September is National Voice Over Month

Not to be too dramatic about it, but it’s about damn time.

Almost every group, organization and/or species has a week or month named in honor of them. Often times it sounds like a joke when you hear some of their names and so too may the impression here now for some, but it’s not.

My friend and fellow Voice Over Talent Dave Courvoisier kinda mentioned the idea in passing when he noticed in his blog about a week or so ago how many voice over activities were taking place in the month of September (more than usual, it seemed).

For example: Amy Snively’s Faffcon is taking place in Portland, Oregon on September 11 & 12th. Joan Baker’s New York City-based “That’s Voiceover” LINK is taking place on September 22nd. These events in addition to the usual voice over seminar suspects like Pat Fraley’s regional seminar in Buffalo, NY on September 25th & 26th mean that the summer slumber has been shaken off.

Then Dave sent me an email Saturday (yes, just this past Saturday) saying this National Voice Over Month idea was gnawing at him and what did I think.

I copied him, Amy Snively and Bob Souer on my answer (because I feel it’s always better to cause trouble in a group); my answer was that Dave’s idea for a National Voice Over Month was the right idea and that we could pull it off in four days…and now we are.

Somewhere in there, Voice Over Xtra!’s John Florian and Voice Talent and Social Media Tour De Force Terry Daniel I believe also got roped into this and I think there are many others who are contributing to this month long event as well. I hope you’ll take time to acknowledge all their efforts when you see them on-line on blogs, podcasts, videos or social media outlets like Twitter or Facebook etc.

Dave grabbed a domain and created a web site, Amy drew up a logo, I helped with some copy and we’re all still actively adding to the program – as a professional voice talent you are sincerely encouraged to participate in whatever manner you feel you want to…maybe comment on blogs, retweet NVOM announcements, or maybe create a Voice Over meetup in your city where all the voice talents get together for a visit.

One of the more interesting things to see was how Dave (the true driving force of this idea) called for a hastily called weekend vote on Saturday from the board of SOVOA to endorse and support September as National Voice Over Month; by Sunday it was passed. Brilliantly executed and kudos to the Board for the response time.

Our goal, I think, is simple and openly self-serving– share with as many people as possible what Voice Over Talents do, who they are and where they can be found. Yes, we are trying to create awareness among potential employers for every voice over professional in this industry but I think we’re also trying build on the credibility we’ve established in the wake of our collective professional works this far.

I’m proud of my very small part in all this because I believe strongly not only in the art and industry of Voice Over but also in the men, women and children who perform within it around the world. We are a talented bunch and it’s not a bad thing that we say that ever so briefly…maybe once a year.

Will you celebrate with us? Let me know how you’ll be a part of National Voice Over Month.

Tags: announcers, blogs, commentary, community, facebook, faffcon, internet, logo design, marketing, National Voice Over Month, social media, social networking, twitter, voice actors, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice, voiceover meet-ups by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Male Voice Talents Scott Nilsen and Peter K. O'Connell outside the original Starbucks in Seattle, WA

Seattle is simply lovely…flying over it or driving around the lakes…it is stunning. Make fun of its rain all you want but it is a special place.

Made all the more special when my fellow voice talent and friend Scott Nilsen met up with me for a visit this evening down by the waterfront. While Scott lives and works in the OC, he is a Seattle native and was up visiting his family while I was here.

He was kind enough to show me the location of the original Starbucks -which we didn’t go into because it was packed with tourists who think THAT store’s coffee will taste different from any other Starbucks store.

Besides, everybody in the NW knows that Starbucks is no Tully’s.

Tags: commentary, community, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover meet-ups by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Voice Talents George Washington, III and Peter K. O'Connell in Charlotte, NC

Voiceover meet-ups really reaffirm my faith in this industry.

The opportunity to discuss topics like performance, marketing, instruction, agents, fellow voice talents you know or want to know…and tons of other stuff is something that even the best voice over bulletin boards cannot replicate.

We VO’s don’t have a communal office or lunch room…so we’ve got a lot of pent up conversations we gotta have!

So Charlotte, North Carolina-based male voice over talent George Washington, III and I met for dinner at 6:30 p.m. tonight and closed Panera Bread at 9:00 p.m., carrying our conversation into the parking lot.

And no, I did NOT do most of the talking…I think. Hey, we’re SO entertaining that a guy came up to us from a nearby table and wanted to tip us for making him laugh with the voices we were performing. True story!

We may have been a bit too loud, but its a Monday night in Charlotte, what else is there to do?

Anyway, George is a wonderfully talented fellow and an engaging artist who also sings – many great voice projects are in George’s future and I am so glad we got to visit.

I also spoke on the phone with Donovan Corneetz and Jon Carter too while I was here and Brian Haymond, we will grab a bite together one of these days!

Tags: community, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover meet-ups by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Male Voice Talent Michael Minetree

As a world, we seem to be mostly a proud bunch.

But too much pride can be a bad thing. I know because I am better than you – smarter, better looking, more successful – so I know pride can be a bad thing and conceit is even worse.

Wait a minute…

Anyway, I mention this because I got an email blast from Michael Minetree of MineWurx Studio. In addition to voice work, he’s overseeing a myriad of other projects including voice over directories, isdn directories, voice coaching and web hosting.

It was the web hosting part that he was emailing about. I’ll let you read the whole thing because I think it’s a really great example of how to adapt and change in a transparent way that builds credibility.

We all have to change and we all make missteps. How we make ourselves accountable can determine success or failure. I think the way Michael did this was a major success. Really well done.

In this newsletter:

1) A total slash on pricing – things have gotten El Cheapo – like Unlimited Web Hosting for $4.95 a month…

2) A total shift in policy – now we don’t have one.

3) A complete change in our course of business.

4) A total redesign of the site.

Our hosting site, www.artistwebhosting.com, has been made anew.

1) A shift in Pricing: We have completely removed all limitations on the hosting accounts – now everyone can have unlimited disk space and bandwidth for as little as 4.95 a month. On top of that – unlimited emails, databases and FTP accounts. Now – we are just like the big boys – and even better in some instances. Your web hosting has never been any cheaper. Add free setup and free site transfer to that and you’re looking at a winner.

2) A massive shift in Policy: Gone are the setup fees, gone are the account limitations, gone are the confusing “Tiered Hosting” accounts. All of it – GONE. Now – there are just unlimited accounts – with all the backend server features activated for all of them. No more junk. No more clutter. Wide open accounts. Period.

3) A complete change in course: We’re always ready to admit we made a mistake and change things. The first approach was old and out-dated. We goofed on the concept and figured people would have the time to figure it all out. We were wrong. So we changed it. There’s always room for improvement – so we hope that our new course for the future is the right one. We’re certainly convinced that it’s a whole lot better now.

4) A complete redesign of the site: Last week we sat and looked at the site and realized that the original test design was a bust. Too much data, too many choices and much like most of our newsletters – too much information. The whole damn thing was wrong – from top to bottom. So we scrapped it and went to work on making it better. Because we sit and look at data all the time we kind of lose sight of the fact that not everyone else wants to. This led me to make the site WAY too detailed and forced a lot of the important information off to the side. Not any more. All of the important stuff should be there. Right up front.

We encourage you to go by and take the new site for a test drive. Any of your comments and input will be greatly valued, so valued in fact that we’re offering an additional $3.00 per month off any monthly account to any one of our newsletter subscribers who sends us a little note with their feedback about the new site. $3.00 may not seem like much – but in the world of web hosting – it’s absolutely huge.

We look forward to hearing from you. And look forward to your comments about our new course of direction.

Michael Minetree

MineWurx Studio

www.minewurx.com

(blower) 703-293-8906

ISDN 703-766-1048/1049

Find Great Voices at:

www.minewurx.com/voiceovertalent

Find ISDN Voice Talent at:

www.voiceswithisdn.com

Find Great Web Hosting at:

www.artistwebhosting.com

Find Voice Over Coaching at:

www.thevoiceovercoach.com

Tags: branding, commentary, community, marketing, public relations, voice actors, voice casting, voice over training, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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2007 photo of author Harper Lee at the ceremony honoring four new members of the Alabama Academy of Honor. Photo: Rob Carr/AP Photo

I had the big idea on Facebook earlier in the week that today, on the 50th anniversary of author Harper Lee’s publication of her great novel, that everyone who has a blog should write a post about the anniversary and the book.

Well, because my watch skipped a day I almost missed it but I just now caught it.

And yet I am at a loss for words or/and I am intimidated.

How does one write about a book so powerful as that one? The idea that any series of words I could write might match the strength of hers let alone a post about her book seem silly. I can’t match that great literature with my lame-ass grammar.

So I won’t try to be an author. I’ll just be an appreciative reader.

Dear Harper Lee,

Your book, To Kill a Mockingbird, was so enjoyable for me to read that even all these years later, I smile at its consideration.

Thank you for sharing your time, talent and especially the treasure that is your book.

I am grateful for your efforts.

Best always,
– Peter

Now if you missed the opportunity to post a blog about this book but just want to like-wise compliment the author, feel free to leave a comment here. She won’t read it, I’m guessing, but you’ll feel better for having said something out loud if the book is one of your favorites too.

Thanks.

Tags: blogs, commentary, community by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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So Wednesday was Social Media Day around the globe. As part of it, there were over 600 meet-ups and I went to the one in Buffalo (#smdayBUF) at Merge on Delaware Avenue.

I’ve been to countless networking events and unconferences and the like so I figured it would be fun but wasn’t really sure what to expect.

The venue was very nice and they even had a DJ spinning vinyl (old school – nice touch). There was a registration table so you could get a name badge with your Twitter address (@audioconnell) and everyone was very nice….and very young.

There really is no age (as such) in the social media space but when reality checks in, when you meet people in person, you see the disparity in age right away.

That doesn’t mean social media is strictly for the young. It might mean that social media meet-ups are going to be populated primarily by young people who have the interest in going out (didn’t we all at that time in our lives); there’s nothing wrong with that nor was there anything wrong with me attending.

But aside from visiting with a few people I knew and meeting a few others, I just knew this wasn’t my place, my space. I’m glad I went but if I don’t go again, I won’t be missed and that’s OK…my place and hope for social media hasn’t faded.

Your mileage may vary.

Tags: commentary, community, facebook, internet, social media, social networking, twitter by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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