Alexa In Canada: Amazon Alexa And Echo Skills, Tips, And Tricks For Canadians

In this episode, Teri welcomes Doug Schumacher, Co-founder, Content Strategist, and Advertising Creative Director at Zuum, and Writer and Producer of the podcast, Homie & Lexy, to talk about marketing trends in the voice-first technology world.Welcome Doug Schumacher!Doug Schumacher is a marketing guru. He has extensive experience in radio, advertising copy-writing, new media marketing, and is a leader in voice-first technology marketing strategies. He comes on the show today to discuss the future of marketing for voice, and using voice for marketing.We covered a lot of ground in this interview, and below you’ll find a summary of the key take-home messages.How to Market A Voice-First ProductStart by identifying your target audience and the competitive landscapeDetermine your product’s/service’s distinct advantagesConsider creating broad, high-level branding messages on multiple channels (i.e. podcasts, flash briefings, voice skills, etc.)In the new market of voice-first technologies, there are some specif

In this episode, Teri welcomes Ilana Shalowitz, Voice User Interface (VUI) Design Manager at Emmi, to talk about the tips and tricks that go into creating a quality voice skill or application.Welcome Ilana Shalowitz from Emmi!Ilana Shalowitz is the Voice User Interface (VUI) Design Manager at Emmi. She is a well-respected authority and influencer in the voice-first design technology space, having appeared on a number of podcasts, and having spoken at a number of voice-first events. She will be a keynote speaker at the Voice of Healthcare Summit at Harvard Medical School in August 2018. She joins me today to talk about some of the key principles to consider when designing a voice-first experience.Ilana has a strong interest in communication for behaviour change. She initially studied anthropology and psychology, and then got a Masters in Marketing Communications. After working in marketing, she found a passion for design and now loves her work as a voice user interface designer!How to Design a Voice-

In this episode, Teri welcomes Vasili Shynkarenka, Co-Founder and CEO of Storyline, to talk about his new platform that allows anyone to make Alexa skills without any coding!Welcome Vasili Shynkarenka from Storyline!Vasili Shynkarenka in the co-founder and CEO of Storyline, a platform that allows you to create skills for Amazon Alexa in the most simple way, without requiring any knowledge of how to code. If you can type, drag and drop, and most importantly, come up with a good idea, you too can create a successful Alexa skill with Storyline!Vasili’s background is in computer science and marketing. He previously worked in voice design for 3 years, designing conversational interfaces for various brands and businesses.Key Points Discussed on the PodcastWe covered a lot of ground in this interview with Vasili. Here are some of the key points that we discussed:Storyline is a tool that allows anyone to create a skill for Amazon Alexa without writing any code. It is a visual interface, designed to be incredibly user

In this episode Teri welcomes Robin Christopherson, Head of Digital Inclusion at AbilityNet, to talk about accessibility of voice-first technologies and his experience as a blind person using Amazon Alexa.Welcome Robin Christopherson!Robin Christopherson is Head of Digital Inclusion at AbilityNet, the globally-acclaimed accessibility and tech charitable organization in England. AbilityNet is a pan-disability charity organization that promotes the use of technology to empower people with all types of disabilities. Robin himself is blind and he joins us today to speak about his experience with Amazon Alexa and the benefits of voice-first technology for those with disabilities.Robin is a sought-after speaker, and has won numerous awards for his work in inclusion and accessibility, including the MBE – Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. He produces the daily podcast, Dot to Dot, where he reviews Alexa skills.Robin’s Key Points about Technology, Accessibility, and AlexaRobin is blind and his

In this episode, Teri discusses how to use IFTTT and Amazon Alexa together to open the door to even more functionality with your Amazon Echo device.IFTTT and Amazon AlexaIFTTT stands for IF This, Then That! This is an app that allows you to integrate different services to increase the functionality of each of the services. This includes hundreds of different services – everything from email to social media, calendars to smart home products, and of course ALEXA, among many, many others!IFTTT is based on “Applets” or “Recipes” – these are essentially simple logic commands that cause one service to trigger an action in another service. For example, having a timer go off on Alexa (i.e. the trigger) can cause a light to go on elsewhere (i.e. the action). Or adding something to your to-do list on Alexa (i.e. the trigger) can cause the item to be emailed to your inbox (i.e. the action). There are literally thousands of IFTTT applets that can be developed.Now here is the caveat: As us Canadia

Wondering how to create a flash briefing? Whether you want to promote your business, share your hobby, or raise awareness for your non-profit, now is the time to create a flash briefing. In this episode, Teri reveals the step by step instructions on how to create a flash briefing for Amazon Alexa… with no coding required!Create a Flash BriefingFlash briefings are the new podcasts… as least as far as I am concerned! If you are interested in getting your message out to the world, in my opinion there is simply no better way than to create a flash briefing. In my experience, good quality flash briefings are being consumed at a rate equal to or greater than that of podcasts. For example, 4 months after launching the Alexa in Canada Podcast, I was getting approximately 200 people listening to each episode on the day it was released (and less on the other days of the week). Compare that to the Voice in Canada Flash Briefing: after only 2 weeks, I was already getting 300 listeners every singl

In this episode, Teri talks about the options for smart home lighting and talks about his experience and recommendations for Alexa-controlled smart lighting.Smart Home Lighting and AlexaAs you will recall, in Episode 12 of this podcast, I interviewed Jesus Gallardo about smart home automation. He suggested that the easiest way to get started with home automation was through smart lighting.Well, I decided to take his advice and once I started doing some further research, this is what I discovered…My Research on Smart Home LightingAfter the conversation with Jesus Gallardo, I started to look at the different types of smart lighting you can choose to buy. I discovered that there are 3 different categories, each with their own pros and cons:1. Smart light bulbsProsVery simple to setup; you simply replace the lightbulbs.This is the only option that allows you to change the colour of the lights.You can use the light colours to alert you to various conditions, such as weather, alarms, etc.You can setu

In this episode, Teri welcomes Katie Ernst, co-founder of Select a Story, to talk about voice first interactive stories and the release of her Amazon Alexa skill in Canada.Welcome Katie Ernst!Katie Ernst is a lawyer, author, and co-founder of Select a Story, one of the leading companies that produces interactive stories for the voice-first platforms. I was really excited to have her as a guest recently to hear about her perspectives of this growing sector of Alexa skills.We also had a special surprise cameo appearance by a 9 year old girl, who is a fan of Select a Story…. and may or may not be my daughter (just saying’)!Katie’s StoryKatie is an author, who has written 10 “traditional” novels for children. Katie’s introduction to interactive stories began when she first got an Amazon echo, and after trying “The Magic Door” skill, she was inspired and she decided that she had the perfect skill set to start writing interactive stories of her own. While Katie began writing her first interactive story, Cinder

Welcome Dave Jackson!Dave Jackson has been teaching about technology for decades and has been podcasting since 2005. He launched the Alexacast in 2016 to document his journey as a consumer of the Alexa technology. I was really excited to have him as a guest on the podcast to hear about his experiences about living with Alexa in America.The AlexacastThe Alexacast podcast was started as a way for Dave to document his journey as an Alexa user. He calls this type of podcast a "journey podcast", one in which the listener comes along for the ride while the host describes his experience while learning about a particular topic - in this case, Alexa. This is a topic that excited Dave and when he found out he could make shopping lists though Alexa, that "sucked him in"!Some of Dave's Thoughts on AlexaInitially Dave used Alexa to control smart lights in his home. He then expanded this to control smart plugs and he enjoys using these smart home automation features.He enjoys using Alexa to create to-do lists and has

In this special episode, Teri announces the Voice in Canada Flash Briefing launch and invites Simon Marcus, CEO of Pippa.io, to discuss his company and the service used to host the Voice in Canada flash briefing.Voice in Canada Flash Briefing Launch!I am really excited to launch the Voice in Canada Flash Briefing! I wanted to create something on the Amazon Alexa platform that would be valuable to the the Alexa in Canada community and creating a flash briefing seemed like the perfect idea. The flash briefing is designed to be a series of daily short episodes, discussing tips and tricks, commands, skills, reviews, news, and deals.To thank you for being an early supporter of the flash briefing launch, I will be giving away a free Amazon Echo Dot to one lucky listener. Make sure to scroll to the bottom to see how you can enter to win the Echo Dot!Benefits of Flash BriefingsBenefits for the ListenersVery easy to listen to.Almost no friction to listening.Can multitask while consuming audio content.Can discover

Bradley Metrock, the CEO of Score Publishing and a leader in the voice technology space, joins Teri to recap this year's Alexa Conference and to discuss the VoiceFirst.FM podcast network. Teri also makes 2 very special announcements!http://AlexaInCanada.ca/13 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Teri welcomes Jesus Gallardo, an engineer specializing in industrial automation, to discuss smart home automation basics, using Amazon Alexa and Echo devices as the main hub of his home. He discusses Smart Lights (Philips Hue), Entertainment Media (Logitech Harmony Hub), Thermostats (Nest), Outlets (Wemo), Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and Wall switches (Wemo). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, Teri discusses how to add a second Echo device to your home. He covers how to setup additional Alexa devices, the Drop-In feature, how to group devices and how to use your phone to communicate with Echo devices. http://AlexaInCanada.ca/11 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, Teri welcomes Brian Jackson, editorial director of IT World Canada, to talk about the voice trends of digital assistants in Canada (Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant) and the latest news coming out of CES 2018.http://AlexaInCanada.ca/10 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, Teri talks about how Alexa Voice technology is the way of the future for interacting with all smart devices. He also discusses a way to try Alexa on your smart phone without any Echo devices. Finally, he discusses Cleo, a skill that Alexa is using to learn languages.http://AlexaInCanada.ca/9 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, Teri talks with a counterpart, William Nutt, about the pattern of Alexa use in the United States and how this parallels with the uptake of the Canadian use of Alexa and Echo devices.http://AlexaInCanada.ca/8 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, Teri talks about the milestones achieve by Amazon.ca and Alexa in Canada over the past month and explores where Alexa is going in 2018. Buckle up because it's going to be a wild ride!http://alexaincanada.ca/7 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Teri talks about the basic Alexa routines and flash briefings, and how they can make you even more efficient with your Echo device. As a bonus, he reveals some of the holiday commands/skills for you to try. http://alexaincanada.ca/6 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this 5th episode, Teri talks about the basic Commands that Amazon Alexa can understand right out of the box! She has hundreds if not thousands of commands that she understands, and in this episode, we cover all the basics.  http://AlexaInCanada.ca/5 http://AlexaInCanada.ca/commands   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, Teri talks about his first impressions of his Echo Dot, describes how to setup Alexa in Canada, and introduces a Canadian radio skill. Subscribe for more info! http://AlexaInCanada.ca/4 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.