The Find
Tonight, I had a half baked idea for doing a podcast and was curious how I could get the audio converted to text. I found enablr.com, which will do the transcription for me at $1/min. I was also surprised and impressed at anther service they off - blog distribution by snail mail:
You've got something to say, but not everyone reads the Web! Get your blog printed and mailed as a digest to family members, clients and prospects
Apparently, for $2.00/post, you can signup with the stenographr service, and they will happily mail your blog post to a recipient via the USPS. Fascinating.
I haven't checked it out thoroughly yet, perhaps it's a left over April Fool's day joke I've stumbled on. But I happen to like it. Don't think I'll use it, but I'm still impressed.
My Big Idea
This all brought back an idea I've had for quite some time but have never implemented. It's called, Blogging By Postcard. Here's how it would work: You're an avid blogger going on vacation. But you're going off to some remote location where internet access isn't really feasible. Or, more likely, your spouse will kill you if you trapse half way around the world and spend your time writing blog posts. What to do? You use the cutting edge blogbypostcard.com (or maybe? postcardrblogr.com). All you need to take along with you on your trip is a index card with the postal address of blogbypostcard.com. As you go through your vacation, you jot down notes on the postcards and, you guessed it, mail them to blogbypostcard.com.
As the folks at blogbypostcard.com get your notes, they post them on your blog for you - both putting up the image of the postcard (both sides!) and the text.
Sure, it might not be the most practical way to communicate with the folks back home, but 'cmon - how much fun would it be? And a few years from now, I'm sure those postcards would be precious memories.
I'm tempted to start the service and offer it for free. But of course, who would post my postcards when I was on vacation?
Seriously, one day I'm going to execute that idea...
I think blogbypostcard would be a great idea, and all you'd need on the receiving end is a simple 2-sided scanner (like those receipt and business card scanners). Subscribers would receive a simple barcode label they could put on the postcards with the send-to-address and that way the system would know where to post.... well I'll leave the ideas2executables part to you... but I'd subscribe....
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