Scribie.com

Here’s the list of know issues for CallGraph Skype Recorder version 1.3.0.0.

• If back to back calls are made/received from Skype then the second call may not be correctly recorded. The recording file for the second call does not contain the audio the second call, but the first call. This happens only in few cases. To prevent this from happening please ensure that there is at least 30 second gap between the end of the first call and start of the second.

We have been chasing this issue but have not been able to reproduce it at our end. If you have faced it, then it will be a big help if you can enable logging from configuration -> general tab, reproduce the issue and send us the log file. Thanks!

We will keep on adding to this list as we discover issues. Please report any issues you face with CallGraph Skype recorder to support@scribie.com. Thanks in advance.

We have been fine-tuning our transcription process to improve the accuracy of the transcripts. Our process is a bit more involved from the usual transcription process where a person works on the complete file. Instead we split up the file into smaller parts and several transcribers and reviewers work on each part individually. The parts are then collated into the final transcript.

Our process tries to remove, to the extent possible, tediousness from the transcription work. Since files are small (around 6 minutes) a transcriber has to spend no more than 45 minutes to 1 hour on each file. Studies have shown that the average human concentration span is around that mark; a person can maintain the same concentration level on one task for no more than an hour, after which a break is required. Therefore splitting up files has an noticeable impact on the accuracy.

But this also introduces the problem of inconsistency. Since different parts are worked on by different people, a specific term which appears in one part may not appear the same way in the other parts. Our first approach for solving this problem was to use a dictionary. After the final transcript was done we used to cross check the file against a vocabulary of commonly occurring terms and correct the mistakes. But this approach only solved the problem partially since it was hard to catch all the inconsistencies.

The best we accuracy we could get to was around 95% with this process. But we wanted to improve it. So now, we have added another step of review. This final review is done by a single transcriber who goes through the entire file and corrects all the inconsistencies. We have been doing this since the past few months and have found this to be much more effective than the dictionary approach. Consequently our accuracy has gone up to 98 to 100%.

Because of the additional review step our costs have also gone up; from 50 cents per minute to 75 cents per minute. This rate has been in effect for around 3 months and we are quite pleased with the results. We are still around 25 to 50% cheaper than other professional transcription services available. That is the result of our transcription process and the system we have developed to manage it.

The increased price also gives a little bit flexibility. Therefore we have also started offering discounts for bulk orders. If you order for more than 10 hours at a time then you can avail a 10% discount on the total price. We will also initiate a seasonal discount program sometime in the future.

So try out our improved transcription service and order a transcript today!

Monetizing podcasts is hard, very hard; as lot of other startups in the podcasting space found out. The best way is to get a sponsorship from someone who is interested in marketing to the niche you are targeting. If you cannot do that then there’s always Google AdSense. We at CallGraph believe that the best way would be to sell transcripts of your podcasts.

It sounds counter-intuitive. Podcasts by definition are something people would only  want to listen to; not read. But as we have seen and experienced, a lot of people already get their podcasts transcribed and provide the transcript along with the mp3 file. Why? Because reading is faster than listening; the transcript is good for SEO purposes; effective contextual advertisements, to list a few reasons. But transcription involves its own time and effort and therefore, cost. Hence not every podcaster gets their files transcribed and gives it away for free. This is where our Podcast Publisher Program comes in.

It enables you sell transcripts of your podcasts directly at your website without doing much. You have to host your files on CallGraph and use our widget. Your listeners can still download the file and/or listen to it online. But if they want, they can also buy the transcript and read instead of listening to your podcast. The money that you earn from each sale is then credited to your CallGraph account where it accumulates. You can withdraw your earnings to your PayPal account anytime you wish. We keep 20% of the sale value as our cut.

The widget we provide is basically a player for your podcast, along with the transcript. To get the widget you first have to sign up as a podcast publisher on CallGraph, host your files on CallGraph and order a transcripts for them. You can then embed the widget into your site or anywhere else (YouTube like). The ‘Transcript’ button on the widget provides a sample transcript and options to buy the full transcript. We host the files and transcript and ensure that your customers get what they pay for.

You can also set a base price for your transcripts, offer discounts, packages etc. to your listeners. You can also offer it for free if you want. We just handle all the complexity and do the transcription work. We also provide a RSS feed which you can use as your podcast feed. It is also compatible with iTunes.

Sounds interesting? Go here and sign up now for the private beta. We will be rolling out the private beta shortly. See you there!