Double Dutch

In the past these were dirty words for dirty people. Now these very same words can be used to describe the average social media addict.

We like strutting our stuff in public. We want the world to watch us. And we follow the fools who think that tweeting nonsense all day long makes them relevant.

8:05 AM. In line at Starbucks.

8:10 AM. Ordering a tall latte.

8:15 AM. Should have asked for a double shot of espresso.

8:18 AM. Back in my Mercedes. New Jersey Turnpike, here I come!

8:21 AM. In a car accident. Tweeting and drinking coffee don’t go well together.

9:33 AM. Thank goodness this hospital has a Starbucks.

We can laugh about it. We can cry about it, but things like Twitter and texting are changing the way we communicate. Even the way we dress.

If you don’t believe me, you should shop for winter gloves today, and count the pairs with holes in them or with special patches. Touchscreen gloves, that’s what they are called. Snowstorms, twisters, Republican primaries and other natural disasters won’t prevent mankind from texting.

Every single day, two hundred trillion text messages are received in America alone (source). That’s more than an entire year’s worth of regular mail.

Nielsen reported that the average American teen sends 3,339 texts each month. That’s more than six per every hour they’re awake. The girls are beating the boys with 4,050 texts per month, (boys send an average of 2,539 texts). Mind you, these numbers are from 2010!

But it’s not just the kids. Go into any supermarket and count how many times you’ll hear a mother tell her stroller-toddler:

“Not now sweetie. Mommy’s texting.”

8:42 PM. At Trader Joe’s. Should I buy broccoli or cauliflower?

Thanks to all these very important messages, safety is no longer the number one reason for getting a phone. We just love being social, don’t we?

THE FACEBOOK REVOLUTION
In 2010, Facebook beat Google as the most visited site (if we leave out visits to Google-owned YouTube). A year later, Facebook’s U.S. advertising revenue of 2.2 billion dollars had surpassed that of both Google and Yahoo.

It is THE place to hang out and make new friends. It’s that wonderful platform where -in the midst of an economic crisis- everything is always A-Okay. No matter what happens, the show must go on so we keep on dancing.

Smile people! Always beware of your brand. Heaven forbid we become real and share our fears and failures.

Occasionally, some Facebook friends will vent their frustrations, but overall, a happy-go-lucky attitude seems to be the norm: Do what you love and the money will follow. Really?

Many Europeans consider this attitude to be “typically American.” They see the States as a country where people have a hard time accepting failure. We’d rather take a happy pill than deal with our problems. We’re certainly not going to share them on our Facebook Walls. We’ve turned those into advertorials and infomercials:

9:15 AM. Join me for an online seminar where I’ll teach you how not to waste your time on Facebook. Remember the early bird discount!

10:02 AM. Finished an amazing gig with an amazing director. Life is good. It’s great to be back in L.A.

11:46 AM. Jesus rocks! He guided me to book another gig for Playboy Enterprises. Praise the Lord.

11:47 AM. Deuteronomy 5:11

11:48 AM. John 8:7

11:49 AM. Broccoli or cauliflower?

1:15 PM. There’s a new article on the Double Dutch blog. Be the first one to read it before it appears on VoiceOverXtra.

Yep, Facebook is definitely a site we can’t live without. In fact, we need more of those online chatrooms. What did you just tell me? You’re not on Google+ yet? Boy, you’re missing out on something spectacular. It’s great for your business. The other day I saw a video of a dog. Man, that was funny. Every time his owner began playing the guitar, this dog started smiling. No kidding. I’ll send you the link.

3:30 PM. Wasted another 3 minutes watching a dog on YouTube. Completely forgot to register for Faffcon 4. 

A WINDOW TO THE WORLD?
Look, I am not going to pooh-pooh social media again, but we should bury the idea that these sites are widening our world and increase interpersonal connections.

First of all, we don’t seem to know the difference between socializing and advertising. Socializing is all about connecting with others. Advertising is drawing attention to oneself in order to sell. If that becomes the main purpose of the interaction, it will turn people off. Sooner rather than later.

Secondly, people mainly interact with people they know or agree with. We block the rest and ban them from our circles. And if we don’t do it ourselves, algorithms will make sure that we see what we want to see and hear what we want to hear. Author and activist Eli Pariser calls this the “Filter Bubble.”

Based on our location and on what you and I have searched for and looked at in the past, certain websites (like Facebook) and search engines now use algorithms to predict and select what we’d be interested in right now. They call it “creating a personalized experience.”

YOUR WEB YOUR WAY
If you’re in the market for a new set of wheels and you’ve been browsing a few dealerships, chances are that you’ll be presented with car commercials instead of chewing gum ads. If you’re a fan of the current man in the White House and you keep track of his party’s politics, you won’t be exposed to Tea Party rhetoric. So far, so good, right?

Amazon and Netflix work the same way:

“If you liked this product or that movie, here’s what we recommend you check out next.”

I once made the mistake of tweeting about how much I love my memory foam mattress. Within the hour I was followed by three companies selling mattresses. I wanted to challenge them to a pillow fight.

But wait, there’s more!

If you and I were to enter the same keywords in Google, we would receive different results, based on past online behavior. You will get sites that are more in line with your interests and I will get sites that -presumably- will resonate more with things I prefer. Why is that so terrible?

DIVERSITY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE
I happen to think that it’s good to be exposed to different points of view. If I am only presented with an invisibly edited and uncontrollable stream of information that confirms my own bias, I lose something very important. Eli Pariser puts it this way:

“The Internet is showing us a world it thinks we want to see, but not necessarily what we need to see.”

We need to see how other people live and we need to hear what other people think. Intellectual discourse is part of a healthy democracy.

If we wish to promote peace, understanding and compassion in the world, we have to open ourselves up to other ideas, other traditions and the very things we don’t comprehend. Things that may make us uncomfortable. Otherwise, stupid stereotypes will go unchallenged and the people on this planet will never overcome their conflicts.

5:15 PM. More of the same is not only boring, it’s dangerous.

5:16 PM. I don’t want some geek at Google to tell me what’s relevant.

Knowledge empowers. Ignorance separates.

NOW WHAT?
It’s time to burst that filter bubble and give us control over the selection of sources of information. I don’t need Yahoo to determine what types of news stories will appear when I switch on my computer.

I want Facebook to be more about sharing and less about selling. I want parents to care more about their children than about their smart phones.

I want drivers to switch off their Blackberries and pay attention to the road. I want more people to be in the moment, instead of describing it on some electronic device.

That’s all great in theory, but here’s the question that’s been haunting me:

Will that ever happen or did we pass a point of no return?

5:24 PM. I am a practitioner of Positive Pessimism.

5:25 PM Hoping for the best. Expecting the worst.

Paul Strikwerda ©2012
www.nethervoice.com

Technorati Tags: Amazon, Double Dutch Blog, Eli Pariser, exhibitionists, Faffcon, Filter Bubble, Google, Netflix, Nethervoice, Nielsen, Paul Strikwerda, Social Media, stalkers, texting, twitter, VoiceOverXtra, voyeurs, Yahoo

Alright.

Last week’s pity party is over and I’m back at the helm of Starship Nethervoice.

A warm and fuzzy “thank you” to all of you who have reached out to me in the past few days.

Yes, I missed you too!

One of those people was news anchor and fellow VO-pro Dave Courvoisier. He called me from Vegas to let me know that I was not forgotten. This moved me so much that I promised to dedicate a song to him at Faffcon’s karaoke night. Any suggestions as to how I can best serenade him in his absence?

You might not praise my singing, but I will sing Dave’s praises any night. In a way, Dave is like a city that never sleeps. A big proponent of SM*, Super Social Dave can simultaneously be found on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and Amplify, while presenting the evening news and writing a new article for his blog. Sometimes I wonder what it must be like, to live inside his head…

On August 4th, Dave’s Voice Acting in Vegas Blog featured an interview with Jason Ojalvo, the man behind Audible’s Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX). If you haven’t heard of ACX yet, I recommend you read Karen Commins’ blog post and Andy Bowyer’s article in VoiceOverXtra.

In a nutshell, ACX is a virtual market place for people practicing what I believe to be the oldest profession in the world: storytelling. Narrators, writers and producers can find one another on ACX and create spoken books together.

Here’s what I particularly like about the ACX-model:

• It’s FREE! Yes, you’ve heard me. There’s no paid membership and there are no exorbitant escrow fees;

• ACX has a well-designed website and excellent customer service;

• There’s no middle man. Believe it or not, there is direct contact between narrator, producer and author/rights holder, resulting in…

• Reasonable rates and the opportunity to take a chance sharing royalties;

• Quality Control: ACX is very picky about recording and production requirements. It takes more than a credit card, a mic and some shareware to list oneself as an audio book narrator;

• A wide distribution network.

Here’s what needs tweaking:

• ACX currently offers projects in 6 languages. I’d like to see that number grow and -of course- include Dutch (my mother tongue);

• There are no projects posted in my preferred rate scale: the $400 to $1000 per finished hour range;

• At present there’s no way of telling whether or not an audition has been listened to, unless the narrator receives an offer. I’d also like to know how many colleagues  have already auditioned for a particular project;

• On 8/4/’11 ACX had 1939 narrator samples, but no way to search for a particular talent. It took me a while to find some of my favorite voices;

• Some talents have two pages, e.g. one under BeeAudio (talent is  available for: $200 – $400 Per Finished Hour) and one under their own name (same talent for hire for: $100 – $200 per finished hour). Are narrators competing with themselves and does this double listing give them an unfair advantage?;

• ACX does allow you to select a narrator by gender. There are 1296 audio samples listed under male and 760 under female. Why are women underrepresented? When I selected “Both,” 116 samples came up. (1296 + 760 = 2056 and not 1939

• When searching by gender, some female narrators came up, even though I had narrowed  my search down to male voice-overs;

• Chapters selected for audition are often purposely chosen because they contain some challenging paragraphs in terms of pronunciation. A quick example:

I wanted to audition for a book about the life of a Tibetan Lama. After an hour of extensive research, I still couldn’t find the correct pronunciation of his holiness’ name. Normally, I’d expect the author to provide a pronunciation guide, and I’d like ACX to lend us a hand in that department. Lama Geshe Dhargyey will bless you.

• ACX currently offers 676 non-fiction titles and 596 fiction titles looking for a narrator. I’d like to see the number of fiction titles go up. But here’s the big one:

• There are only 7 titles in the kids section. There’s obviously some untapped potential in that genre!

Jason Ojalvo told CourVo:

“The buzz is that ACX is one of the most empowering services ever created for actors. “

To me, Dave Courvoisier is one of the most empowering colleagues in the voice-over business. Dave loves to share. Thanks to him, what happens in Vegas, never stays in Vegas.

Whether Dave’s anchoring the news or narrating a voice-over script, SaVoa Board Advisor 07041 is a distinguished member of that ancient tribe of storytellers.

I’m already looking forward to the next Amazing CourVo Xchange!

How about you?

Paul Strikwerda ©2011
www.nethervoice.com

*SM: Social Media

PS Be sweet: please retweet.

Technorati Tags: ACX, Amplify, Andy Bowyer, audio book promotion, Audiobook Creation Exchange, Dave Courvoisier, Dutch narrator, Dutch voiceover, Facebook, Faffcon, Google, how to create an audio book, Jason Ojalvo, Karen Commins, LinkedIn, Nethervoice, Paul Strikwerda, SAVOA, the oldest profession in the world, twitter, Voice Acting in Vegas, VoiceOverXtra

No, I’m not going to tell you what it is just yet. Let me begin by asking you a simple question: Do words have power? When you think of it, aren’t they just letters in a certain order? Or are there words in our language that are so potent, that they have the potential to transform our life and our livelihood?

Now, before you think that I’ve gone all philosophical again instead of practical, just  STOP for a moment and think about it…

In the past few days I’ve asked some of my friends about words they feel have had (and still have) a profound impact on their professional lives. Here are some of the words they came up with:

As for me, the one word that has been my guiding light in the past 25 years as a freelancer, is neither grand nor deep. Yet, I believe it to be one of the most powerful words in our vocabulary. Without it, my career certainly wouldn’t be where it is today. It consists of two letters.

It is the word NO.

NO is the ultimate reflection of where I draw the line in life; the line between what I am willing to accept and what I must reject. Right now I can honestly say that I owe most of my success as an independent contractor to this word. It’s quite simple:

In order to give yourself a leg up, you sometimes have to put your foot down.

Today I am offering you seven suggestions for shaping your freelance career by using the power of what William Ury calls a “Positive No”.

1. SAY NO TO MOST FREELANCE JOBS
In this recession it seems that many freelancers function in survival mode and operate out of fear. They jump on every job opportunity that presents itself, because “you never know what tomorrow will bring”. They’re like a batsman who’s hitting at everything the pitcher’s throwing at him.

Although you might consider yourself to be a versatile voice-over pro, web designer or copywriter, even the famous Swiss Army knife has its limitations. It is humanly impossible to be everything to everyone. Like a batsman, you have to wait for the perfect moment where preparation meets opportunity, to hit that ball out of the park.

KNOW when to say NO. It’s early in the day as I am writing this article, but I’ve already said NO to at least fifteen jobs that didn’t meet my criteria. Why waste time applying for work I’m not totally qualified for?

I could get really ticked off by colleagues who subscribe to the “more is more strategy,” telling me: “It’s a numbers game. The more I try, the more chances I have to land a job.” Even though it might look that way sometimes, it is not a lottery. It is a business.

And why am I not ticked off? Well, we all have our life lessons to learn, and some people just prefer to learn things the hard way. And because they can’t…

2. SAY NO TO DIY
If you’re running your own business, it’s probably safe to say that you’re wearing many hats: CEO, CFO, COO, Head of HR, Advertising, Acquisition, Marketing, PR, IT, R & D, Quality Control, Social Media Manipulation… Are you tired yet? And guess who’s delivering the goods?

Just because you’re self-employed, doesn’t mean that you must do everything yourself. You shouldn’t, because you’ll burn out before you’ve even lit up the place.

KNOW your strengths. A realtor decided to shoot his own real estate video tours to save some money. As he was taking his shaky camera through a million dollar property, I could hear him do his own narration. The result was cheap, unprofessional and embarrassing. When he read my paper on video tours and voice-overs, he decided that he was not going to be the new host of House Hunters. Thank goodness for that!

So, here’s your assignment of the day. Ask yourself: What is the number one thing in my business that:

1. Is an essential part of my job
2. I’m not good at
3. I hate to do
4. Takes up way too much time

Now ask yourself two questions:

- How much more productive would I be, if I would outsource this to an expert?
- How much more profitable would I be, if I would outsource this work, especially if I…

3. SAY NO TO LOW RATES
In a society where most of us still equate value and quality with price, low rates are the trademark of an amateur. This strategy might bring you a few short term gains, but you’ll end up a long-term loser.

If you need nine more reasons why you shouldn’t sell yourself short, read my article: The secret to landing any freelance job.

KNOW the value of your work and the effect of your pricing on your bottom line and on your market. Then take the next step and…

4. SAY NO TO LOW STANDARDS
The Greek philosopher Mediocrates gave us the Law of Averages:

“Average standards lead to average results”

Look around you. Despite all the self-help hoopla that is sold as the “psychology of excellence,” the best most can hope for is mediocrity. Otherwise, “average” wouldn’t be the most common denominator and Walmart would have no customers.

KNOW that as an independent contractor you have the privilege of not having to live by other people’s rules. Look at your role models. Did they achieve success by following other people’s standards, or by setting their own? Become a non-conformist. Be utterly un-average and totally inimitable. Be younique and…

5. SAY NO TO BLAME
The Law of Causality deals with the relationship between an event and the consequence of that event. This interplay of Cause and Effect is reflected in our language as in: “My business isn’t doing so well because….”

We all know people who aren’t where they want to be in life, and they’re absolutely convinced that it is someone else’s fault. If only all the other people on this planet would change, they’d be so much happier! Those are the folks who blame the fast food industry for the obesity crisis and the tobacco industry for turning them into helpless, brainwashed chain smokers.

Blame makes people lame and seemingly dependent on things they have little or no control over. Mind you, I am not denying the devastating role some external circumstances can play in someone’s life. Neither am I trying to guilt-trip people for having been dealt some terrible cards.

I am talking about people who –rather than take responsibility for the things they have control over, expect others to fix them for them. Those are the people who’d rather complain about something than do something about it.

KNOW the difference between making things happen and letting things happen. It’s fine to subscribe to an on-line job search service. However, if you adopt a wait-and-see approach and blame the website when you’re not landing gigs within a week, you’re giving them way too much credit and you have effectively disempowered yourself.

I firmly believe that we’re not helpless leaves in the wind. I believe that we can harness the power of the wind and adjust our sails by the virtue of the choices we make. One of those choices we can make is to…

6. SAY NO TO UNCONTROLLED SPENDING
Why did the New York Times write that “one of the world’s most successful photographers essentially pawned every snap of the shutter she had made or will make until her loans are paid off”?

The Times cited as one of the reasons, that Annie Leibovitz has had a “long history of less than careful financial dealings“.

In the ideal world, you always have a pipeline full of projects. In reality, work can come in waves. When you finally hit that freelance jackpot and you’re starting to make some serious money, nothing is more tempting than to go on a spending spree. After all, you deserve it, don’t you?

Yes, you totally deserve to reap the rewards of your labor, today, tomorrow…. and in a few months when that big project is done and the money is no more. It’s not fun to be brilliant but broke.

KNOW that when it rains it probably pours, and when it doesn’t, you must set money aside for… a rainy day. Your bills don’t care whether or not you were lucky to get a nice chunk of cash in June. There’s always July, August and -dare I mention it- the day you hope to retire.

The book “The Millionaire Next Door” is not about big spenders. It is about people like you and me who live well below their means. Those folks are likely to…

7. SAY NO TO TAKING INSTEAD OF GIVING
“What’s in it for me? I want it for free!” seems to be the mantra of the new millennium. This narrow focus on personal gain, often at the expense of others and our planet, is an egotistical and eco-destructive philosophy.

Yet, some self-styled entrepreneurs have made the following three words the cornerstone of their business: Gimme, gimme, gimme.

With the rise of social media, this new group of predators is all about ‘getting’ instead of ‘giving’. They want to befriend you in order to milk your network, so they can slam your contacts with overt or covert product- and self-promotion.

These vampires seldom contribute to a discussion, and when they do, it’s mainly to get their contact information in the comment field. They ask for referrals. They don’t give referrals. They want a sample of your work… and run away with it.

KNOW that the way to grow a freelance business is to become a contributor; by giving back. Over the years, countless people have given me their time and expertise free of charge, just because they wanted to help.

PAY IT FORWARD
The best way to honor the gifts they have given me, is by passing them on to someone else. That’s one of the reasons why I started this blog, and that’s why you might find me answering someone else’s questions on a networking site.

When you start paying it forward, amazing things will happen. Do you have time for three examples?

* A few months ago, Shelley Cryan, a brilliant freelance photographer and real estate videographer, asked for recommendations for a voice-over microphone on an on-line forum. I happened to read her request and gave her some suggestions. A few weeks later, Shelley asked me if I’d be interested in narrating one of her virtual home tours. I just completed my third narration for her.

* Earlier this year, master narrator John Pruden wrote an excellent article for VoiceoverXtra. After I had left a comment, John got in touch with me and we exchanged a few emails. Recently, he told me about an audio book project that might be a good fit because I’m a multi-linguist. He recommended me to the client and to cut a long story short: after an audition they offered me the job.

* In April, David Rosenthal -the enthusiastic driving force behind Internet Voice Coach- wrote me an email in which he told me how much he enjoyed my blog. Not so long ago he asked me if I would like to join his team of contributors at Internet Voice Coach as the “expert on all things international”. I couldn’t be happier!

Over the weekend, my IVC “department” opened its doors and it now features exclusive interviews with Bodalgo’s Armin Hierstetter and Arabic blogger/voice-over Mahmoud Taji (who recently published a free e-book called “The Modern Voiceoverist’s Guide to the Online Universe & Other Stories”).

I’m not telling you these things to impress you. I’m sharing these examples to impress upon you that wonderful and unexpected things can happen as a result of being attentive to opportunities to help and contribute.

TEST
One last thing. Should you choose to adopt these seven suggestions and become a no-sayer, expect to be tested! We live in a culture of YES and instant gratification. People don’t want to hear the word no. They’d rather cut off their no’s to spite their face. When they’re putting pressure on you to cave in, remember this:

The best students usually get the most challenging tests!

So, stick to the program and keep on saying “yes” to NO.

Paul Strikwerda © 2010
www.nethervoice.com

PS What are some of the things you have said NO to as a freelancer, and how has that worked out for you?

PPS What’s the number one question colleagues keep on asking me, and how do I answer it? Find out here!

Technorati Tags: Annie Leibovitz, Armin Hierstetter, audio book narrator, Bodalgo, David Rosenthal, Dutch voice over, freelancer, Freelancing, House Hunters, independent contractor, Internet Voice Coach, John Pruden, Law of Averages, Law of Causality, Mahmoud Taji, Nethervoice, New York Times, Paul Strikwerda, self-employed, Shelley Cryan, Spartina Studios, the best Social Media Strategy, The Millionaire Next Door, the most powerful word, virtual home tour, voice-over, voiceover, VoiceOverXtra

PS Doing the work is (relatively) easy. Finding it is hard. Here’s my top tip for winning more auditions and freelance projects

Technorati Tags: Apology, Double Dutch Blog, Dutch voice over, Hoax, John Florian, Mic warmer, Nethervoice, Paul Strikwerda, Philip Banks, VoiceOverXtra