Hey Speech-Heads,

If you haven’t already taken a look at the Speech Technology News Feature from yesterday about TweetCall, then now is the time!

TweetCall is a new way to use Twitter–via the power of speech technology.  For all the speechy details about this new offering from Quicktate that let’s you “Twitter By Voice” check out this link.

As you can probably guess, my Speech Brother Eric B. and I were naturally very excited to try out TweetCall for ourselves.  We huddled around my computer, logged onto Twitter, registered at TweetCall, dialed 1-877-TWEET-CALL and got down to business.

And let me just say this:  TweetCall worked like a charm.

My spoken tweet was correctly converted to text and appeared in my Twitter feed almost immediately.

So if you haven’t already, check out TweetCall.  You can also find them on Twitter: @TweetCall.  And don’t forget to follow @SpeechTech on Twitter while you’re at it.

Just last week, British Speech-To-Text provider SpinVox issued a press release listing its “Top Ten Worst Moments In Public Speaking.”

The list–which includes everyone from George W. Bush to Kate Winslet–features links to news stories about and YouTube clips of the Terrible Moments in Public Speaking.

Also in the release are public speaking tips and a list of the Top 5 Worst Public Speakers: 1. Gordon Brown; 2. David Beckham; 3. Kate Winslet; 4. Chris Moyles; 5. Prince Charles.

Well, Speech-Heads, you like my Speech Brother Eric B., maybe be wondering what this release has to do with Speech Technology, STT, or SpinVox.  All I can say is this: I have no idea.

So,without further ado, here is SpinVox’s Top 10 Worst Moments In Public Speaking:

1. George W.  Bush; “Fool me once”; 2002.

2. Delia Smith; “Lets be ‘avin’ you!”; 2005.

3. Kate Winslet; “Oh, God, who was the other one again?”; 2009 at Golden Globes.

4. Judy Finnigan; “An unfortunate wardrobe malfunction“; 2000 at National TV Awards.

5. Gwyneth Paltrow, “Sobs”; 2005 at Academy Awards.

6. Halle Berry; “Tears and screams”‘; 2002 at Academy Awards.

7. Boris Johnson; “Olympic handover speech“; 2008.

8. Gerald Ratner, “Total crap speech”; 2001.

9. Keven Keegan; “I will love it if we beat them”; 1996.

10. Donald Rumsfeld; “Known unknowns”; 2002 .

You may remember my previous review of free voicemail and STT provider YouMail. Well, rather than writing a freaked-out and angry email or making a furious phone call, the people at YouMail were kind enough to do a follow-up interview with me following my review. We went over how to better use the features and navigate the system (I griped that the prompts were often confusing and hard to understand). I let them share their piece, and got some first-hand advice on how to use the system.

So, after speaking with them, I can say this: because I’m lazy, I like this service. I do not care about the ability to make personalized greetings for my callers, nor do I want transcriptions. My favorite feature is the audio file of each voicemail, which is sent automatically to my email account. Yes, I am too lazy to pick up my phone and actually call into my voicemail. Instead, I can put on my headphones and listen to the file play. Sometimes, for laughs, I read over the voicemail they transcribed and see how horribly wrong the technology was. One more YouMail bonus: when playing back your voicemails, they start with the most recent one first. Gnarly.

The verdict: because I’m a sloth, I liked YouMail’s service. One facet of it. And, because I’m too lazy to cancel my account, I’m keeping YouMail for now. Am I excited about this? I don’t know. I’m also apathetic.

I wish there were two of me. No, seriously — except not in that creepy way portrayed in the venerable film Mulitiplicity. Because, seriously, there is way too much news on which to report for this issue of Round Up & Release. So sit back and relax, unless you live in California, because, according to scientists, you will be hit with a catastrophic earthquake within the next 30 years. No! Google! Apple! I’m already sad.
(more…)