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Personalised Podcasts

 Audiobooks of the articles you want
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Pretty niche idea. It popped into my head while using my android phone's text to speech service to listen to some article's I'd stored to read later but never had the time to do so. While listening to the computerised female "british" voice that Google offers, I was wondering it would be damn nice if Stephen Fry was reading this article on Video Game design.

Then it got me thinking, could I offer a service to read articles that people want listened to? This would be for people who never have the time to read, e.g. the only free time they get is in the shower or when they're walking. I've been told many times I should go into radio, so I'm pretty confident my voice and reading voice would be good enough. Plus I would offer samples on the website.

Is this promising, or just too wacky to even take off?

—Arcturus, Oct 26 2011

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       Google for talking newspapers and other audio services for the blind.
—pocmloc, Oct 26 2011
   

       I see this as a web-based podcast bidding system. If you see an article online which you'd like an audio version of, you click the "Give me a podcast" button. If a podcast exists you make a micro-payment of a few pennies and the podcast is downloaded. If a podcast does not exist, then you effectively pledge a few pennies for someone to record a podcast. Once the pledges have reached, say $50, [Arcturus] might be incentivised to record a podcast and collect the cash. He will then also collect any future micro-payments for downloads. To prevent people just recording garbage and collecting the money, no money actually gets into [Arcturus]'s account until 10 people have rated the podcast as good.
—hippo, Oct 27 2011
   

       // Is this promising, or just too wacky to even take off? //   

       Either is welcome here. See any halfbake involving ekranoplans for perfect examples of that philosophy.
—Alterother, Oct 27 2011
   

       I like it [Arcturus]. A croissant from me. Can you start with some Mickey Spillane?
—theleopard, Oct 27 2011
   

       The original idea is pretty baked, but I happily bun [hippo]'s anno (though it is pretty baked in Stephenson's "Carbon Age"). Creating a Kickstarter account for "audible"izing articles or better obscure books or short stories is a great idea. I'd love to see homeless people like Ted Williams or others record stuff for money.
—MisterQED, Oct 28 2011
   

       I'd debun [hippo]'s anno for "incentivised"; what's wrong with "motivationalised"?
—MaxwellBuchanan, Oct 29 2011
   

       In your own words, Max, "incentivised" is a perfectly cromulent word. Although I would have preferred "inducementated".
—methinksnot, Oct 31 2011
   


 

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