4 ms·

I don't see the utility of shorthand anymore. If you're just taking short notes, you don't need to write 225wpm...and if you've recorded everything, then you ca

I don't see the utility of shorthand anymore. If you're just taking short notes, you don't need to write 225wpm...and if you've recorded everything, then you can listen to the recording later and take notes or type up a transcript verbatim. It would seem better to learn a stenography system so you don't waste time inputting actual text, which surely you would need to do anyway? (How is the time the author saves writing in shorthand not negated by the time it takes her to type it up afterwards?) I guess if you knew shorthand and steno, you could do everything pretty quickly.

randallsquared 12y ago
He only types up small portions of (apparently) long interviews, for quotes. In this case, the combination of shorthand and the camera and software is like a jump-to-where-I-mean feature for audio recordings, which sounds amazing, frankly, for this use case.
- muaddirac 12y ago
  It does sound really cool. I just don't get why the shorthand part is important. Why not jot "grandma" and "poodle" and then tap the pen there for when the interviewee starts talking about his grandma and his poodle.
  - doorhammer 12y ago
    I was thinking about this. The pen sounded like a great way to create a fluid index of there conversation in a really simple outline form. No if it's setup to work like that at all I'd actually really like something similar with a computer while I type and record.
    - eru 12y ago
      Voice recognition software might be good enough to create the index.
      - doorhammer 12y ago
        Yeah. I think I like the bullet-point associations because I can provide a more abstracted index word and associate it with a point in the conversation, versus having to do a text-search, if that makes sense. It wouldn't be hard to throw something together, either. Really I just need it to pull a timestamp from the recorded audio after every word I type and associate some meta data and the timestamp with that word location. Might be a fun after-work project. I'm sure there are already solutions like that out there, though
jonnathanson 12y ago
There are specific professions in which it comes in handy. Journalism is one of them. Every now and then, you'll encounter someone who is willing to go on the record, but for whatever reason, doesn't feel comfortable being taped. (And by "every now and then," I mean somewhat greater than half the time.) And a lot of people are put off by the act of typing into a keyboard or tablet while you're speaking to them, even if you're making eye contact all the while. I'd say any profession in which you're on the go and often have to take notes by pen and paper, shorthand is a necessity. This is doubly true in my case, as a partial disability in my right hand makes longform pen-writing a PITA.
- muaddirac 12y ago
  I guess I was thinking in the context of the author using this particular pen for shorthand - it records audio, so even if he's just writing shorthand, it's still recording. Really good points though, it didn't occur to me that someone would be willing to go "on the record" but not be actually recorded. There are some other solutions that use keyboards that wouldn't be as intrusive as a keyboard or tablet (and may be something to consider for you personally if you have a disability in only one side); things like portable one-handed chorded keyboards: http://www.handykey.com/ http://www.handykey.com/ and http://chordite.com/ http://chordite.com/
  - jonnathanson 12y ago
    Yeah, it's kind of weird that people would go "on the record" but not want to be recorded. But there's something about pulling out a tape recorder (or in my case, an iPhone with a recording app) that freaks people out. I think part of this fear stems from the age we live in, with the 24 hour news cycle and "gotcha" journalism. People half suspect you're going to use something they said against them, as if it's a police interrogation. :) I like to reassure people that I record them for my own accuracy, and that it actually behooves both of us to do a recording. Even still, about 50-60% of people will decline. Younger people seem more likely to decline than older people, at least in my anecdotal experience, which strikes me as interesting. There might be something worth exploring there.
ZenPro 12y ago
Good luck with that as a Court Reporter. Almost all journalists start out at regional or local publications covering Courts. It is considered the apprenticeship of mainstream news journalism.
sp332 12y ago
Because a small notebook & pen is half the size of a keyboard, quieter, and doesn't need to be charged every day?
0xdeadbeefbabe 12y ago
If you have time to learn 200 WPM stenography then you have a lot going for you, but why not become a professional tennis player or a concert pianist instead? The promise of coding or writing at the speed of thought is actually not so good, it's like that horror story of the monkey's paw actually. Of course if you can't speak, a talking steno would be ideal for participating in a conversation.

randallsquared 12y ago

He only types up small portions of (apparently) long interviews, for quotes. In this case, the combination of shorthand and the camera and software is like a jump-to-where-I-mean feature for audio recordings, which sounds amazing, frankly, for this use case.

muaddirac 12y ago
It does sound really cool. I just don't get why the shorthand part is important. Why not jot "grandma" and "poodle" and then tap the pen there for when the interviewee starts talking about his grandma and his poodle.
- doorhammer 12y ago
  I was thinking about this. The pen sounded like a great way to create a fluid index of there conversation in a really simple outline form. No if it's setup to work like that at all I'd actually really like something similar with a computer while I type and record.
  - eru 12y ago
    Voice recognition software might be good enough to create the index.
    - doorhammer 12y ago
      Yeah. I think I like the bullet-point associations because I can provide a more abstracted index word and associate it with a point in the conversation, versus having to do a text-search, if that makes sense. It wouldn't be hard to throw something together, either. Really I just need it to pull a timestamp from the recorded audio after every word I type and associate some meta data and the timestamp with that word location. Might be a fun after-work project. I'm sure there are already solutions like that out there, though

jonnathanson 12y ago

There are specific professions in which it comes in handy. Journalism is one of them. Every now and then, you'll encounter someone who is willing to go on the record, but for whatever reason, doesn't feel comfortable being taped. (And by "every now and then," I mean somewhat greater than half the time.) And a lot of people are put off by the act of typing into a keyboard or tablet while you're speaking to them, even if you're making eye contact all the while. I'd say any profession in which you're on the go and often have to take notes by pen and paper, shorthand is a necessity. This is doubly true in my case, as a partial disability in my right hand makes longform pen-writing a PITA.

muaddirac 12y ago
I guess I was thinking in the context of the author using this particular pen for shorthand - it records audio, so even if he's just writing shorthand, it's still recording. Really good points though, it didn't occur to me that someone would be willing to go "on the record" but not be actually recorded. There are some other solutions that use keyboards that wouldn't be as intrusive as a keyboard or tablet (and may be something to consider for you personally if you have a disability in only one side); things like portable one-handed chorded keyboards: http://www.handykey.com/ http://www.handykey.com/ and http://chordite.com/ http://chordite.com/
- jonnathanson 12y ago
  Yeah, it's kind of weird that people would go "on the record" but not want to be recorded. But there's something about pulling out a tape recorder (or in my case, an iPhone with a recording app) that freaks people out. I think part of this fear stems from the age we live in, with the 24 hour news cycle and "gotcha" journalism. People half suspect you're going to use something they said against them, as if it's a police interrogation. :) I like to reassure people that I record them for my own accuracy, and that it actually behooves both of us to do a recording. Even still, about 50-60% of people will decline. Younger people seem more likely to decline than older people, at least in my anecdotal experience, which strikes me as interesting. There might be something worth exploring there.

ZenPro 12y ago

Good luck with that as a Court Reporter. Almost all journalists start out at regional or local publications covering Courts. It is considered the apprenticeship of mainstream news journalism.

sp332 12y ago

Because a small notebook & pen is half the size of a keyboard, quieter, and doesn't need to be charged every day?

0xdeadbeefbabe 12y ago

If you have time to learn 200 WPM stenography then you have a lot going for you, but why not become a professional tennis player or a concert pianist instead? The promise of coding or writing at the speed of thought is actually not so good, it's like that horror story of the monkey's paw actually. Of course if you can't speak, a talking steno would be ideal for participating in a conversation.