My Story Has Narration!
Look at Your Curated/Distributed Stories: Maybe Yours Is Narrated Too
I was shocked to see this red “listen” right above the title, as circled above on my screenshot. No, I didn’t create this narration, it just appeared! Wow.
Maybe it’s because Medium distributed the article? Thanks, Medium. As I have shared before, it’s an honor but what it does is not exactly clear. I will just say, distributed, yes, but income-earning, not so much. At this writing it only has 177 claps and far less reads after being out for over a week. But I’m not complaining.
I have read a few announcements about Medium acquiring Knowable and several articles about narration, like the one written by Vivek Naskar that also has the red “listen” beside the article just like mine. High five!
The only thing I can tell you is that I did nothing special to create this. Believe me, I’m not tech-savvy. That’s why I use Medium instead of my own blog.
Here are my thoughts:
- I do not see this “listen” feature on the app and I have no idea when this appeared on my article.
- It’s a male “robotic voice” that narrates in that AI-voice. I have to admit: it’s kind of strange to hear a man’s voice read my article in such a “machine learning” kind of way. The zero emotion is juxtaposed to my anger at the content, based on an article from US Department of Homeland Security about utilizing robotic dogs at the border, and beyond. Well played, Medium or whomever you are, AI Narrator.
- No one from Medium alerted me to the fact that my article would be narrated.
You can read or listen to it here:
I welcome your ideas and discussion about the narration of our articles. For the record, I am “all-in” on the idea of having narration. It makes the article more accessible to the visually or otherwise impaired, which is a step in the right direction.
It’s also great when you are taking a break from screen time.
I can hear my students already commenting that “it would save time” because they have so much reading already.
Have your articles been narrated too?
Alayne Unterberger lives in Tampa FL with her miniature poodle Giovanni and newly adopted peekapoo Charlie Chan. She is an anthropologist, researcher, Hurricane Irma survivor, non-profit executive, adjunct professor, and life-long learner who loves to travel. Follow me @Dr Alayne.
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