Sunday, December 28, 2008

Listen To Audio Books Online - History Repeats Itself

I have tried to convince many friends to listen to audio books online. This really is not any different to reading a regular book, except that someone else's voice does the reading for you. Apparently the move from the 'traditional book' to a compact disc or mp3 has resulted in a large group of skeptical people who doubt that it is possible to truly appreciate a novel by listening, rather than physically reading. Funnily, it is actually the younger people that are harder to convince to give it a go.

Because my grandmother had grown up listening to stories told on the radio she was more than willing to listen to audio books online - in fact, she found it a pleasure as she could sit quite comfortably, do her cross stitch or even do the gardening while she listens to the recordings. Audio books have been around for a very long time, in fact, many of our grandparents grew up listening to the British Broadcasting Company with its serialized classics. History shows that as early as 1933 an anthropologist J.P. Harrington researched and recorded the oral histories of the Native American tribes.

The American Congress saw a need to provide extra resources for people with sight impairment, and as a result the "Books for the Adult Blind Project" was initiated. This project was the stepping stone for audio books or 'talking books' and before long the mass reproduction of them began. In later years the National Library Service provided a much needed public-service for blind citizens across America by recording millions of books in an audio format.

Audio Books and Popular Culture

Massive advancement in technology has driven the audio book online format into the reach of consumers who embraced the development with auto insurance estimates It was in the early 1960's when the introduction of the portable cassette player recorder allowed ease of use. This coincided with the ever increasing popularity of the pursuit for self-improvement. This style of recordings, with emphasis on instructional or educational subjects, became very popular. Self-help audio-books were well and truly in vogue and the initiative was expanded to include audio books on a wide variety of general topics such as the humanities.

Audio book recordings became even bigger and quickly a market was created that catered for people wanting to rent popular titles. Listening to audio book online became a multi-billion dollar industry and producers helped the industry grow by introducing high-quality recordings done with large casts of voices.

Today, the audio book concept has embraced leading edge technology which has made the product much more accessible to the general public than ever before. The vast array of product available can now be easily downloaded from the web and its formats incorporated into any digital listening device such as cell phones, MP3 players and iPods. In view of this modern and cutting edge tools, it is highly likely that the young people of today might even gain an appreciation for a classical author such as Jane Austen or William Shakespeare.

It is ironic that the advent of the audio book online has not fully replaced printed books version but instead has only highlighted the joys of books in general.

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posted by biibj @ 11:14 PM 0 comments

Get Paid To Play Video Games: Yes It's For Real, But Beware!

There are a lot of video gamers out there who are very serious about their passion. In fact, some of them are so into gaming that they have even considered working for a company that designs video games. Yes, it's true that such "get paid to play games" type jobs are available. Before you decided to pursue a Oregon Lemon Laws in the video game industry though, you should know that there are some strict requirements you'll have to meet. Here are three of the biggest hurdles you'll face.

1. Age Requirements

Although there are many skilled video game players who are still in their early and mid teens, the fact is most companies in the industry will not hire anyone under 18 for an in-house position. For one thing, these companies have to consider tax and labor laws that are strict about the age of employees. For another, despite how much you love gaming, chances are if you're under 18 years old, you haven't completed the high-level courses required for most of the positions that will allow you to get paid to play games.

2. Education Requirements

What kind of courses do you need? Although you may be very good at playing games, most industry jobs will require you at the very least to be able to analyze, discuss, read and write about your gaming experiences at a very high level. Writing courses are essential for this - especially ones that focus on analytical writing.

If you're planning on getting into video game design, that's another story entirely. For design positions, you'll have to first complete college level programming and design courses. Not only will you have to pass these courses, you'll have to pass them with very high grades. This is because these types of positions are very competitive.

3. Previous Experience Requirements

Even if you can pass the first couple of hurdles, many of the top video game industry jobs will only hire and pay you if you can show proof of previous experience first. Because of this, you'll probably have to start out by first working for smaller companies, or building up resume references. For example, if you write freelance game review articles and get them published in major gaming magazines, a portfolio of your work will give you an edge when you apply for a job with a larger company.

4. Bonus Tip: If you really want to www.beagametester.comget paid to play video games, don't let the above get you down though. There are still plenty of smaller opportunities that will help you build up your portfolio and pay you too - such as being a freelance video game tester. In fact, you can find plenty of these types of jobs by visiting: www.beagametester.comhttp://www.BeAGameTester.com right now.

posted by biibj @ 5:35 AM 0 comments