

March 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment

readerGoogle doesn’t sit still for long.  Even on their flagship products (search, email, calendar, G+, etc) they’re constantly tweaking.

Sometimes they just bail on stuff they’ve spent billions on (Buzz, Wave).

Latest on the chopping block: Google Reader.  Fans are not happy.  There’s even a petition circulating.

rss

Let’s recap.  Google Reader is actually an RSS feed reader.  RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication.  The ubiquitous orange iconic logo symbolizes RSS.  RSS feed readers

For online nerds like me, RSS feed readers are a Godsend…and Google was among the best, and certainly the most recognized and used RSS Feed Reader.  Feed Readers aggregate strictly the content from websites, blogs, and other online sites…into a easy-to-access interface that lets you peruse lots of information FAST.  It beats browsing through tab after tab after tab.  The word “feed” comes in, because you get to program which sits you want “fed” into your reader.

A few months back, Google changed some features on their reader.  They’ve been steadily removing functionality and none of it sat very well with Google Reader regulars.  Well, July 1st the whole show disappears.

Several 3rd-party developers are dancing a jig, though, ’cause this opens up all new opportunities for THEIR products.

The important thing is to beat the deadline, though, so you can export your feed FROM Google to your new reader…after July 1st…you won’t be able to,  and if you’ve spent a lot of time building your feed…that would be a big loss.

So below are my 5 suggestions for RSS Feed Reader replacements:

Feedly

The Old Reader

NewsBlur

NetVibes

(for tablets)  Flipboard, Pulse, Google Currents, Zite, Taptu

Fever

Honorable mention:  MS Outlook.  Yup, Microsoft Office’s premiere CRM program also brings in RSS feeds, and it ain’t half bad.

OOOooooor…you could go on flitting from site to site manually, and wasting precious auditioning time.

CourVO

Filed Under: Web Resources Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

SoundStreak Windows Preview Released

March 14, 2013 By 1 Comment

soundstreakThursday I got the email I’ve been waiting for. The SoundStreak Preview Release  for Windows is out.

I’ve blogged about SoundStreak several times in the last few months.  The definitive article, featuring an interview with CEO Dan Caligor is here: SoundStreak – From the Top.

Dan sent the email…and I was excited to hear about it (1) because I’m a diehard Windows user, and (2) I have a great deal of respect for the potential of this product.

Galigor and his developer — Matthew Hensrud — have been letting me in on the beta testing.  I’ve been doing some sessions with them over the past weeks, and I’d like to think some of those instances helped a little bit.

SoundStreak’s native development was for the Mac OS, but after reaching a Beta product in that realm, SoundStreak wasted no time working on a version compatible with Win7.  It should more than double their possible user base.

Read the official SoundStreak announcement.  You’ll find all the appropriate links there to get started.  The program installs quickly.

In addition, Dan Caligor offered me a few other tidbits of information in his email:

“This preview is fully functional and largely feature-complete, and is fully interoperable with the Mac version (i.e., you can assume either the Production or Talent role on either platform and mix-and-match within sessions).  
All sessions on SoundStreak — as well as the software and account — will remain free of charge while we continue to finalize all the elements of our system. This preview is the tip of the wedge for a number of exciting changes we will be making over the next eight weeks or so.  These include new features and capabilities, a new and highly scalable back-end, multi-user and eterprise-grade account capabilities, and user and account admin portals.”
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Just briefly, for those unfamiliar:  SoundStreak maximizes an internet connection between talent and producer to provide a real-time link for studio quality remote recording.  Like ISDN, the session is usually initiated from the producer end, and both parties need to have the SoundStreak software up and running.  The producer feeds the script and even lo-res video (if needed) which appears on the talent’s screen.  Talent delivers as many takes as the producer wants…the producer listens…chooses the one he/she likes, and the “good” take is immediately downloaded in a hi-res version to the producer’s side of the equation.  All recordings also remain on the talent side of the recording.
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That’s a quick paraphrase, and there are many other handy and feature-rich nuances to the process, but the system is robust and intuitive.
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Hensrud told me that by the end of business Thursday, the new Windows Preview Release had gotten a couple of hundred hits.  ‘Not bad for the first day on the market!
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Below is a quick screen capture I did of my test session yesterday to show you the screen interface.  My promo read is horrid,  but you can see the sequencing of the countdown into the delivery of the video.  In my headphones, I was hearing all the background crowd noise of the video, plus Traci Ulman’s soundtrack, as well as the beep-beep-beep of the 3-second countdown.
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Great going SoundStreak!
CourVO

Filed Under: New Paradigms, Technology, Web Resources Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Be Glad

March 1, 2013 By 2 Comments

gladinetHopefully by now, you’ve found a cloud storage plan you’re comfortable with.

Many is the time I’ve blogged about cloud solutions.  It’s one of the true promises of the digital age that has met it’s potential at a good price.

How does the cloud help your VO business?  By making your essential files available no matter where you are; by giving you a common bucket to share your files from; by providing you a simple back-up of important resources; by letting you control access traditional desktop files with a smartphone, etc., etc., etc.

See my blog:  Make Your Own Cloud, and look for all the “cloud” links within.

Cloud storage plans are getting less and less expensive for more and more storage.  This week, though, I ran across a promotion that blew me away… the best bang for your buck I’ve seen yet.

It’s from GLADINET.

I use a version of a Gladinet storage solution in conjunction with my Nuance PaperPort program (pdf and document management system).  I’ve found Gladinet very reliable and customer-friendly.

But their newest promotion of 1 TeraByte of storage for $9.99/mo is off-the-charts the best deal I’ve seen yet.

It’s called the Gladinet Cloud Team Edition and offers the following enhancements to the cloud desktop:

  •  1000GB (1TB) of Amazon storage or you can use your existing storage account
  • Web browser, PC & Mac clients, file server support and mobile apps.
  • Attach your local folders to the cloud and access anywhere
  • Backup or sync any local folder
  • Folder level permission control & share folders and files
  • Share files with anyone
  • Active Directory Integration
  • Access your files from mobile devices and web browsers

The ‘Personal Edition’ is only $6.99/mo and offers 100Gb, and the ‘Business Edition’ offers 3TB for $12.99/mo!

See this Gladinet home page for complete song ‘n’ dance, and links to the various offers.  For now (i.e. this week)  this the best offer I’ve seen.

CourVO

Filed Under: The Cloud, Web Resources, Web/Tech Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Voicezam

February 15, 2013 By 3 Comments

voicezamOne of the clear indicators of a product that’s dependable is its longevity in the marketplace.  Trends in the business of voice-acting come and go, but proven products last over time.

January of 2009, I first mentioned Voicezam in this blog.  Hard to believe it’s been more than 4 years voicezam2ago.  At the time, I didn’t have a lot of info on the site.  But it’s creating buzz again (a few of us even discussed it in our VO MasterMind group call this week), and I see that the Voicezam site has been spiffed-up quite a bit.

Audio producer Bob Merkel runs the place.  He’s devised a unique product with a lot of uses.  Upload your demo to the Voicezam site…his process splits it into pieces which can be played individually in a virtual player that you can email, embed, send, post, and otherwise distribute just about anywhere!

In fact, it’s the usability factor that makes it so good for your business. See this page for a look at how the Voicezam player can be used.

I love the fact that you, as a member, have a lot of control over how the player looks, including the order of the segments, naming the individual segments, and even customizing the player.

Here’s a link to the Voicezam FAQ page, which will probably answer most of your questions.

You must be a working pro with 3 years under your belt, and the application process asks that you list your last 3 jobs.  First month is free, then you have a basic membership that kicks in with some a la carte options that cost extra if you choose them (like metrics, and automatically adding your demos).  Basic monthly service is $19.95.

Bob is excellent with returning answers to questions, and is very responsive with customer service.

What a great tool for your voice over business if the price is within your means.

CourVO

Filed Under: Technology, Web Resources Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Slow Death of ISDN

February 1, 2013 By 8 Comments

connectivityThe major telephone companies wish they’d never seen ISDN.

It’s a pain in the butt to provision, switch, maintain, uphold, and they’re not even sure why they do it.

The result is ever-increasing installation and monthly fees, especially in the fly-over states.

The evidence is everywhere and ever-increasing.

Two threads on VO Facebook groups this week were testament.

In one, Melanie Haynes stated:  ”…”Having my battle with them again…..Thought we’d settled it last year when I signed a 2 year contract with a lowered rate. Guess what? It will be only 1 year in Feb and my latest bill jumped the rate by $25..”

Others chimed in to say they’re paying more than $300/mo for their ISDN service.

Voice actor AJ McKay noted with frustration:  ”I’ve had mine for a little over a year. It went from 165 to 194 and now is $235. It really is ridiculous because they don’t train people anymore to service ISDN (according to the guy who just came to my house last month). I knew more jargon and about ISDN than he did.”

Still more voice-actors say they can’t even get an ISDN install in their town/city.  It’s not even available.

Much of this conversation was sparked by a blog my friend Bobbin Beam wrote on ISDN.  Bobbin just moved from San Diego, back to the Midwest, and is having a nightmare of a time getting her ISDN established again.  $50/mo in San Diego, now $214/mo in Milwaukee for a business account…personal accounts no longer available.  See:  The Unlevel Playing Field.

About this time, seasoned pros in NYC and LA will chime in and say “ISDN is never going away…the studios like it too much…you all are overreacting…too many people have preached its demise for too long, and it’s still here…” and more like that.  All of which bears some truth.

But the mounting evidence can no longer be ignored.  The owner of studio here in Las Vegas was lamenting how it’s getting harder and harder to find a decent long distance service for his ISDN connection.  If the studios are getting squeezed out of the market…there’s little hope ISDN will last.

It may be a couple of years, but now is the time to start looking.  There are several candidates:
(in order of likelihood)

1) Source-Connect 

From Source-Elements, Source-Connect already has pretty good name recognition and acceptance among studios and talent.  For some reason, it has never really taken-off…but with the slow demise of ISDN…maybe it can come forward and shine.  Configuration and set-up problems are well-known, though, and there remains occasional drop-out in the signal.

2) SoundStreak

Dan Caligor’s team is hot on the trail of a very sweet IP solution to remote recording.  It’s a service more than software, and now with it’s Windows Beta release and other big developments, Soundstreak has a real chance.  Read my recent blog about SS.

3) Skype

Yeah.  Skype.  After bouncing around under different corporations (Ebay?) Skype now falls under Microsoft’s umbrella.  Some lament this fact. I rejoice in it.  I think MS will make some hay out of this product.  Many a Podcast and Phone Patch are successfully completed using Skype… can top quality studio sound over this IP service be very far?

4)  Luci Live App

This $400 iOS app delivers the connectivity goods…but then you’re at the mercy of the inferior audio electronics of an iPad or iPhone.  It’s not terrible, but good enough for network promos?  I doubt it.

HONORABLE MENTION:  ConnectionOpen  This is a simple, easy-to-use interface designed for recording remote collaborative music sessions, but there’s  no reason why it wouldn’t work for VO sessions.  See my blog of Mar 2012 on this.

CourVO

Filed Under: ISDN, Technology, VO Community, Web Resources Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Coming Review: SoundStreak for Windows

January 24, 2013 By Leave a Comment

win-miccomboThis morning, Friday, January 25, 2013, I’ll be doing a run-through of the new Beta of SoundStreak for Windows OS.

Their chief product officer is guiding me every step of the way …so I’m certainly in capable hands.

Less than a week ago, I did a one-on-one interview with SoundStreak’s CEO, Dan Caligor, and also have some very exciting news about developments at SoundStreak…both Mac and Win7.

I’m telling you all this as a heads-up of coming attractions for next week’s blog.

I wrote about SoundStreak’s Beta release just a couple of weeks ago.  SOUNDSTREAK FOR WINDOWS IS NEAR .  THAT article also has links to a very thorough blog about SoundStreak from last year, that explains much of the concept behind this unique remote-recording solution.

CourVO

Filed Under: Technology, Web Resources Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kingdom Voices

January 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment

kingdomvoicesThree things I try to avoid online:
1) politics
2) Mac vs. PC
3) religion.

But today, I’m putting that aside this once to give a big attaboy to my friend Dan Hurst for taking the initiative to launch a new talent service website with the not-too-veiled reference to the needs of the church: KingdomVoices.com.

These days, you’d think it is almost out of fashion to say you’re a Christian, and that you want to do work for the body of Christ that has an undertermined promise of significant monetary gain for your VO business. (or any religion for that matter)

And Dan’s no slouch or stranger to the VO biz.  If you knew him, you’d know that he’s a veteran actor who voices in English and Spanish…has many overseas clients…is a whiz at marketing himself on social media, and offers help to anyone who asks.  So why this?  In the VoiceOverXtra article, Dan says:  “I have a number of church and faith-based organization clients,” he explains, “and several of them mentioned how difficult it was to find voice talent that shared their missional heart.”

Normally, I try not to duplicate here on this blog the headline stories you see on VoiceOverXtra…but I’m making the exception this time ensure those of you who want to participate in Kingdom Voices actually HEAR about it and get on over to sign-up.

Probably best to go to the VoiceOverXtra site to read about KingdomVoices.com...as John Florian totally scooped me on this story, and he’s got all the facts from Hurst.

Nice going Dan…I’ve already got my profile filled-out!

CourVO

Filed Under: Subscription Services, Web Resources Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Coolest Online Tool Since Email

January 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment

deposits1More often than not, I’ll tell my clients I prefer a check in the mail.

Yes, I take credit cards, and yes, I accept PayPal…but I grind my teeth anytime I see a merchant institution get even a small percentage of the sum, just for facilitating the transaction.

And…I guess there’s still a thrill when I open the envelope and see the PAYCHECK there with the dollar amount stated in ink.

The downside is: a trip to the bank to deposit a paper check, strains the daily schedule sometimes.  We’re spoiled aren’t we?  Even with drive-up banking, it still seems to be hassle to do this errand.

NO MORE

Now, you can deposit your paychecks with your smartphone or tablet!   And…it really works…(what was it Isaac Asimov said?:  “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic…)

FINALLY!…the true promise of the digital world!

I know banks are kinda the bad guys these days — what with the foreclosure crisis and all — but the fact that they’ve been able to mount the depositstechnical wizardry to make online deposits of paychecks possible with your smartphone or tablet, is truly revolutionary.

Check to see if your bank has it.  For sure Bank of America and Wells Fargo offer it.  If your bank doesn’t have this feature just yet…you can bet it’s coming.  It’s cool and it’s fast.  Another digital tool.  Another time-saver.

All you have to do is log with your online mobile accounting software (you DO have this on your smartphone, right?)…take a picture of the front and back (you still have to endorse it on the back), state the amount, and you’re done!  The bank recommends you hold on to your paper trail for 10 days, but I’ve never had one instance of a need to verify the deposit with the real checque.

I guess I’m easily impressed by this stuff…I’m probably not the first person to tell you this, but if I am, then my blog has succeeded today.

One cool thing about PayPal, though…is that you can now use the service to pay for your SouthWest airline tickets. Is this scary?

That’s why the paper paycheck in the mail keeps me grounded!

CourVO

Filed Under: Web Resources, Web/Tech Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Voice Registry’s One-on-One

January 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment

voiceregistry-1 VoiceBank’s Voiceregistry site is offering another new feature.

Hopefully you’re aware of their “Weekend Workout” program…a great chance to have your audition be heard by notable agents and producers in a scheduled weekend program.  I blogged about it not that long ago in a video interview with VR’s Ashley Russo.  It’s well worth the $10/mo fee.

Now, VoiceRegistry is adding One-On-One to it’s services.
The site says:  “…Schedule live, one-on-one discussions with Voice Over experts for  information and advice you can only get from an insider….” That session can apparently cover a lot of scenarios…getting an evaluation of your demo, or getting feedback on an audition before you send it in, or even getting some answers on your studio sound.

The experts ready to schedule that time with you are impressive:  Arron Drown, an Emmy Award winning Casting Director; Heather Vergo and Micaela Stepanovich who are both agents with top agencies; Johnny Gidcomb, an ADR and looping expert; Colette Sunderman, tops in animation casting; Wes Glealson with experience in video games and animation; and every studio tech’s favorite guy:  Dan Friedman.

In fact, Dan has written a blog about VoiceRegistry’s new service, and offers some insider insights.

There are 15-min and 30-min quotes for the various experts’ time in the one-on-one session.  You have to sign-up with VoiceRegistry first.

Worth a look!

CourVO

Filed Under: Web Resources Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Translate Videos

January 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment

dubjoyWhat role will you assume today to make your voice over business work?  We need to be audio engineers, to be able to convert documents, keep out own books, run a business, know hardware ‘n’ software, be public relations experts, marketers, and the list goes on and on… it’s our challenge and … in many ways…our fun.

That’s why I often share virtual tools in my blog articles that may not seem to have immediate bearing on the day-t0-day work of voice over….until you need it.

Today’s tip came to me from a fellow community-builder:  Steven Lowell of V123.  At first, I wasn’t sure of it’s usefulness, but the more I think about it — especially in light of the growing multi-lingual nature of our business — this might just be the ticket for you one of these days.

It’s called DUBJOY.  It translates YouTube videos on the fly.

The website has a simple 3-step process to make it work:

  • Install Dubjoy Chrome extension.
  • You’ll notice a ‘Translate with Dubjoy’ button on every YouTube video.
  • Click the Dubjoy button and voice-over the video.

Yes, you need to be using the Chrome browser for this program, but you already were using Chrome, right?

Let us know how you’ve found this to be useful for your business.

Thanks, Steve!

CourVO

Filed Under: Web Resources, Web/Tech Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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