I hate typing. Honestly, I really do. I would dictate this post if the technology wasn't so shaky (Note: Nuance Dragon seems to be the best dictation application out there but it costs a small fortune).
Good job that we appear to be entering into the era of voice.
I have long listened to podcasts to absorb useful info. Audiobooks to "read" books too. Listening is such a great option as it seems to be one of the few areas of "multitasking" that actually work! You can be walking the dog or at the gym or driving or whatever, and listen to a podcast or audiobook. The same is not the case with reading text or watching videos.
Amazon Alexa and Google Home hub are bringing voice to a whole new level. Allowing us to change the environment around us such as putting lights on or off, changing channels on a TV or ordering more "stuff" from Amazon. I find this voice tech interesting but it is still so new and the use-case is less compelling for me than listening to voice to digest useful information.
And then there's the case of writing text. On a keyboard for a PC or on a mobile smartphone. I never learnt to touch-type, which is my bad, I know. I have to type for work. It is a fact of life. But typing on my phone is typically the proverbial "straw that breaks the camel's back". Texting my friends and family....I want to communicate but aaargh, I am losing the patience to type despite the advances in predictive texting.
Along comes Voxer. This could be my saviour. The chance to "talk my texts" rather than type them looks like the missing link for me (I know that you can do this on Whatsapp but it's kinda unexpected on that platform so less workable).
Some might say why not just call someone but I always find the phone call an 'interrupter'. I don't much like receiving them (unexpectedly) as it is, in my view, an "attention queue-jumper". Whereas asynchronous communication, using messages, seems like a much more considerate approach - you can leave your message whenever you like for me and I'll get to it and respond in my time. And on the flow goes. But the 'typing' bit grates with me.
And so voice-based asynchronous communication seems to be the way forward. Then to be able to listen to them on-the-go almost like a podcast. I can then respond in my own time. Tonality is also a point that can get lost in the written message. Not so with voice. I can tell if you're anxious and therefore if something is urgent or if you're chilled out. This can help me gauge my response.
So I will give Voxer a go and see how this works for me. Interested in your experiences, please leave in the comments below.