Wednesday, October 16th, 2013

How Times Have Changed

Having read Joe’s blog entitled, ’20 Years Established Today’, I felt a bit nostalgic (and very old!) and started reminiscing about how things have changed in transcription. I feel very privileged to have worked with Joe for 16 of those years and have seen McGowan Transcriptions grow from two or three transcribers to around seventeen transcribers today.

I started off transcribing with Joe at her home for only a few hours each week where we shared her office upstairs. From there, Joe moved house and then I also shared her office with a new member of her family – a gorgeous little puppy (well, not so little) where there was never a dull moment! When I started to transcribe full-time for Joe, I moved into my own office at home.

Friday, June 7th, 2013

Who’d Have Thought…

Who’d have thought transcribing for McGowan Transcriptions could be so different? I’ve worked from home for four years now doing audio transcription work but what a refreshing change Joe and the team at McGowan Transcriptions are. It would seem that transcribing isn’t just transcribing as I once knew it. Gone are the days of typing boring, bog standard “Dear Sir” letters. Every day is different here – it’s digital transcription that’s not boring! It’s taken me a while to find transcription work like this, but I’m so glad that I have.

Friday, November 2nd, 2012

The Privilege Of Transcribing

Today is the first anniversary of the day my children’s aunt, and my very good friend, was murdered in South Africa. The world is most definitely less colourful without her and a day seldom passes without her surfacing, in some way or another. On the day it happened, I was working for McGowan Transcriptions and Joe McGowan was completely understanding when, at very short notice, I took time off to grieve this senseless loss. It is regrettable that through experience of friends of hers, the news was not as alien to her as I hoped it would be. Everybody knows somebody whose life has been affected by violence in South Africa.

Friday, October 26th, 2012

Tools For Transcription: The DNA Of An Ideal Transcriber

The overarching characteristic required for good audio transcription is a genuine enthusiasm for the work. A thirst for knowledge is prerequisite. Fortunately, transcribing offers plenty of opportunities here. Through the sheer scope of projects we encounter, transcribers are able to amass a large body of industry-specific understanding. The personal benefits are also self-evident. My colleague, Laurian, talked in her blog about her discovery of the smartphone, which has transformed the way she works.