Written & Recorded

14/04/2023

What’s the song that’s guaranteed to get you on the dancefloor this weekend? For us it’s 'Finesse' by Bruno Mars and Cardi B from 2018 – that’s the year we founded Written & Recorded and hearing that song brings up happy memories every time.

But there’s another reason we love this song.

Bruno Mars invokes the new jack swing sound of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

According to Wikepedia the lyrics demonstrate the happiness of being with who one loves and the positive outcome of that for them and others. Now that’s what happy memories are made of!

We’ve watched the video for 'Finesse' and while we love the Day-Glo colours, chunky gold chains and fake-80s-warehouse-music-video-set, the video doesn’t have the same impact as the audio.

That’s because audio encodes memories better than video.

A few years ago, researchers put consumers to the test by playing them the same advertisement for a movie twice – once in audio and once in video. When they asked participants to recall the name of the movie afterwards, memory encoding was 220 per cent higher in the audio group than the video group.

That’s why we love the sound of 'Finesse' and that’s why we make podcasts.

Podcasting really capitalises on the memory encoding power of audio.

It’s just one of five reasons audio is better than video that we’ve outlined in our latest blog. And we’ve detailed the scientific evidence that backs up each point.

If you want to hear more about how a podcast can encode effective memories with your ideal audience send us a message.

And if you want to drop your dancefloor-filler favourite memories song in the comments, we’d love to hear what makes you move!

Scientific evidence proves audio comes out on top in the battle of audio vs video. Here's 5 conclusive reasons why audio is better than video

24/03/2023

What do you think makes collaborative teams more intelligent – video or audio? The answer might surprise you.

Researchers in the US found that our collective intelligence increases when verbal communication is combined with nonverbal forms of communication, like visual cues such as facial expressions. BUT, some nonverbal behaviours are more effective than others.

The social negotiation of taking turns to speak and listen to each other has a much greater impact on increasing our collective intelligence than any eyebrow raise or knowing nod.

If you think back to your last video conference, you’ll probably remember bumping into other speakers, or having them completely talk over you. That’s actually reducing our collective intelligence.

Therefore, Audio makes us more intelligent (or video makes us dumber!)

We think that’s one of the reasons that we get more out of podcasts than we get out of videos. It’s a deeper, more satisfying, and ultimately enriching experience.

And that’s just one of five reasons audio is better than video. You’ll find four more reasons to switch off your camera in our latest blog.

Scientific evidence proves audio comes out on top in the battle of audio vs video. Here's 5 conclusive reasons why audio is better than video

16/03/2023

This week is Neurodiversity Celebration Week, a chance to bust myths, undo negative stereotypes and quash misconceptions about neurological learning differences.

The week-long awareness campaign aims to, “transform how neurodivergent individuals are perceived and supported by providing schools, universities, and organisations with the opportunity to recognise the many talents and advantages of being neurodivergent, while creating more inclusive and equitable cultures that celebrate differences and empower every individual.”

Towards the end of last year, we created and launched the Australian Department of Education podcast series, Disability Conversations in which Chris Varney, the proudly Autistic* founder of I CAN Network Ltd talked about how it’s important to focus on a student’s unique strengths.

“Some of our most incredible innovators, inventors, problem-solvers in industry credit their achievement due to their processing differences,” says Varney.

You can listen to Chris on Episode 3 of the series. Also, check out Season 1 of the series, Classroom Adjustments with specific episodes on Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, and Dysgraphia. Both seasons are available on the NCCD website, or wherever you get your podcasts.

*Person-first language puts the person before the disability; however Chris likes to be identified through his disability, which is Autism.

In this episode, we put the spotlight on undiagnosed social/emotional disability. We’ll explore how this broad category of disability can impact a student’s overall classroom and functional learning experience. Undiagnosed social/emotional disabilities can present differently in each student, bu...

09/03/2023

Are you worried that ChatGPT is writing more convincingly and with more authority than you can muster? Well there's another form of AI that can help you out.

Grammarly is an AI proof-reader that will call out your passive language. So if you've carefully worded an email that you think will keep the peace, Grammarly will give you a little prod to help you get things done.

The AI will also let you know if your tone is leaning more to the aggressive side. It's like having an English teacher on your desktop who's never too busy to give you some feedback.

We believe that if AI is used thoughtfully it can help to improve day-to-day writing in emails and reports. That should give us more time to work together on more substantial, highly researched writing by humans for humans.

And that’s just one way you can use AI creatively.

Check out our latest blog at Written & Recorded for more creative tips, as well as what pitfalls you have to watch out for (ethics, diversity, copyright, robot tortoises) when harnessing the power of AI.

We explore how artificial intelligence (AI) works, its ethical challenges and three ways you can put it to use today.

07/03/2023

"I'd blush if I could." That's the coquettish response that Siri offered when users called her a slt shortly after she was launched.

This problematic interaction was used to highlight the gender divide in tech by a UN report a few years ago (just Google 'UN I'd blush if I could').

On International Women's Day 2023 the United Nations is encouraging us to think about and act on the tech gender divide under the theme 'DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality'.

37% of women do not use the internet. 259 million fewer women have access to the Internet than men, even though they account for nearly half the world's population.

Access to technology is only part of the problem. Another contributing factor is gendered design in technology.

Sarah Elsie Baker is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Research at Media Design School in Auckland, New Zealand. Their research is focused on gender justice in design.

We spoke to Sarah for the Research That Matters podcast we made for Torrens University Australia. This episode will give you an insight into the role that design in products, technology and business can play in achieving gender equality.

It's a perspective that you're unlikely to encounter anywhere else this International Women's Day and we encourage you to take a listen.

When traditional ideas are challenged, it can have significant social, economic, health and environmental benefits. In this episode, our researchers discuss how research can help champion social justice issues and bring about cultural change. You’ll find out how design can be a powerful force for ...

03/03/2023

Today is World Hearing Day, which is simply to remind us to look after our own hearing and to be aware of the need for hearing care services globally.

Over 60% of ear and hearing problems can be addressed at the primary level of care. It's essential that ear and hearing care services are accessible to all who need it.

There are 4 million Australians living with hearing loss and this number is predicted to increase to almost 9 million by 2050 as the population ages. The World Health Organization estimates that 1 in 4 people are projected to have hearing problems by 2050.

Do:
Use earplugs in noisy places
Check your hearing regularly
Wear your hearing aids regularly, when advised
See a doctor if you have ear or hearing problems

Don’t:
Put cotton buds, oil, sticks or pins inside your ears
Swim or wash in dirty water
Share earphones or earplugs
Listen to loud sounds or loud music

Today we're loving this image of how the ear works. It's such a fine and delicate series of tiny body parts that we have to transform good vibrations into spectacular sounds.

02/03/2023

Wondering if you can talk your way out of writing your next social media post, blog, or even a particularly challenging email? Yes you can – we have the technology.

In fact, with a bit of creative thinking, you can harness the potential of AI (artificial intelligence) right now through automated transcription – that's where you record someone speaking, then let a robot convert that audio into text.

There are two great advantages of using automated transcription to write content.

Firstly, you can get your ideas down fast. Simply use your phone to record what you want to write about, then upload the file to an automated transcription tool like Sonix. You might be surprised how quickly you can get some pretty workable words on the page; they won't be as accurate as Hansard, but definitely something you can work with.

The second major benefit of this method is that you’ll create content that sounds like you’re speaking, rather than content that sounds like you’re writing. It’s a great hack for creating engaging content that leaps off the screen and captures your audience’s attention.

That's just one of three ways we've identified to use artificial intelligence (AI) creatively in content writing. Check out the other two in our latest blog.

We explore how artificial intelligence (AI) works, its ethical challenges and three ways you can put it to use today.

23/02/2023

ChatGPT set a robotic cat among the digital pigeons of content marketing since it came online in late 2022. But will it kill creativity?

As humans writing for humans, we've had a play and taken a glass-half-full approach in this month's blog, as we ask – is artificial intelligence content writing possible? (Spoiler Alert: yes it is!)

We think ChatGPT is just an additional tool for inspiring ideas – it can actually get your creative juices flowing! It definitely has far more potential than as just a lowest-common-denominator content extruder.

Why not ask ChatGPT to tell you three things that are on the mind of the people you want to engage with? You can use the results to create your next three LinkedIn posts, blogs, or even to build out an annual content calendar.

That's just one of three ways we've identified to use artificial intelligence (AI) creatively in content writing - check out the other two in our latest blog.

We explore how artificial intelligence (AI) works, its ethical challenges and three ways you can put it to use today.

21/02/2023

Our co-founder Serpil Şenelmiş is a great storyteller and she was in fine form on ABC Radio Melbourne last night with David Astle.

We love a storytelling challenge and when that challenge is something as simple as the word 'pianos' - it's an opportunity to compose something emotional and memorable.

16/02/2023

We're very excited to share that we've won Silver at the The Anthem Awards for the Burnet Institute podcast 'How Science Matters' in the Health category. The awards celebrate Purpose & Mission-Driven Work of People, Companies and Organisations worldwide.

These awards are overseen by the International Academy of the Digital Arts and Sciences, and judges include the likes of Nicholas Thompson, CEO, The Atlantic, and Tarana Burke, Founder, Me Too Movement.

The creative energy and focus we brought to this podcast series unlocked the importance of science around the world, and gained a dedicated audience across 70 countries. This took the podcast to #2 in the Science catergory on Apple Podcasts, and it spent weeks in the Top 100.

Brought to you by The Webby Awards, The Anthem Awards honors the purpose & mission-driven work of people, companies, and organizations worldwide. By amplifying the voices that spark global change, we’re defining a new benchmark for impactful work that inspires others to take action in their own co...

23/12/2022

It’s not often that we take the time to stop and reflect on our achievements. But looking back on 2022, it was another year immersed in meaningful and diverse projects.

This year, we told an assortment of stories. From the profound experiences of people in community care, to supporting the launch of a Master of Business Psychology for workplace wellbeing, showcasing what it’s like to navigate school with additional learning needs, and explaining the pitfalls of cybersecurity. And, amongst all that and more, we got nominated for an Australian Podcast Award in the Factual category!

We love and believe in the power of narratives – and we’re thankful to our clients who’ve had every confidence in us to drive their brand mission through memorable and remarkable stories. It’s because of you that we get to land in people’s inboxes and devices, or take residence in their ears; to tell those stories that move us, challenge us, or change us.

A heartfelt thank-you to our clients for your partnership and for cheering us on as we mark 5 years in business.

Thank-you also to our collaborators, network, and unofficial brains-trust. You are the spark that keeps our fire flickering.

Now, as we wind-down for the year, we hope you get to have some fun in the sun. We’ll certainly be sitting on a beach for the next few weeks.

If you’d like to work with us during the Year of the Rabbit, we’d be delighted to help you communicate complex ideas and concepts in a simple way. Drop us a line at [email protected]

Happy holidays.

Serpil & James
+ Written & Recorded

13/05/2022