I found something really cool today that you I know for sure bloggers like you are going to love. It’s called Odiogo. What it does is that it converts your whole blog into a podcast ready for anybody to listen, download, and/or subscribe. What’s really cool about Odiogo is that it’s actually a high-quality tool that makes text-to-speech sound as realistic as possible. Well, it’s not that realistic, but the way it works is just unbelievable. It sounds like an actual person talking, and not a robot that reads everything word for word.
Try It Out
Before you use it for your blog, go ahead and visit this going green website called Green Experience. Then click any post that you would like to read. But stop! Don’t read the post! Instead, click the button at the first line that says “Listen Now”. Then just listen as the Odiogo player reads to you the whole post. Looks cool doesn’t it?
Getting Started
Using Odiogo is pretty simple, as it is compatible with all blog platforms that publish RSS feeds like Typepad, Blogger, Moveable Type, and WordPress. Just go to the Odiogo homepage, submit your blog/RSS information and email, then all the information will be sent to you, which includes the link to your Odiogo podcast page (click here to see the SlyVisions podcast page). Oh, and did I mention that Odiogo integrates your blog podcast on iTunes? That’s right. Your blog can be subscribed through by your readers as a podcast on right iTunes! Now don’t tell me that’s not cool.
One last thing. If you’re site is hosted with WordPress, you can download the Odiogo plugin that is included with the email so that your readers can listen to the podcast version of each post right on your blog. It’s just like how you saw it from the Green Experience. The only thing I don’t like about this plugin is that it puts an Odiogo player on every post of your blog. For the readers, seeing this “Listen Now” button on every blog post would get really annoying. Meanwhile, for bloggers like me, it would simply just add too much clutter on the blog. A good idea would be to test it out on your blog for a few days and ask your readers to see how the like it. If they don’t mind seeing the button everywhere, keep it. If it annoys the hell out of them, then it’s time for it to go.
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Sly,
That is pretty darn cool. I think I may give this a shot on my main blog, which is a news/information site for real estate investors. I think this is cool because readers could listen as they are doing other things on the net and still get the benefit of hearing/listening/learning from my blog.
The reader is a little robotic, but better than I expected. Solid break down on how to use this product, good example, and thanks for letting us know what you don’t like.
I disagree that it will add too much clutter to your page, but respect what you are trying to do. That “Listen” button is not much and doesn’t really detract from the page.
Overall, great stuff Sly! And thanks for the heads up!
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Wow…This is really a fantastic tip for converting a blog into podcast. I really appreciate your open-mindness to share this technique to fellow bloggers…Thanks for sharing!!!
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Wow, Odiogo is definitely worth trying. Although I’m not sure how manybloggers would use it on their blogs.
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@Freddie - Yeah, it’s not really that much of a clutter, but it still bugs me. About your real estate investors blog, Odiogo would be perfect for it. You should definately use it for that site.
@Adsensing - No problem.
@Young Entrepreneur - It really is a great service, but the plugin is something I would stay away from. But remember, it all depends on your blog niche. It works great on some, and not on others.
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This is pretty cool. Random…but cool.
I don’t think I will use this on my blog and by the looks of it you are not going to use it on SlyVisions…but it is good to know in the back of your mind that this is here
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Sly,
That sounds pretty cool. It’s good for when you’re tired of reading I guess.
But it’ll work best for me when I’m working out — I can digest a blog post while doing workout.
Thanks for sharing!
Luis Gross’s last blog post..How To Build A Community On Your Blog
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@Ryan McLean - Ryan, what’s so random about this? I don’t see anything random about blog podcasting.
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Just added this to my blog, and its made me think of a link building opportunity which I will post within the coming weeks.
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i’ve been a big user of text to speech for other things. great to see this implemented here. i like the possibility of it opening up additional avenues for the sight impaired, although i can’t quite figure out how to make that work.
kouji’s last blog post..haiku poem: dry
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Where have I been! You got a sexy new theme! Sum Bee!!! My bad man. As for the service, I’m not feeling it! I like the idea, but there is no way I’m listening to that man lol. I doesn’t sound natural at all….I know text to speech isn’t the greatest, but man, I couldn’t see using this.
But, thanks for the ideas, the tech will only get better. My bad man, I’ll try to be around more…can’t believe I missed this theme!
Normal Joe’s last blog post..Do You Hate Your Boss?
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Hi!
My name is Francesca and I’m part of Dixero’s team.
As you tried out a text to speech service, did you tried out Dixero (www.dixero.com) too?
It would be great to receive a feedback from you and for your readers.
Have a nice day!
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I tried this service on one of my blogs and it wasn’t really used much by users so I removed it. When I actually listened to it it wasn’t that bad but it was still boring listening to it because it sounded like a robot was talking. It’s still a cool service though, but it needs improvement.
QuickPWN’s last blog post..Install Flash Player iPhone App
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That is very cool. I’m going to try it out and see if it works for me.
Matt’s last blog post..Execution Style Shocker Chair
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@Matt - It should work perfectly for your site!
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