As part of the process of getting back into blogging more frequently, more regularly, I’m giving some consideration to dictating my blog posts, or at least the first drafts, rather than typing them up from scratch.

To that end I’ve just re-installed a copy of Dragon NaturallySpeaking (DNS) (version 7), which I purchased a few years ago, tried for a while and gave up on because I found I could get my thoughts down faster by typing.

So if it didn’t work before, why am I going down that path again?

It’s a combination of reasons. I’ve identified five for starters.

• I’ve found lately that sometimes I seem to be able to get moving on a train of thought when I speak into a recorder than when I sit down to type on the computer.
• Last year I read a very positive review of Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 9 and in fact toyed with the idea of upgrading at that time.
• I read some time ago a column in a local newspaper where the columnist, who has it seems a large readership, declared that he never wrote/typed his columns: all were dictated.
• I recall that the computer I was using when I first tried DNS was perhaps not up to the task, in terms of system configuration. I now have a better-equipped machine, which seems to have specs up to the challenge. At least for the version of DNS I’m testing at the moment.

And the fifth reason is the conversations I’ve had with business owners who were interested in blogging, were diffident about writing but when I asked could they talk about their business and/or their industry for ten minutes or so, three to four times a week, all said they could.

So if this experiment works, it could be helpful not only for me but for others who like blogging but are inhibited, to a greater or lesser degree, by the writing/typing aspect.

I have to say the experiment almost did not get off the ground. The re-install of DNS 7.0 was not a straightforward matter. It got to a certain point and then there was a window with a blue background but no text. I tried to uninstall so I could re-install but the uninstall process stalled also! So I initiated the install process again and when the blue window came up just closed it, hoping for the best. In fact I was able to then start the program and do the hardware and reading tests and the tutorials without further incident. Not a perfect solution, perhaps, but nothing seems to have blown up or melted down yet.

So now I feel I’m ready to start.

Yes, I know DNS is now up to Version 10, but before I lash out on an upgrade I want to test the version I have to see if that works for me and on my computer.  Then if I decide to upgrade, I have worked out, based on my research on the subject last year (when DNS 9 was the latest version), that the Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred model (vs Standard or Professional) is the most appropriate for my requirements

In all of this I am mindful of the advice of a colleague who is very knowledgeable about speech recognition software and the need to have system requirements adequate to the task. I certainly don’t want to put something on the computer that is not only not going to work properly but create a risk of the whole system coming unstuck.

From what I can read on the Dragon site, the computer I use on my desk, a notebook which I use as a desktop machine most of the time, which has Windows XP installed, will work for Version 10, but experience tells me to go cautiously.

For now, I will see how I get along with Version 7 and provide some progress (I hope!) reports here as I go.

Advice and helpful hints will be received with gratitude!

Update: May 12, 2009:  I tried to use DNS 7 but got a bit frustrated, then, encouraged by the comments here decided to go for the latest version.  Bid for one on ebay but clearly someone wanted to pay more. Then took the suggestion of
Derek from Nuance (see comment below) and ordered the upgrade, which is at an excellent price and is now, according to Nuance, winging its way to me. I will report further, probably in a separate post, once I have installed and started using it. Thanks to everyone for the helpful comments!

Since last year, as well as posting here I’ve been hosting the Business and Blogging site I set up as part of the Business Channel on b5media.

I’m moving on from that, so there is a position going as host of the site.

I posted about it at Business and Blogging.

This is what b5media have said about the person they are looking for to fill the position:

We’re seeking a blogger to take over Business and Blogging. He or she should be an experienced blogger and familiar with the way the blogosphere works, how blogs can help businesses, and what businesses need to do to get the most from blogs and blogging. The ideal candidate is willing to grow Business and Blogging even further and is looking to expand his or her network, learn a lot, have fun, and make some money.

There is an online application form.

Pass it along.

I’ve had some really bad experiences over the years, endeavouring to use MS Word for collaborative writing projects. The track changes feature looked very good to me when I first discovered it, but has caused me not a little grief on more than one occasion, trying to sort out who changed what and why, and then endeavouring to get a final version which properly accommodated all the appropriate changes.

I knew there were other collaborative tools available for group writing projects, but as far as I could figure out they were enterprise tools, needing an enterprise IT department and budget to have and run.

So I was very interested to find today, on Dennis McDonald’s All Kind Food blog, a very informative post about the collaborative authoring tool Writeboard:

This was my first time using a collaborative tool like Writeboard. Here’s the Writeboard website: http://www.writeboard.com. All you have to do is create a free account, post the initial text, create a password controlled group of authorized users, then people in different locations can edit and compare versions of the text using a standard web browser over the Internet.

Dennis is one of my co-moderators on the LinkedIn Bloggers group and he and another member of the group, web strategist Jeremiah Owyang, had used the tool to co-author a white paper.

In the comments on Dennis’ post as above there is additional, helpful information, about the Writely product, also free, and SocialText – ‘Enterprise Social Software’ – which is not free (to work out the prices you need to click through to the various products).

I’m going to work on giving Writeboard a spin, in the first instance.

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”
Lao-tzu (604 BC – 531 BC), The Way of Lao-tzu
_________

First, I need to define what I’m going to do with writing this book on home based business – rather, what I *intend* to do. The distinction is important, firstly because a declared intention is stronger than a statement of what will happen, secondly because what I actually do may vary, for perfectly good reasons, from what I currently see myself as doing.

And I just figured out that although it is my intention for this blog to chronicle the development of the book and any related outcomes, I will not actually write the book as part of the public blog. I realise that, sadly, there are people with little or no imagination and less morality who would have no compunction in taking my work and badging it as their own. So I’ll develop the book offline and blog the process here, hopefully with some linking to great resources I find or re-find along the way.

Having decided today to get on with writing an e-book on home based business building, I started to find excuses for not getting started. Then I started to question whether I should be doing this, whether I had anything worth saying, etc etc – the old writer’s block. I recalled something I’d heard the other day about Rudyard Kipling’s “six honest serving-men” that apparently helped him get writing.

I looked up the reference and found this from “The Elephant’s Child”: I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who. So now I have no excuse!