Widely-Practiced Problems in the Online Voice Over Industry

I am writing this today because, as of late, I have been doing more and more Quality Assurance on auditions submitted through Voice123. At the same time, I answer emails from voice talent, who express to me that they have not gotten work. Whether they are experienced in offline voice over casting or not experienced at all, they all manage to make the same mistakes that I have seen cost them voice over work.

I am basing this article on information gathered via:

1. Customer service emails.

2. Auditions and demos listened to while doing QA at Voice123.

3. Both voice seeker and voice talent complaints about working online.

Just from stating those three factors above, I get a sense that some may get emotionally charged up, which is EXACTLY why one should keep reading. Also keep in mind that I am describing mistakes made by 'everyone' at some point. I have now seen it happen, and I blush because I made the same mistakes I am about to mention at some point, while using Voice123.

I understand where a talent comes from. I also know the greatest education comes from those who have made mistakes, and then learned why they were mistakes.

Problem #1: 'Working online is not war':

Working online carries with it, greater need for understanding. If you approach working online, as if it is, 'Me vs. Them', you will find yourself unemployed. I have seen notes and emails go back and forth between clients and talents such as:

• "I watermarked my audition, so you cannot steal it."
• "Your budget is laughable, but I am auditioning anyway."
• A budget quote: 'You tell me.'
• An audition remark that states, 'I have 30 years experience, and I have never seen someone so cheap in all my years....'

For a voice talent, seriously, if something upsets you, it is best to walk away from the audition. Do not waste energy or time on being aggressive online. It is too easy for people to fight back, remember you, and there are still 'humans' doing the hiring. If you want to start a fight, you will get what you want, and then some.

Problem #2: 'Slaaaaaaaaaating...or....Aggressive Slating'

I think this is the most common. What many voice talent do not understand is that working with computers instantly means you are dealing with people with short attention spans. A study showed last year that from 'mouse click to frustration', you had a time frame of only 3 to 20 seconds. Keeping that in mind, if you are a buyer or producer, with even as little as 10 demos to listen to, how often can you take the following slates before you just get frustrated:

• "Hello, my name is *** and I will be doing 3 takes, of 3 different reads for you, and I have watermarked each one to protect myself".
• "Hi my name is ***. My website is *** and you can find out more about me at *** I will be doing 3 reads."

Those 'slaaaaates' are killers. Not only is the first one displaying that a voice talent may be paranoid (a sign of inexperience while working online), but they both go on for more than 10 seconds. Try this, and this lends itself to why it is not a bad idea to know about online customer service:

• If you walk into a 'store', and you ask where to buy soda, if the guy behind the counter explains every single detail of the store for 2 minutes before telling you what you originally asked for, you may just walk out.
  
• Online sites...their interfaces provide your name, and they are about to hear you anyway, so there is no point in explaining for 20 seconds, what they will hear for the next 20 seconds.

Problem #3: Paranoid Behavior and Watermarks

When online casting started, watermarks made sense, but not so much anymore. Why? Because the online community has been around for several years now, the Internet sites have gotten wiser about who posts jobs, and there are a 1001 ways to verify someone before they post a job, and if for some reason they try to take the audio...websites have that covered, too. How do I do it? I am not telling anyone. It took me years to figure out how to catch people, and I am not going to shed that skill in public. So, what do I see talent doing?

• Loud watermarks that sound more like tests of the emergency broadcast system.
  
• Announcements that there is a watermark, and that it is being done to protect their work. That one alone turns off a buyer immediately. It may sound like a good idea, but it makes a voice talent sound nervous.
• Lastly, submitting auditions with poor audio on purpose, and then explaining it away that 'I did this to protect myself', only makes one think you are making excuses for yourself.
  

Problem #4: Not reading directions

The common response I get when I mention this is, 'Well, they do not tell me enough to go on.' That happens, yes, but I am referring to specific times when a buyer asks for something in a description, and the voice talent thinks it is a good idea or it is ok to submit whatever they want, and make up a reason, as to why it was done. If you do not understand how that feels to the buyer, try this:

1. Imagine you go to a restaurant, and you are trying to impress your loved one.
2. The waiter takes your order, and you are waiting for it to arrive.
3. The waiter comes out with a completely different order, and says, 'I know you asked for this, but I wanted to give you something different.'

Knowing that working online is like 'being your own business', how do you think it makes a buyer feel when you do the opposite of what they requested? How would it make you feel, if you were hiring?


Problem #5: Not understanding the 'give and take' of working online

Like it or not, auditioning online carries a heavier burden of reassurance that a job can be done. It is not about, 'I auditioned! Now, someone will call and tell me what I have to do next!'. You have to have that business plan in place for yourself. If the 'seller' gives the 'buyer' too many tasks ahead of time just to hire the voice talent, it simply will not happen. This does not apply to negotiating contracts. I am referring to those that believe, 'All I have to do is audition, and the rest will happen for me.'

That may have been the case, offline, but when you work online, you are directly in contact with the buyer, so there is no 'agent-filter' or production house you must report to on a certain date and time. It is all about you, from A-Z.

The 'give and take' that is taking place...As the 'seller of your voice online', you have to own a professional online business known as YOU, which you will present to buyers of your voice over skill. You have to be the 'giver' because this is a new playground, with a new way of doing business in voice overs. I will not lie. It is not always easy, and it does take some time to learn how to communicate online.


Problem #6: Not seeing the forest for the possible 'greens'

Working online is about building relationships, and not 'paying to play'. If you want to pay to play something, try online poker.

I say this because the 'budget' you see may be lower because the person simply has no idea who you are, and what you can do. Everyone is equal when you work online, even those with decades of experience, so those budgets you see may be 'teasers', and once they know you...and know you can do what they need...the real money will come in.

I have been told several times that Voice123 shines because of the 'repeat clients', not the job postings. These voice talent know the difference between 'playing online' and 'working online'. As a tip, just to close this out, I did something two weeks ago to help a very experienced offline talent of many years. He explained to me that working online was difficult. I told him the following:

• If you are experienced offline, find someone younger than you, and show them your profile and auditions.
• See if they could re-write what you send in emails, and audition remarks.
• I also told him to stop doing some of the behaviors above.

He swallowed his pride and ego, and agreed, and we agreed he could tell me I was wrong forever. He booked his next online audition, after a 2-year drought. I take no credit. I give credit to the young man who re-wrote the text for his uncle to make it more net-savvy, short and sweet. The idea came to mind because I wrote my brother's yahoo personals profile, and the next day, 8 women showed interest. I have always believed that the 'arbitrator' tells a story better.


Problem #7 Whatever has you upset about the website you use, do not mention it

They know already, trust me. They deal with it too, and tell us about it. If you want to relate to someone, do so on a positive level. Voice123 works on issues all the time. We have constant communications with over 10,000 emails a month. Showing you know something, by not saying it, shows experience, and that...is the trickiest thing about working online:

• 'Finding out what others think when you cannot get in touch with them.' I realized several years ago, the way to go was to build on what was working, and go from there.
  
• That is why audition remarks like: "The audio you will hear is not good because Voice123 insists on using 96 KBPS, which sounds awful!" If that is your only remark, what have you accomplished? Your purpose was to be hired, not file a complaint, and the seeker knows it is an audition process, anyway.

Final note: This is kind of a big deal...Please be careful when someone requests an accent, that you do not completely offend someone's nationality:

You have to understand that when someone is highly offended, they usually feel compelled to just hit back, and not say why. I was lucky enough to have people who hired talent from Voice123, stop and take a moment to explain some of what they heard. Just some small tips on the subject:

• A French accent request does not mean, 'Sound like Pepe Le Pew'.
• A Spanish and/or Hispanic accent request does not mean, 'Sound like Speedy Gonzalez or Cheech and Chong'.
• An Italian accent request does not mean, 'Sound like a Joey Soprano.'
• A German accent can be confused with an Austrian accent.
• An African accent does not mean 'Sound like you are from the Bronx'.
• A Chinese accent does not mean 'replace the letter 'L' with the letter 'R'.'
• A Scottish accent does not mean, 'Mike Meyers 'Big Sexy' impersonation'.
  

I say this because they are truly innocent mistakes made because sounds and images are stuck in our subconscious mind, and we may mean no offense, but still, I have seen these errors offend people greatly, and when working on an international stage, it helps to be aware of what your buyer feels. Certain 'characters' in the North American culture of entertainment are deemed highly offensive in other countries. I have actually learned this through my years of traveling. I also worked in Times Square for 7 years, considered the 'crossroads of the world' for good reason.

As we all know, people can be very sensitive while working online, no matter who you are, so there has to be a level of understanding that we are all starting over in this online playground. Yeah, we can audition...but can we be so much more than 'just a voice talent'?

In the interests of helping people see what I see behind the scenes,
Steven
former Voice123 talent and former other website talent

When You Can't Say Yes, There is Opportunity for Success!

Customers are the backbone of every business. Yet, there are times when you simply cannot give them what they want, because a customer may not always be fully aware of a company’s financial status, product development ability, or the majority of a company’s feedback. So, what do you do when you have a demanding customer whose needs you cannot meet? Start by getting into the mindset of what the customer is really looking to accomplish:

• Does the customer, maybe love your service and could possibly want to be more involved, but his/her way of showing it is to offer suggestions?
• Is the customer possibly an influential person in your industry, and is maybe looking to do more business with you?
• Is the customer truly a big fan of your service, and just wants to show you that he/she cares?
• Are there alternatives you can explore with the customer?

Online customer service is quite interesting this way. The customer behind the computer is always looking for reassurance that his/her needs are being met, but not everyone knows how to communicate needs with written/typed words. This is quite often the case with customer service emails that involve ‘product development’ suggestions, and that can be difficult because a basic customer with no computer experience may not understand why something is necessary or unnecessary.

After starting at Voice123.com in July 2007, there were several corrections that were implemented in our customer service team to assist customers, even at times when we had to say ‘No’.

• Never make a promise you cannot keep to make someone happy: A failure we had seen with several websites was that they were making statements such as, ‘We will work on it!’, when there was no intention of developing the idea. Broken promises have long-lasting and damaging results to any businesses reputation, online or offline.
• If you do use an idea by your customer, give that customer some credit on your website: Voice123 has done this in the past. When an idea never struck us until a customer said so, we promote them through our email campaigns and Voice123 blog. Showing appreciation for the website user has a powerful affect, and makes your users feel like celebrities. This is important because all customers need to feel special when using a product. If you are showing true appreciation, you should do something both in public and in private. Giving voice talent free subscriptions for helping Voice123 become a better website is one way we like to return the favor.
• Create personal relationships between your customer service team, and their customers: It is true that there are some customers who will have amazing ideas one day, and the next day, they may just contact you to complain a bit, and that is great! You will always have people looking out for your business this way, and you will be looking out for your customers! Even when working in Times Square at ESPNZone NY many years ago, I found myself being a friendly ear to customers who just wanted to let off some steam about ESPN, and their programming decisions. I did tell them that I had no control over such things, but they appreciated that I just listened. These same people came back time and time again, and it was a pleasure to serve them.

I have found that working online requires a larger ear for listening, if you will, because of its anonymous environment. There will always be that ‘need for reassurance’ from another person, that even though you said ‘no’, that the idea was taken into consideration.

Chasing Peter Shankman

The following blog is a true story about how far someone will go to get the company he works for and cares about, promoted through a highly influential player in the online market, Peter Shankman of HARO. This story is written with admiration, and respect for all mentioned.

Back in January 2009, Steven from Voice123.com, was sitting in a public relations luncheon at the RTV-Incubator in the heart of the financial district. Very new and very green to public relations, and armed with a positive attitude, Steven listened intensely as a young PR rep explained who Peter Shankman was, and how he was incredibly influential.

Steven put two and two together:
Peter Shankman + Influential= He needs to know about Voice123.com.

Steven has an amazing talent for remembering names, so he suddenly became obsessed with the idea of having Peter Shankman promote Voice123.com for being the most amazing place to find voice over talent. He knew nothing of what would be required, or how it would be done, but he knew it had to happen.

The very same day Steven decided to follow @skydiver on Twitter, and start seeing if he could think of any ideas. He also signed up to receive 'queries' from helpareporter.com, and see if there was anything that would inspire Steven to get involved. The key was...Steven had to keep Peter's name in mind at all times.

No sooner than a week later, a talent on Voice123.com named Wayne Pyle, mentioned to Steven that he knew Peter in a customer service email. Steven put two and two together once more when he found out that Wayne was a skydiver, and operated out of upstate New York, not too far from where Steven's mother-in-law lived. The question loomed in his mind:

'Should I jump out of a plane for the possible chance to meet someone that can promote Voice123 on a higher scale than ever before.'

To Steven the answer was, 'Yes! Of course!'. To Steven's wife, the answer was, 'Not if you still want to remain married to me!'. Alas...back to the drawing board for Steven.

Several months pass, and no leads. Steven finds no way to connect to Peter and is growing discouraged. Then one day, out of mere coincidence, Peter Shankman writes a tweet about a Staten Island Ferry accident. THIS was incredibly promising for Steven because he lived only two streets away from the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. Steven was home from work that day, but reading Twitter for Voice123.com. When he noticed the tweet, Steven immediately wrote back via email, 'I live very close to the ferry! Would you like me to take a look and tell you what happened?'. He was going to help this reporter/influential player/Peter, get the story first!

To excited to wait for an answer, he threw on his shorts and sneakers on the hot June evening, and went running down the hill to the Staten Island Ferry. He noticed that there were TV camera crews and police. As Steven lived near the 120 Police Precinct, he knew some of the cops, and asked what happened. He was told, 'The boat lost power and hit the dock. About 15 people hurt...nuttin' to worry about!'. Armed with this news he ran back up the hill to his apartment and jumped back on Twitter, and re-tweeted what he knew to Peter. He had found that Peter had written him a small reply, 'Sure, go ahead.', followed by, 'I remember the 1987 crash.' This was getting extremely promising! Steven was now feeling like he was getting connected in some way. Steven replied that he was also in the same crash, which was true! There was one last re-tweet of what Steven said to @skydiver, probably by someone chasing him as well, but then nothing materialized. Back to the drawing board.

A month later, Peter announced that he was going to Bogota, Colombia to visit a company. THIS was my 'in'. Voice123.com has an office in Bogota, Colombia, and Steven has come to know the city very well! He emailed Peter Shankman, and recommended some great places to eat, and Peter replied and said 'Thank you!', but there was more to this...

Peter was going to visit a company that had ex-employees of Voice123 that were friends of mine, so Steven did what anyone would do who remembered names...he name-dropped. This did no good, and received no reply, but Steven followed Peter's trip via twitter and replied whenever possible about such places to eat like Andres Carne De Res. Peter's query, 'Yeah I could live here' edition, about his trip in Bogota was right on the money. Steven felt the same way! He loves Bogota for the coffee and chocolate, the people, and their hospitality! He could live there, too! So, he had to tell Peter...but there was no reply, and the trail died once again.

Until...a couple of days later...Peter announced he was going to Chicago, and was looking for great places to get coffee. Just by chance, the company Peter visited in Bogota has employees in Chicago, and Steven was friends with one of them. He was a former co-worker with Steven, so he had him on Skype contacts. Steven begged him via Skype to connect with Peter to show him a place to get coffee. Steven wrote Peter and said, 'I know a place you can go!', and gave him the name of a place to get coffee, and the person who could show him how to get there. Peter wrote back, 'Have him meet me here.' This was great!

Big problem...Steven's skype friend came down with stomach flu, and nothing ever materialized...

To date...this is where the story ends, as Steven has run out of ideas, but recently read an article about people who accidentally find themselves 'tweet-stalking'. Rather than be part of something extremely negative, I am giving up on chasing Peter Shankman...I mean Steven is giving up.

Thanks for reading,
Steven
Voice123.com

'Getting Your Clients to Pay You on Time'

This article was requested to be written via a twitter post I sent out @Voice123dotcom. I never really have the chance to discuss this topic, so I thank @andrewsusay for requesting it. At Voice123, I am asked at times to help a talent retrieve payment from a voice seeker. If you did not know I did this, that is probably because payment problems rarely reach the point where I must step in.

In almost every case, the same thing happens, in which a talent believes they were not paid on time, and the voice seeker, for some reason, has been difficult to get in touch with. This task is something I am very proud to assist talent with as I once worked in a 'recovery' dept. at an insurance company, so I have the understanding that getting people to pay on time requires the following:

• Preparation ahead of time, as in, having your own business plan.
• Email etiquette. (Yes, it plays a big part.)
• Written understanding of dates and deadlines, as to when payment is due.
• Written understanding as to what was agreed upon.

I should say first, that when it comes to working with 'people', there are no guarantees because...well...'people' can be very interesting, and yes, even escrow is not a concrete solution. Keep that in mind always.

Now, let me explain each below:

Preparation ahead of time, as in, having your own business plan:

• Knowing what you will do when someone contacts you. What will you say in return?
  
• Do you have a plan as to when audio will be delivered, and when you will invoice?
• Do you have a plan on how to negotiate re-takes?
• Do you have a deadline as to when the payment is expected after audio delivery on your invoice?
• Are you saving ALL email correspondence?
• Are you making sure, no matter what you say on the phone, that you follow up with emails?
• All of the above information will help you in the future.

Email etiquette. (Yes, it plays a big part in this role.)

• I have handled matters where I watched that a person stopped replying to repeated requests for payment. When I asked why there was no reply, at times I heard responses that the voice seeker had no idea who was writing them and why.
  
• When writing emails...Keep the emotion out of it. Believe me...it works. I have seen emails go back and forth where they became so aggressive, the paying party decided not to respond, as if they felt obligated because of the way they were written.
  
• Even in million dollar insurance claims cases, my email etiquette was always business, cordial, thorough, and had deadlines with calm rationalization as to when something is expected.
  
• In short, the 'iron fisted' email does not work as well as the 'I am business. Here is some sugar and honey, now where is my money?' email.
  

Written understanding of dates and deadlines, as to when payment is due.

• This is very important because there is nothing more powerful in getting someone to pay you, than to say, 'Hello! I am reminding you, as per our recent correspondence, that I was promised payment on this date. I hope all is ok, and this can be resolved asap. Thank you.'
• Why does this work? You are stating facts, and being calm about it. That tells someone you mean business, now and forever.
  

Written understanding as to what was agreed upon.

• This is also extremely important. I have seen times where agreements on 'how' someone will be paid have been left out of discussions, such as, a person paid via paypal using the wrong email, or funds were not claimed.
• What you agree on should always be in writing, so in the future, you will have this when you have to seek extra help.
  

So, let us say, you did all of this, and the person still has not paid on time. You can try two things:

• Decide to be flexible, and wait.
• Decide to contact someone because there are people who can help. I know. I have done it.

Just today, I contacted a voice seeker as to why someone had not been paid. I was very cordial and business about it, and the talent was paid within a few hours.

So, why did it take so long for the talent to be paid?

• At some point the talent stated in an email, 'When can I expect payment?', and that was it.
  
• The voice seeker explained to me that he thought it was spam and did not understand that was the talent emailing him.
  

Why did the seeker pay so quickly after my email?

• I had correspondence from the talent, as to when payment was agreed upon.
  

I firmly believe when people work with people, you have to come to a common understanding that both you and the client are 'businesses'. There is truth to the statement, 'People will only take you as seriously, as you take yourself.' If you have everything in writing, have set deadlines for when you expect payment, and remind them when you will contact them again, you will be taken seriously.

It is not always easy being a talent and a business at the same time. When other businesses do not do as they promise, you have to be very firm, almost like a lawyer. But you have to leave the 'talent' feelings out of it, and focus on the goal...getting paid, and what you have to do to get it.

If you ever have problems, I will always be glad to help. There are always people who can help. Just make sure you are prepared to present to these helpers everything that has happened, not the emotional take on what happened.

I hope this helps,
Steven Lowell
Voice123.com
@stevennyc123

The Strange Importance of a Vacation

I may be speaking for myself here, but as long as I have been into voice overs, acting, and theatre, I noticed that professionals in that business do something no other business professionals do; they never take a vacation. I have heard some explanations for this:

• I love my work, and my life feels like a vacation.
• I do not work enough, so my vacation comes when I do not have a job to do.

I am guilty of this myself. If anyone has ever gone to Times Square, NYC at any point, you will find that the waiters are well-spoken, beautiful, friendly, charming, and easy to talk with. The reason is because they are all into performing arts of some sort. From my time working in Times Square, I remember the busiest time of the year was when the regular 9-to-5 folks were on holiday. This meant I led my life on the opposite schedule of what most of the world was operating on.

If you are just starting out in this business, and you find that you live on the opposite side of the entire world's schedule, I share with you some advice to avoid burning out:

• Make sure you take a vacation during the time that the 9-to5 people take theirs.

You may find my reasoning strange, but there valid reasons as to why this should be done.

• When you work on the opposite of everyone's schedule, you begin to feel somewhat lonely or feel that you work for the entire world, with no time to yourself. I say this because if your time is during the day time, and you only work at night, chances are you are waking up late and not getting a chance to do anything for yourself before having to go to work at night. Oddly, I know several people in broadcast news who go through this, and it has led to some of them quitting well-paying jobs.
  

• Working at night, and auditioning all day, usually means 'lost sleep'. It is now proven that 'sleep' is essential for good health as it gives your body a chance to regenerate, and yes, even burn calories! Living healthy will prolong your ability to deal with those times when you have to do entertainment work during the day, and still work at night. Many believe they can manipulate sleep, which is true, but the effects it has on your body can be life-long and very serious.
  

• The 'Vampire' syndrome, when you find yourself while others are tired from their workday. If you are trying to be in a relationship, which we all need to be whether we want to believe so or not, you will need energy. If you are tired when he/she is awake and ready to start the day, or vice versa, you will find you have repeated trouble in relationships even when the person is understanding of your career.
  

So...why a vacation?

• To give your body a break and a chance to enjoy some time to think. Many of us learn a craft, and begin to operate on cruise control after a while. Given that the world changes so quickly these days, we must allow ourselves time to reflect.

• To strengthen relationships with family and loved one's. We all need a support group in this very tough business. Family and friends are important, always.
  

• To get to know 'your audience': No one can deny that when you are in entertainment, basically everyone you meet are the people you hope will be watching your show, or listening to your voice over. Being a performer means understanding 'reality' as in 'what the 9 to 5 folks live though'. If you have no idea how the regular world behaves, it will affect your decision-making as a talent. As much as we may love our job and working all the time, we still have to know how the entire world operates for us to reach people as performers.
  

• To achieve peace of mind. Did you know that a recent survey showed that the USA is the 48th happiest country in the world? Take a look at this article. The third happiest country is Colombia, and Denmark is the happiest. Think about that...for all the people in the USA that work so hard to 'do what they love', why is it that countries making only a small fraction of the USA's per capita income indicated they were happier than so many other countries. Are we really doing what we love, or just working ridiculously hard to stay above sea level.

Basically, if you do not vacation...you will never have time to think and discover for yourself what you appreciate most. Without that downtime, after a while you will begin to lose the inspiration as to why you do what you love to begin with.

I see this to everyone, and to myself...The summer goes by quickly. Go out and enjoy life.

This time of year is slow, but after Labor Day, it will pick up again at full speed. When that happens you need to make sure you are well-rested!

Peace,
Steven
Voice123.com

Why 'Snarky Blogging' Just Doesn't Cut It Anymore

It happens.

We get worked up over something that we would like to read more about, and then after searching on Google, you come across a blog that keys into your emotion, and feeds you your satisfaction. It makes you feel like saying, 'Yeah! You tell 'em! That'll show'em!', and then you close the blog...and the moment hits you:

'What good...did reading that blog do for me?'

Blogging has been around a long while now, and as trends change, I am starting to see how snarky blogging just doesn't cut it anymore. Perhaps a barometer I use for when a trend has become a thing of the past is when I see it made fun of on comedy shows, like the recent Angie Tempura skit from SNL, and it is done so well, that you laugh really hard and think, 'Yeah. Why do I read that nonsense?'.

The truth is basically this...Anyone can call themselves an 'expert' on something. Perhaps, the more 'snarkier' the expert, the less helpful and truthful, the blogger.

Why? Blogs are emotional and because a long time ago, when human beings first learned to read, they did so with the expectation that in doing so, they would enrich their minds with new knowledge, and perhaps wake tomorrow to use it to make a better world.

Snarky blogging does just the opposite. It is like reading the comics. You look for every 'crash!' 'pow!' 'thwip!' you can find, and then you close the webpage, only learning a bunch of new jokes from how someone else was emotionally feeling about something at that time. Blogging of this type completely succumbs to the ideal of 'instant gratification', as in, 'If I blog about it, I will change the world around me.' Not true. Why? Most blogs are self-serving.

If you think about it, Thomas Paine wrote 'The Crisis' to help an entire country. Blogs seek to only promote 'the blog & the blogger' or the company related to it. 'Times' change through positive & proactive behavior, not the 20 minutes it took to upload a photo-shopped image, and write whatever emotionally touched you at the time, only to stand back and count how many hits it received.

Perhaps, this is why I have not blogged in a while. I feel if you have nothing helpful to say, you only make yourself look helpless, especially if your writing is more 'childlike' in emotion, instead of 'mature in logic'.

Most of the blogs I see today are worthless and written by people with no knowledge, only emotionally charged opinions. I understand people have the right to free speech, yet, people have the right to make up their own minds, and after a while all the yelling and tomato-throwing that gets done on blogs...

...pretty much gets ignored like the guy ejected from the crowded theatre for talking too much.

So, are you writing about 'times that try men's souls'...or just throwing tomatoes to sell a blog?

I will be back when I have something more useful for everyone.

It Has Been A While!

I have not written a blog in a while, and after last week while my tweet deck and twitterfox was exploding from updates on who died, I reflected on why I have chosen not to contribute.

The most difficult thing about working online is 'Staying ahead of the game'. You have millions of people out there reporting news in real-time, saying they know all there is to know about being in online casting, reporting on how they have interviewed someone amazing who is once again going to shed light on how to succeed in voice overs. The crazy thing I want to know about all of it...Who said it first?

This is where I am at right now. I see what everyone is saying...and it is just repetitive. I want to dare to be different. I am trying to do things that no one has ever done before. I wish to innovate a very young online casting world, plagued with perceptions as to what 'really happens'...because well...We have all watched MSNBC, and know how 'evil' the Internet can be. (That was sarcastic.)

I had to give blogging a break. I needed new info to talk about, and not just the same thing everyone else says. I do contribute to the Voice123 blog.

There is more info to come from me...I promise. You may find it strange. You may dislike it, but it will be something new and something you have never heard before!