By Michael Conlon
CHICAGO
(Reuters) - It's a decidedly low-tech
way to communicate, but some on-the-go
business travelers are finding an old
way with words has a valuable freshness.
In the year and a half since a San
Francisco-based company began offering
to take dictation for a penny a word,
anywhere, any time, and forward the
message by e-mail, a growing number of
business travelers too pressed to power
up a laptop or punch a few lines into a
handheld communicator have taken to
dictation instead, according to the
company.
"It's very, very addictive," says Lee
Dorfman, founder of iDictate.com.
"It's very popular. We've got
international users as well. We've
pretty much promoted it as having a
secretary with you wherever you go," he
said.
The current economic downturn, he said,
has cost some business travelers the
clerical
backup they once had at the office,
attracting new customers for the
service, which began
primarily as one that dealt in documents
for the legal and medical professions.
The company employs a "global pool of
highly trained and bonded secretarial
word processors" to take the dictation.
Dorfman declined to say how many typists
the company uses but said the staff is
large and works from scattered
locations.
The completed letter or memo once
dictated can be immediately sent via
e-mail or fax to one or more recipients,
or returned to the customer first for
review. There is no minimum usage or
monthly fee. Customers in North America
dial in at 1-877-DICTATE. Complete
details can be found on the operation's
Web site at http://www.idictate.com
The service currently operates only in
English.
