I’m Using Whisper Memos in my Workflows
I’ve been using the dictation-transcription app Whisper Memos for several months. In the past, I didn’t use dictation very often. But I’ve been using dictation in my workflow more and more in the past year. Now, I use dictation every day.
It’s a quick and frictionless way to get my thoughts down, especially on an iPad and iPhone with small virtual keyboards. I used the built-in dictation in iOS in the past, but now I use Whisper Memos for almost everything.
I use it to dictate an extremely rough first draft of my blog, using the mind map I’ve prepared in the MindNode app as a guide. I also use it every morning for dictation in my Day One journal.
For more information about my use of dictation, see my post, Dictation: A Game-Changer for Creative Writing.
The Benefits of Using Whisper Memos
There are many benefits to using Whisper Memos.
• It provides an accurate transcription of my dictation. I think it’s much more accurate than the built-in dictation transcription in iOS. The only issue I have with it is that I can’t train it to recognize unusual words I use or proper names.
• It divides dictation into paragraphs. This, to me, is one of the primary benefits of using Whisper Memos instead of the built-in app. I rarely need to adjust the paragraph divisions.
• It sends me an email with the transcription, so if I’m not ready to do something with the transcription, I can leave all of my dictation transcriptions in my email and then later deal with them. You can designate the email they are sent to. Some people, such as David Sparks, has them emailed directly to the Drafts app as a part of his workflow.
Testing Cleft Notes
Recently, I tested Cleft Notes, which is also a dictation app. Cleft Notes is unique from Whisper Memos in that it not only divides dictation into paragraphs but also provides section headings that you don’t dictate.
In other words, it organizes what you dictate. It often turns subpoints into bullet points. I love the way it generates organization. It makes it easier to find the info I’m looking for (for instance, in a journal entry) at a glance.
However, there are some real problems with Cleft Notes. It doesn’t just transcribe and organize what you dictate. It also analyzes, summarizes, and changes your wording.
I’ve found that sometimes it misunderstands my point, and what it transcribes is incorrect. It also leaves out some of the words I dictate if it feels unnecessary to convey what it thinks I’m attempting to communicate.
There have been times when I’ve tried to use Cleft Notes and had to switch to Whisper Memos to obtain an accurate transcription. The Cleft Notes “transcription” included so many errors and omissions that I re-dictated my words into Whisper Memos to get the desired result.
I Dictate Using Both Apps But for Different Purposes
I’ve found different uses for Whisper Memos and Cleft Notes.
I use Whisper Memos when I want my words accurately transcribed with no changes. For instance, I continue using Whisper Memos with my blog post drafts and Day One entries.
I use Cleft when I’m not concerned with an accurate transcription. When I have random thoughts about a topic and want to discover some organization to build on, I’ll use Cleft Notes. It’s more like using chat GPT or some other LLM.
“I’ve found that this is particularly helpful when I know I want to write about something, but I don’t know exactly what my main argument is or how best to organize my talking points.” Matt Birchler, “Cleft Notes is the Thinking Companion I Didn’t Know I Needed.”
Whisper Memos Continues to be My Primary Dictation Transcription App
I continue using Whisper Memos as my primary dictation application because it accurately transcribes my words. In most situations, I don’t want my dictation app to summarize my words or try to figure out what I intended to say.
My ideal would be a combination of the dictation-transcription accuracy of Whisper Memos and the organizational capabilities of Cleft Notes. That would be the best of both worlds and a combination I would use and appreciate.