Just a few months ago I was contemplating how I could utilize a speech to text program as a rapid way to generate unique content for the web. This would save the time it takes to write out my thoughts, and if I carried my recorder with me, I’d be able to capture thoughts as they arise, and later let a program translate the audio to text.

Talkr, is a company which does the reverse. Any blogger or writer who publishes via RSS feeds can submit their feed to Talkr, free of charge, and Talkr will convert their published text into an audio file. In essence, Talkr provides a free text to speech translation service.

After a simple account set-up (they don’t even require email verification to get started), you’re taken to a screen where you can submit RSS feeds you’d like to see translated into audio files. Next you have the option of adding a ‘chicklet’ to your web site, which I’ve done on the right hand side, just above the meta. This allows those, with pod catching programs to subscribe to your text to audio feed.

Two other options are available to promote your feed, one is shown at the end of each post on our blog now, thanks to Steve Stern For Creating this Talkr Wordpress Plug-on anyone can simply download the plug in for the wordpress codex, ftp it to their plug ins directory, input their Talkr ID number, under options navigate to the Talkr tab, and under each post there will be a link to an audio file. My install took about 10 minutes from Googling “Talkr Plugins”, to viewing the active file.

There is a tab in the “my account” area that lets you “optimize your podcast.” I’m under the impression that it’s now slotted for distribution on iTunes but I’ll have to wait and see if that does indeed materializes. Another tab, titled “make money” lets you opt into advertisements being included in your post or through your Talkr Audio RSS feed. Since there aren’t any payment options, I’m assuming they’ve not begun to monetize yet. Although I believe they are approaching 30,000 users and I just may use this service to rip articles and throw them onto my iPod for my morning jog.

We’ll be back before too long with further reviews of Talkr, and take a look at the prospects for audio RSS as a means to monetize audio. With click based, or impression based content, monetization is simpler with predefined metrics such as clicks, or CPM (cost per thousand impressions)…with this brand new form of content, we can only speculate for now. Next time, my best guess.