Basically, it involves uploading an audio file, and getting a unique alphanumeric sound key that you can use anywhere (on business cards, resumes, message boards, emails, etc) so that people can hear what something sounds like (like your name, a word, anything)
Part of the idea was inspired from discussions here on the Dope, where people have threads (like this one) about how things are pronounced around the US and around the world. Instead of trying to type out how you say something, you can post a soundkey and people will be able to hear you. (the link you put in your post should be of the form soundkey.com/key/ghe442 where ghe442 is your soundkey)
The website is in alpha version, but it’s functional, so you can use it. You can probe around and if you want to submit some content that would be great.
Let me know what you think. Thanks!
P.S. I got approval from the Mods for this thread.
There is currently a lively thread on “How do you pronounce Santa Claus?”. Such threads would be greatly enhanced if participants post links to how they sound when they pronounce the word.
So people log in and upload how words are pronounced? Sounds easy to do and use, and the website is simple/uncluttered. What happens if there are different pronunciations for the same word submitted by different members?
It’s an interesting concept, and it will be fun to see if it takes off. The navigation is clean, and the search seemed to work well.
Some things I noticed:
“Versace” is misspelled (you have it as “Vercace”)
Could use some other proofreading. Check for spaces between words (tags:“California”), put a periods at the end of “etc.”
The site loaded very slowly for me, and I am at work, where my connection is lightning fast.
How do you plan the “Browse SoundKeys” area to work? Right now it seems to be a random list in no particular order, with no sort or filter methods available. Assuming you get more submissions, how will these be organized independent of the “Search” option?
Barring any obscene sounds, all variations on a word will be allowed. So, Bruschetta might have several entries. However, I’m planning on adding user voting (1-5 stars or thumbs up/down), so if there are many variations on a word pronunciation, we get to see which are the most popular. Like what urbandictionary.com is doing, but for sounds instead of definitions.
After all, it’s interesting to see how a word, say, “Nuclear” or “Tomato” is pronounced around the country or around the world. (I may add a geographical location field, so the speaker can identify where they live and/or where they were raised)
I’m using a GoDaddy Shared Linux hosting account. I’ve noticed the slowness too. I’m thinking of going to dedicated Linux hosting, and I’m trying to figure out if I should look at other hosting companies. Any recommendations on good web hosting companies?
Long term, I’ll add some filtering in the Browse SoundKeys section, and maybe also add categories, so for example, you can browse sounds related to Christmas or cars.
The tag cloud in the left column of the website seems to help with that, so maybe I can put it also on the top of the Browse SoundKeys page.
Thanks for getting me thinking about these issues. This is exactly the sort of feedback I was looking for.
Thanks! You should have the code for message boards as an option, too. I tried the other one for websites but it didn’t work, and surely I’m not the only technomoron here.