More V-T-T - this time from the US…
By Ben Robinson on Friday, May 23rd, 2008 at 7:39 AM PST In Advertising, Voicemail
As those of you that read regularly will know, I’m quite a fan of V-T-T (voice-to-text) services - I have one running at the moment, and love getting my voicemails as text messages - to the point the point where I think it’s a real killer app!
Well, in that vein, YouMail, as US-only VTT provider, have contacted me with details of their services, and some stats from research they recently did. It’s really quite interesting, especially since their basic voicemail to text service is free - yes, you read that right! If you just want the link so you can give it a try, you can find that here.
Service
“YouMail’s speech-to-text transcription service differs from others in the industry by allowing mobile users to rate the level of accuracy for each transcription, while having the opportunity to correct any errors. This process involves the community to solve the issues around automated speech-to-text, making the service better over time, and understanding exactly how well we’re performing.
The transcription service, coupled with offering the user several ways to access their voicemail to fit their lifestyle, demonstrates how YouMail gives users tools to stay productive for both business and personal reasons. The voicemail service is also provided at no cost to the consumer and is leveraging advertising to keep it this way. As rising costs of everyday commodities increase, it is nice to know that your voicemail service is something you do not have to budget for each week“
Research
YouMail recently conducted a survey, on its “power users” – that is users that receive 400 or more voicemails on their mobile devices per month – and the results show some surprising trends:
- YouMail “power users” (57%) are entrepreneurs who are self employed or heading small to medium sized businesses
- About 63% admitted that they use voicemail to manage inbound calls rather than answering the phone in person
- While most consider themselves to be very social people, about 88% of them said they’re usually in business meetings when they get voicemail
- While 85% said that voicemail tools like YouMail have given them more flexibility and freed up time in their lives
- A healthy number (41%) said that they use that extra time to do more work
Again, for those of you that want to find out more about YouMail, you can do that here.
I have been using YouMail for over a year now and I love it. I just discovered this feature recently while looking around on their website. It’s not 100% accurate but you get the gist of the message. Also the transcription is only whatever can fit in 4 text messages. I am really happy with their service and having the ability to check my voicemail online.
These type of services are the inventions of the new age. This type of applications has proved to be good but to some extent only. These applications are not perfect and they also have a lot of drawbacks.