Voice-Based Microblogs Speak Volumes

In a few short years, Twitter and Facebook have become two of the most popular Web sites ever, largely because they have given voice to a segment of society that might otherwise not be heard.

A new trend in microblogging takes this concept a step further, giving an actual voice to the posts one shares with fans and followers on social media.  And while voice-based microblogging might sound as weird today as those 140-character tweets once did, it could be the next big thing for businesses looking to communicate better with their online customers, partners, and employees, and for creating higly engaged social communities.

"It can be a good tool to make [customer] interactions more personal," says Kimberly Chau, an AMI-Partners marketing associate focused on social media. "It can give a company a personality, and it's very easy to do."

"From a personal standpoint, anything that creates more trust online is good, and I could see this building trust," says Michael Fauscette, senior analyst and head of the Software Business Solutions Group at IDC. "From a business standpoint, this is perhaps a medium to build more customer engagement. I can also see a marketing angle."

This article was previously published in Speech Technology (Summer 2013). Click here to read the full article.

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