I’m writing this blog post to lay out my thoughts on quality control, cyber security, and ethics as they relate to transcription in the modern world. Ambitious, right? Maybe even totally pretentious/impossible. Bear with me for a moment here, though. Like just about every other industry, transcription has been irrevocably changed by the digital revolution. Massive workforces can be mobilized easier than ever. Complicated processes can be streamlined or even automated. T

Rogers Word Service began in 1983 as a purveyor of transcription, copy editing and proofreading services. As we continue provide those services in 2015, often for the same organizations for whom we worked in 1983, it is interesting to think about how the way we provide these services has changed over the past 30+ years. Transcription & editorial services has definitely undergone a "analog-to-digital" migration just as profound as the rest of society. In 1983, the personal

Most transcription companies offer differing levels of proofing services. At Rogers Word Service, we currently offer two editing levels: what we call “edited” and “draft.” If you’re a RWS customer, you’re probably familiar with these terms. If you’re not, let me give a short explanation as to what these two options mean for the turnaround, cost, and accuracy of your transcript. First, let’s talk about the process of transcription. The client uploads the audio or video fil

Most transcription companies offer differing levels of proofing services. At Rogers Word Service, we currently offer two editing levels: what we call “edited,” and “draft.” If you’re a RWS customer, you’re probably familiar with these terms. If you’re not, let me give a short explanation as to what these two options mean for the turnaround, cost, and accuracy of your transcript. First, let’s talk about the process of transcription. The client uploads the audio or video fi

At Rogers Word Service, we offer three “levels” of verbatim, but the concepts behind these levels should be fairly universal for all transcribers and folks who need transcripts. Essentially, the idea is this: depending on what you’re using the transcript for, you’ll need the transcriber to more or less strict in their interpretation of the spoken word. Remember, transcription is essentially the translation of the spoken word into the written word, so there is a certain amou

Do you need a time coded transcript? Time codes can be immensely helpful in a transcript for video editing purposes, or whenever you’ll need to be consistently cross-referencing the audio against the transcript. I would not necessarily recommend time codes if you’re using the transcript for research or if you’re just trying to get the information into a more easily searchable and digestible form. In my talks with video editors and videographers, I’ve found that accurate tim

Here’s a few things you, as the interviewer/audio engineer/videographer/whatever, should keep in mind if you want to get the most out of your transcript. 1) Audio quality matters. You don’t have to have a pristine, soundbooth-quality recording to get an accurate transcript by any means, but using the voice recorder on your iPhone which is sitting on a table while you and your interview subject walk around the room is probably going to result in a lot of editorial marks and m

As I’ve said in previous blog entries, transcription seems pretty easy on the surface. You just write down what people say. Seems simple enough that a reasonably well-designed computer program could do it, right? The problem is that the written word has fairly cut-and-dry rules and standards, which people basically completely ignore when they’re speaking. I’d say maybe one in ten people actually speak in complete sentences most of the time. The rest of us (myself include

Transcription is an interesting activity. I find being a good transcriber takes a healthy mix of creative and non-creative thinking, left-brain and right-brain awareness. The transcriber is both writer and editor. We have to try to synthesize people’s sometimes somewhat incoherent thoughts into an easily readable form. The transcriber has to be acutely aware of the rules of grammar, yet also have an appreciation for the fact that we humans hardly ever abide by those rules