Transcription is a highly lucrative and challenging option for people looking out for home based job opportunities. Although transcription requires certain basic skills but at the same time it is not a highly specialized job except in medical and legal transcription where you should be familiar with the respective terminologies. Here is a brief guide for people wanting to earn substantial income by doing work from home.

What is meant by Transcription?

In essence, transcription is a conversion of audio recordings into a written copy. Oral recording could be from a meeting, speeches, court proceedings, surgical/medical procedures, interviews etc. It can be broadly divided into four categories medical transcription, interview transcription, legal transcription and general transcription.

What does it entail?

Typically, as a transcriber, you have to produce a written record from the audio recording of one person talking/speaking/interviewing with one or more persons, which could be an in-person or a telephonic interview. Most of the transcription jobs demand verbatim transcriptions but sometimes ‘ums’ and ‘uhs’ may also be required.

Where is it used?

Transcription services find extensive use in legal, medical, financial, construction, IT and media, among other, medical and legal transcription being the most commonly known application. Besides, it is also used for and by authors, seminar speakers, television or print media, marketing surveys, academic fields, meetings, seminars, conferences etc.

What are the requirements to become a transcriber?

Anyone with basic intelligence and a good grasp over English language can learn transcription techniques. Besides a PC, Printer, audio devices and transcription software, you should know how to listen and record exactly what you hear. You should be familiar with how to handle file formats such as MP3, Video (various formats) and Windows Media Audio (WMA). Moreover, you must have fluency in English language and ability to speak and understand accents from USA, UK and other developed countries.

Why is it required?

In the modern, fast paced and technology driven world, people do not have enough time to write down reports, minutes, to-do lists etc. and hence they record their requirements on audio devices and hand over the digital files and disks to transcription service providers to make written transcripts. Companies save lots of time and costs on manpower by outsourcing on transcription services.

Summing Up:

There is always a great demand for skilled and experienced transcription personals in medical and legal segments. Nowadays, transcription has become popular in several other fields and hence there is always acute shortage of transcribers. Rates for home based transcription services vary from $15 upward per recorded hour. It is advisable to take some basic course on transcription in order to become a successful transcriber.

Social Media has become an extremely efficient medium for people to connect with and to remain in contact with online communities for personal as well as business relationships. Social media has completely changed how millions of global population reads and shares news, contents, information, images and audio and video links. Here is a small guide to social media.

What is Social Media?

It is a combination of sociology and technology, which enables all the people and entities right from a private individual to a large business house to publish or access contents and information free of cost.

What are the benefits of Social Media?

• Social media is a powerful Internet Marketing tool for freelancers, small to medium business owners and large companies alike.
• With social media, you can gain more credibility and recognition from your customers and website visitors (who in turn could become potential customers).
• It is one of the better ways to get instant exposure to your website as against paid advertising (PPC). It is relatively a very inexpensive approach for Internet Marketing.
• Social media has a tremendous potential to drive traffic to your sites. Several studies have shown that Internet Marketing through social media generates enhanced traffic and develops business relationships with new clients.

Social Media vs Traditional Media such as newspapers, television and film:

• Social media is a low-cost method of publishing information and thus even a person like you and me can use it to our advantage.
• Both the media provide an easy reach to masses and global audience
• Social media tools are available to anyone at almost negligible costs while traditional media require specialized skills and training and large financial and technological capabilities.
• Unlike traditional media, social media is capable of producing instantaneous responses.

Which are the popular Social Media?

Internet forums, social blogs, podcasts, social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, Micro-Blogging sites such as Twitter and Jaiku, Wikipedia, Google Groups, YouTube (video sharing), Flickr (photo sharing), Second Life (virtual reality) and MouthShut (product reviews), among other, are few of the most popular applications of social media.

In the end:

If you are in Internet Business, you should use social media and social networking as integral components of your marketing tools to drive traffic to your site and promoting your business.