Dragon Naturally Speaking Considered Harmful To Your Business...

[zapseo]

Okay, I'll admit...I'm a fan!

Even though I haven't gotten the bugger to type what I'm saying with the accuracy and speed at which I can type. (Yes, I do type fast, thank you!)

(if anyone wants to turn this into a Letterman-style, 10 biggest problems with DNS created content, let's go for it!)

But I'm beginning to realize that I can spot DNS-created content from a mile away.

Symptoms:

#1 (and most irritating, imo) -- RUN ON SENTENCES.
If there's anything that copywriters can tell writers and other communicators about effective communication -- it's this: MAKE IT SHORT.

I have seen entire 5 and 6 line paragraphs that were ONE SENTENCE. Lots of commas (where can I buy stock)? And a real dearth of periods and other "stop" punctuation.

#2 Wrong punctuation.
I ran across some content and had a pretty good idea of who the ghostwriter was -- someone I cherish and respect, and, likewise, has a good rep here.
I actually asked the owner of the content to hire me to briefly (and cheaply) touch up some things that were driving me crazy. Specifically, the writer was using questions to engage the reader -- a great technique. But the questions didn't end in a question mark!

#3 Overly slangy content
With the same content from #2 -- if I had a dime for every time the word "seriously" was used in the content....(this wasn't something I fixed, btw.)

Please note that the content, the actual information, in the aforementioned ghostwriting -- was excellent, superb, top rate. More than made up for the deficits mentioned above.

But it could have been sooooo much better.

#4 Overuse of the word "I"
The problem with "just talking" is that humans fill up their communication with, well, "filler." It has its purposes. In verbal communication, it gives the listener more of an opportunity to digest what the other person is saying. (As we get older, when we hear a new fact or idea, we have many more things to run through to see how our old information fits with the new fact -- and maybe even what to do about it. As we have more information, it takes us longer to "absorb" new concepts (well, usually, anyway).

The words "I think" do NOT generally belong in formal or semi-formal communication. Are you saying it? Then, of course, it's "what you think" -- unless you indicate otherwise.

Overall, these trends in DNS generated content are disturbing.

The things we copywriters say "don't do" (with, perhaps, the exception of helping to create more of a conversational tone) -- seem to be encouraged by the use of DNS. (Note that these copywriter rules are not just good for copywriters, they are useful in communicating content that is easily understood, that makes the content engaging to the reader.)

Okay...that's my soapbox for the day. LOL.

What other tell-tale signs do you see in DNS-generated content?

(I used it to comment in a skype chat, and one of the participants said I sounded like someone whose 1st language wasn't English.)

Let 'er rip!

Live JoyFully!

Judy

[BradCarroll]

Slightly off topic but:
I know a few others who make their livings via writing, who love Dragon Naturally Speaking. It always puzzles me; if I could talk intelligently as fast as I can write, I probably wouldn't be writing for a living.

[John Taylor]

Judy,

How about a test?

Was the following typed or dictated with Dragon?

I appreciate that this isn't going to be suitable for
everybody. After all, it is unlikely that everyone who
reads this will be planning or in the process of
launching a new product.

However, for those of you who are in the position, I
have some advice...

First of all I can tell you from bitter experience
that you can't possibly manage everything. I strongly
recommend that you focus your personal attention on
the quality of your product and your marketing.

Secondly, it's critically important that you have a
reliable system in place to manage subscriptions,
product sales, one time offers and the secure delivery
of your products.

Making sure that your infrastructure is properly
installed and is thoroughly tested can be both time-
consuming and problematic. In my opinion it is best
left to the experts.

So, if you are planning or are in the process of
launching a new product I suggest you utilise the
services of one of my "go to geeks". He is currently
offering - at a ridiculously low price - to take away
the worry and the hassle by preparing your site and
fully testing it ready for launch.

Launching a new product is already stressful. You can
drastically reduce stress by outsourcing all the
technical hassles to the guy who knows how to make
these things work. Check out this offer right now:

John

[JayXtreme]

@ John

Dictated with dragon!

Peace

Jay

[Jason_V]

Originally Posted by John Taylor

Judy,

How about a test?

Was the following typed or dictated with Dragon?



John

I'll take your challenge, that was dictated.

If you want to know why I thought it was dictated as opposed to typed, you used I too many times. When speaking out loud you usually use the term I more often than typing.

[Paul Myers]

A few tips on using Dragon effectively:

1. Unless you're doing a brain dump for personal use, start with a clear outline. This takes time, but it will significantly improve the output, both in terms of clarity and usefulness.

2. Consider Dragon a tool for creating first drafts. If you're conscientious about training it and improving your own dictation skills, you might eventually get to where it gets it right enough for most purposes. Don't assume that's happened yet until you have turned out a large number of pages that didn't improve upon editing.

3. Consider outsourcing the basic editing.


Paul

[ThePenMaster]

i HAVE BEE THINKING OF BUYING THE dns .... CAN ANYONE HERE ADVISE? I KEEP HEARING PROS AND CONS, BUT NOT SURE

[Martin Luxton]

John,

It's unedited PLR

However, for those of you who are in (the) this position I have some advice . . .

Martin

[zapseo]

Originally Posted by Paul Myers

A few tips on using Dragon effectively:

1. Unless you're doing a brain dump for personal use, start with a clear outline. This takes time, but it will significantly improve the output, both in terms of clarity and usefulness.

2. Consider Dragon a tool for creating first drafts. If you're conscientious about training it and improving your own dictation skills, you might eventually get to where it gets it right enough for most purposes. Don't assume that's happened yet until you have turned out a large number of pages that didn't improve upon editing.

3. Consider outsourcing the basic editing.


Paul

Thank you, Paul. I meant to include that ... USE AN OUTLINE.

Some of the "writing" would be an embarrassment to an 8th grade English class -- and yet I know the writers, themselves, are well above that in competence. It's like DNS dumbs them down.

John, I don't understand the purpose of the test. Just because 1 person may be able to use it competently (and I'm not weighing in with an opinion here) -- it's simply obvious that many, many people are using DNS -- and the content suffers as a result.

[JohnMcCabe]

Paul hit the nail on the head when he mentioned dictation skills. Using a program like DNS is very similar to using an accurate, but not overly ambitious, stenographer. Once trained, both record what you say and put it into text form.

The better you understand the rules of punctuation, the better your dictation. The better your dictation, the better your results.

Many pieces of text created with speech recognition software sound just like the word-for-word transcriptions of teleseminars and such.

[Okay, fellow geniuses, was that dictated or typed?]

[Lance K]

Originally Posted by Paul Myers

A few tips on using Dragon effectively:

1. Unless you're doing a brain dump for personal use, start with a clear outline. This takes time, but it will significantly improve the output, both in terms of clarity and usefulness.

2. Consider Dragon a tool for creating first drafts. If you're conscientious about training it and improving your own dictation skills, you might eventually get to where it gets it right enough for most purposes. Don't assume that's happened yet until you have turned out a large number of pages that didn't improve upon editing.

3. Consider outsourcing the basic editing.


Paul

Very good points, Paul.

I do love using DNS for brain dumps. It saves a ton of time and my fingers don't get near as numb.

[vagabondette]

Interesting and good to keep in mind. I've been thinking of using it to create an ebook which will be based on a series of seminars that I teach. My plan was to use it while practicing delivering the seminars and then do a heavy edit so it reads like a book rather than the transcript of a seminar.

Thanks for the tips to keep in mind.

[blur]

I kind of like Dragon NaturallySpeaking. I think with all tools it needs to be some kind human intervention. This goes for automating speech to text, friend finders, and article rewriting.

I'm actually using dictate for the Mac right now on this post. I think it's pretty helpful.

[Scott Ames]

Originally Posted by John Taylor

Judy,

How about a test?

Was the following typed or dictated with Dragon?



John

Half and half.

[Jack Bastide]

Windows Vista has built in Speech recognition Software

anybody using it?

Jack

[John Taylor]

Scott,

Originally Posted by Scott Ames

Half and half.

Well spotted.

The first four paragraphs were dictated and the
last three typed. ;-)

John

[John Piteo]

I ordered DNS last week so I should get is in a couple of days. I bought it mainly to get my thoughts on paper. My problem is that I lose my train of thought while typing. If I could get all of my ideas quickly out of my head and on paper I think I would be much more productive. If I find it works well for me I'll report back here.

I only hope it doesn't take too long to train, but I guess that depends on if one has a clear and consistent speaking voice and a good quality microphone.

I also want to use it for...uh...what was I going to say?

[John M Kane]

The most useful feature I find for DNS is when I use it with a voice recorder.

When looking in a used book store for potential collectibles, I read the title,author and ISBN if it has one and condition into the recorder. My MP3 player has a voice record function which is handy. I only have to push one button and it is activated. Sansa brand.
At home I sync it up and quickly it is converted into a text version.

I trained DNS with the mp3 recording one time just like with the microphone and it is then VERY accurate.

[pheonix44]

I think the number one problem I have is when I speak it sounds way to proper. I like to flow in a conversative style. Dragon makes me sound like a robot sometimes.

[zapseo]

Originally Posted by John Piteo

I ordered DNS last week so I should get is in a couple of days. I bought it mainly to get my thoughts on paper. My problem is that I lose my train of thought while typing. If I could get all of my ideas quickly out of my head and on paper I think I would be much more productive. If I find it works well for me I'll report back here.

I only hope it doesn't take too long to train, but I guess that depends on if one has a clear and consistent speaking voice and a good quality microphone.

I also want to use it for...uh...what was I going to say?

Invest in some touch typing training software -- it will help you.
It's soooo much easier to type now, with ergonomic keyboards, so people (including me) type a lot faster than we could with the old carriage return typewriters. Just be careful to learn to not pound on the keyboards when typing -- it can be a temptation when getting excited -- cuz that's a great way to carpal tunnel yourself up.

The nice thing about being a fast touch typist is that you are the only thing that needs to be trained. And it can really impress the hell out of people, too, LOL.

Live JoyFully!

Judy

[Traffic-Bug]

Originally Posted by Jason_V

I'll take your challenge, that was dictated.

Yes, it seems dictated to me too.

[W.P. Allen]

Windows Vista has built in Speech recognition Software

anybody using it?

Jack

I use it. Works like a charm.

[IdeaLady]

I find that DNS has two important uses:

Getting a draft "on paper" so I can edit it.

Transcribing recorded speech. I have some good quality recordings that I am transcribing. They are not dictation, so a lot of punctuation will have to be inserted, but DNS is doing a pretty good job with them. It even inserts some of the punctuation without me saying "comma," "period," etc.

[seoFool]

I've never been able to get the thing to work...even after going through tons
of the training...

And I type incredibly fast anyway....so...*shrugs* it sits unused now...

[nick1123]

I love Dragon. I write so much faster with it.

[Steven Wagenheim]

I used DNS for a while. It is not collecting moth balls.

The problem that most people have with DNS (most, not all) is that they're
simply not trained in dictation. We simply don't speak the way we write...
period. And unless we are either trained, or practice a lot, we're not going
to get DNS to sound like a typed manuscript.

Personally, when I really do concentrate on getting DNS to sound like
typed words, I have to slow down so much that it's not worth using.

And not wanting to spend tons of time in training it and myself, I just
decided to put it away and chalk it up as a minor business expense.

Anyway, that's my layman's appraisal of the software.

[Josiah]

I have DNS...

Only I never use it...

I did for about 3 weeks but it just wasn't for me...

Some people love it, some people hate it...

And then there's just people like me who can't be bothered using it and like
wasting money :P


Josiah

[MichaelHiles]

This post was dictated using Windows Vista speech to text recognition. I have found it to be extremely accurate, and it continues to improve over time with use. However, the one area that Dragon excels is in its ability to parse prerecorded audio files, wherein Vista cannot at this time.