What is a Voice Blog or Dictation Blogging?
Dictation blogging, ‘dictablogging’, or blogging using your voice is an emergent way to write blogs that utilizes voice commands to jot down words. A voice blog or writing by way of dictablogging is also referred to as voice typing and can be used as an alternative to writing physically or mechanically i.e. using your hands. One of the biggest advantages of this type of blogging is that it allows you to harness your voice and makes the process of writing easier and faster.
It is quite impressive that you do not have to literally get your fingers on your device, be it a laptop or tablet, to create or even edit documents. Today’s world is digital and it is amazing that you can make work easier and, in a sense, reduce the effort and workload of writing. Dictablogging or using Google Dictation to write voice blogs is writing for the future and in my view, it is here to stay. I believe those who put in the effort will likely realize the benefits of using this technology and will do it in a smart and advanced way.
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What You Need for Dictablogging
The process of creating documents and writing can be tiring and if you’re not a fast writer or if you don’t have the experience writing then it can weigh you down. To be able to dictate documents, you need equipment including a microphone and a laptop through which you can dictate blogs using Google Docs in Google Chrome. In Google Chrome you can log into your Google Docs and from there you have access and the ability to dictate writing.
The process of dictation blogging using Google Docs requires you to have an active internet connection as it employs cloud technology. Ps: We use Cloudways, a cloud provider, to run and host our blogs and you can get a free trial here. As voice typing uses cloud tech, it necessitates having a strong internet connection. To ensure that you get the process right and that Google Docs can clearly hear what you are saying, also ensure that you have at least a lavalier or condenser microphone. You can use the internal mic of your device but it will probably not be as audible or high quality making it harder for Google Docs to hear and recognize what you are saying.
What is Dictation in Blogging?
Dictation in blogging is the process of using voice recognition software that is part of document creation software to create documents or blogs using your voice. i.e. by dictating what you want to write. Google Dictation that is part of Google Docs is by far the best way to voice type as the voice recognition software within Google Docs is efficient enough to allow ease and efficacy. To get better and faster in voice typing, you need voice recognition tech that ensures a high percentage of correct voice capture, recognition, and conversion to words.
Dictation Blogging Steps
1. Insert your microphone into your laptop or tablet. We recommend using the Sennheiser Pro Audio Vocal Condenser Microphone which is a high-quality condenser microphone that you can get on Amazon here.
2. Go to the bottom right of your taskbar and click on the microphone icon. The microphone icon will take you to settings and from there you can check to see that your microphone is enabled and can be accessed by apps.
3. Navigate back to the main settings page and from there go to system settings.
4. In system settings, go to sound settings, and there you will see the master volume.
The master volume will indicate that your microphone is recording when you see fluctuations in volume levels as you speak.
5. If you do not see fluctuations in the level just by the speaker icon, click on manage sound devices below to enable your microphone or disable another microphone if they are two.
6. After ascertaining that your microphone is working, Launch Google Chrome and log into your Google account. On logging in, go to Google Docs.
7. In Google Docs, open a new document.
8. Go to the tools menu and select voice typing. You can also use the shortcut CTRL + Shift + S.
9. Once you’ve selected voice typing you will see a box that will pop up showing a microphone. Click on it and when prompted, allow Chrome to access your microphone.
10. Click on that box and it will turn from grey to red, with rings around it when you speak, showing that it is recording what you’re saying.
When you start speaking, the microphone icon will show rings around it indicating that what you are saying is being captured and written on your document.
11. We recommend using Grammarly to edit your document. Grammarly comes with a Chrome extension that you can install and have it edit your writing on Chrome.
Grammarly places a button at the bottom right corner of the page and underlines errors. Using both the button and hovering the cursor over the underlined errors, you can launch Grammarly and correct your document.
Grammarly also produces a panel where you can edit errors by category and set goals.
Voice Command Tips
For using voice typing with Google Docs there are certain commands that you can say to edit the document and most of these you will learn as you go. A good example is a command such as “delete” which tells Google Docs to delete the last word you said. Test to see that you are recording what you want to say. Over time you will notice that the system is slowly learning to recognize your voice and doing it in a way and at a speed that is working for you. The beautiful thing about using voice to type or to write documents is that you can write faster.
Improving Your Writing with Grammarly
Using voice typing, you can also write more content without the physical writing effort but only using your voice instead. To ensure clarity and high-quality writing, be sure to edit your document after voice typing. A good way to do this is to use Grammarly to spellcheck and correct grammar and stylistic errors. You can get Grammarly here. Grammarly also has a Chrome extension and you can use it seamlessly in Google Docs in Chrome.
My Experience: Is Dictation Better Than Typing?
I tried out using voice typing in Google Docs and so far I am impressed. To answer the question, yes, dictation is better than typing. I feel like it could be the future of writing because it allows you to write faster and also to write more content without too much effort. Another benefit of doing this is that it allows you to make your writing more conversational and in a sense when the reader is reading they will feel that the article is written in a more conversational way.
An article written through dictablogging and edited with Grammarly could be more engaging as opposed to when you write physically with your hands. When you write physically, the reader may feel that your writing is less engaging. Please be sure to test this out and to do it over and over again because that’s how the system will learn your voice and your style of voice writing. Over time, it will become better at detecting your voice and also understanding what you’re saying.
Fixing Dictation Blogging Errors
When you’re writing the system will make some errors here and there but will learn over time and get better at comprehending what you’re saying. When the system makes an error please be sure to edit and correct the error because that allows the system to learn what you’re saying and what you are talking about. I feel like this would be a very good way to write but also to increase your writing speed and to ensure that you create more content over time, and do it in a way that is aligned with your goals and needs. Google Dictation in Google Docs also has a cool feature where it learns from the corrections you make, making it easier overall to use it for dictation blogging. Another cool way to fix dictablogging errors is editing your document as you go using Grammarly and their Chrome extension.
Dictation Blogging Video
I tried out this type of blogging or voice typing and I was very impressed that I could just create blogs using my voice. I was even more impressed that I could do it at a high speed with the system detecting my voice correctly. I also made a video on my test and you can watch the video below. Watch more videos on our videos page.
The Potential of Dictation Blogging
Dictablogging or dictation blogging could be revolutionary and I’m sure that it will assist many bloggers and writers to do their work and have an easier time creating high-quality content. My challenge to you is to try dictablogging on Google Docs and comment below on your experience and whether you think you can use this form of writing in the long term. For me, I believe that this could be very good for my writing and it could also mean that I can create more content per unit time.
Increasing the frequency of writing could also mean creating more in-depth content, without infringing on the quality of my writing or how well and deeply it is understood. It would not make sense for me to recommend dictation blogging and write this article using my hands. Yes. You guessed correctly. This article was written using my voice or ‘dictablogged’. The future is here and I am happy to embrace it with you. Visit my Linktree to see all my content and for exclusive offers. You can also donate and help us keep creating blogs.
