Alexa Dev Chat

In episode 29 of the podcast I chat with Dr. Joan Palmiter Bajorek, CEO of Women in Voice. We talked about the women in voice idea, how things got started, the celebration of their 2nd anniversary, how the role of ally groups is changing, and what we can all do to change our industry into something we all want to feel part of. Also, I cover some harrassment my own family has been through so I'm adding a guidance suggested warning for this episode, due to the sensitivity of the topic. Joan on Twitter - http://twitter.com/JoanBajorek Women in Voice on Twitter - http://twitter.com/WomenInVoice Women in Voice - http://womeninvoice.org * Links I've Used for Online Harassment * Reporting Social Media Harrassment - http://onlineharassmentfieldmanual.pen.org/reporting-online-harassment-to-platforms/ Suicide Prevention Lifeline - http://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ Xbox Family & Online Safety Enforcement - http://support.xbox.com/help/family-online-safety/enforcement/file-a-complaint

In episode 28 of the podcast Dave chats with Michal Stanislawek, co-founder of Utter.one and Karol Stryja, VP of Growth at Utter.one. Together, they have created Voice Lunch, a safe and inclusive way for our voice community to come together during the global pandemic. We go into the origin of the idea, where they have seen success and what they have learned. Michal on Twitter - https://twitter.com/xmstan Karol on Twitter - https://twitter.com/karol_stryja Register for Voice Lunch - https://register.voicelunch.com/ Helpful Things Alexa Can Do During COVID-19 - https://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=21155035011 Girls Who Code - https://girlswhocode.com/ Women in Tech - https://women-in-tech.org/ Women in Voice - https://womeninvoice.org/

In episode 27 of the podcast Dave chats with Chris Morrow, Sr. Producer for Alexa Games at Amazon. They discuss the current state of VoiceFirst Games, tips for creating engaging player experiences, and unique lessons Chris's team has learned you can use when building your own Alexa games. Chris on Twitter - http://twitter.com/1chrisMorrow Emily Short's Interactive Storytelling and Narrative Design - https://emshort.blog/2019/01/08/mailbag-self-training-in-narrative-design/ Starfinder - say "Alexa, open Starfinder" or head over to http://www.amazon.com/Paizo-Alexa-Games-Starfinder/dp/B082SZRSRJ The Vortex - https://www.amazon.com/Doppio-Games-The-Vortex/dp/B07JJV13G3/ The Sims Stories - https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Arts-The-Sims-Stories/dp/B07VX8KJJ4 Ticket to Ride - https://www.amazon.com/Days-of-Wonder-Ticket-Ride/dp/B08178MR5M/ Featured Alexa Game skills - http://bit.ly/featuredalexagames

In episode 26 of the podcast Dave chats with Kintan Brahmbhatt, Director and Head of Product at Amazon Music. The two discuss the beginnings of Amazon Music, the evolution of conversational interaction, integrating customer feedback, as well as some Alexa Amazon Music features you may not know about!

In episode 25 of the podcast Dave chats with Dr. Teri Fisher, a TEDx Speaker, Physician, Podcaster and well known face in the #VoiceFirst community. Teri has created a wealth of online eudcational content for Alexa Flash Brieing and shares some incredible numbers around how he has engaged with his customers through Voice. Links: Twitter: twitter.com/DrTeriFisher Alexa in Canada Podcast: Alexaincanada.com Flash Briefing Training: Createaflashbriefing.com and Flashbriefingformula.com

In this episode Dave chats with Theo Lau about how Voice can enable access to technology in previously excluded groups. This includes younger children who can speak but not read and write yet as well as older generations who have seen technology as a barrier. Voice enables all generations to easily engage with technology seamlessly, and naturally. Links: Theo’s Twitter: http://twitter.com/psb_dc Theo’s LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/theodoralau/ AARP: http://www.aarp.org/

In this episode Dave catches up with fan favorite, Brian Roemmele. The two discuss all things #VoiceFirst, how things are shaping up in 2018, is it living up to expectations, and what has us excited for the future. Brian is a published writer and has been part of the tech industry for decades. He is a well-known expert in the growing voice space and has written numerous articles around the impacts of technology in our lives. Links: Brian's Twitter: http://twitter.com/BrianRoemmele Brian's Website: http://VoiceFirst.expert

In this episode Dave chats with Collin Davis, GM, Alexa For Business at Amazon. Alexa for Business was launched in the fall of 2017 and helps makes it simple to use Alexa within your work organization. Collin and Dave discuss how the idea for Alexa Business came to be, what areas the team chose to focus on first (conference rooms, provisioning devices, managing users, custom skills) and what companies are building today with the service. Alexa for Business Portal: http://aws.amazon.com/alexaforbusiness Alexa for Business Github: http://github.com/alexa/alexa-for-business

In this episode Dave chats with Pilar Manchon, Director of Cognitive Interfaces at Amazon. Pilar has a long history in AI and is fluent in multiple spoken languages. The two discuss human context, personal biases we bring, and cultural aspects of spoken language. What does all of this mean for conversational interfaces and what should be thinking about today in your own voice drive experience? Pilar's Twitter: http://twitter.com/pilarmanchon

In the episode Dave chats with Pete Erickson, entrepreneur and founder of Modev. They talk about growing the Voice community through local meetups, what it really means to get involved at a person to person interaction level and the upcoming Voice Summit. They also discuss the lost art of writing and how you those skills are more important today, in the age of Voice, than ever before. Voice Summit - http://VoiceSummit.ai MoDev - http://twitter.com/gomodev

This episode reflects back on Voice Design in 2017 and what we might expect to see this coming year. Dave brings back guest Paul Cutsinger and the two discuss the rise of multiple Alexa device form factors, how can voice driven experiences take advantage of visual information and what does all this mean for conversational experiences. Are there lessons can we can learn from Mobile or are we doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past? Dave also dives deeper into what game development and player engagements might look like this coming year with Voice as the game controller. Links: Alexa Feature Requests: http://alexa.uservoice.com Alexa Github: http://github.com/alexa Alexa Design Guide - http://alexa.design/guide

In this episode Dave chats with Brian Roemmele about the future of voice and conversational user interfaces. Brian is a published writer and has been part of the tech industry for decades. He is a well-known expert in the growing voice space and has written numerous articles around the impacts of technology in our lives. This is an episode you don't want to miss! Links: Brian's Twitter: http://twitter.com/BrianRoemmele Brian's Website: http://VoiceFirst.expert

In this episode Dave chats with with Noelle LaCharite, Senior Technical Program Manager on the Alexa Machine Learning team. Noelle has helped customers across many teams at Amazon including Amazon Web Services and most recently as a Developer Evangelist for Alexa. Noelle shares her experiences working across all of these teams as well as insights into her highly engaged Alexa skills, including the popular 1 Minute Mindfulness skill. Links: Noelle's Twitter: http://twitter.com/noellelacharite Noelle's Github: http://github.com/unitygirl 1-Minute Mindfulness: http://www.amazon.com/GeekGirl-Marketing-and-App-Development/dp/B01BN1DYBQ/ Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) Portal: http://developer.amazon.com/ask

In this episode Dave chats with with Rodrigo Prudencio from Amazon's Alexa Fund and Aviel Ginzburg, Managing Director Alexa Accelerator powered by Techstars. The Amazon Alexa Fund provides up to $100 million in venture capital funding to fuel voice technology innovation. The Alexa Accelerator, powered by Techstars, is a startup accelerator created by the Alexa Fund and built around the belief that voice will fundamentally improve the way we interact with technology. The companies chosen are taking part in a 13-week program in Seattle to work with technologists and product leaders from Amazon and Techstars. Don't know what an accelerator is? What about the difference between an incubator and accelerator? This episode will get you started and offer examples of startup voice innovations happening right now. Links: Amazon Alexa Fun: http://alexafund.com Amazon Alexa Fund Signup: https://developer.amazon.com/public/solutions/alexa/alexa-fund/fund-signup Alexa Accelerator powered by Techstars: http://www.techstars.com/programs/alexa-program/

In this episode Dave chats with with Jen Rapp. Jen served as the Alexa Skills Kit product manager for developing the new interfaces Alexa skill developers use with Echo Show. She and her team worked to create everything from the new template layouts to the hint directive to the built-in navigational intents. Links: Display Interface Reference: https://developer.amazon.com/public/solutions/alexa/alexa-skills-kit/docs/display-interface-reference How to Build Alexa Skills for Echo Show: https://developer.amazon.com/blogs/alexa/post/12826e9e-e06a-4ab4-a583-8e074709a9f3/how-to-build-alexa-skills-for-echo-show1 VideoApp Interface Reference: https://developer.amazon.com/public/solutions/alexa/alexa-skills-kit/docs/videoapp-interface-reference

In the episode Dave chats with the GE Appliances WiFi Connect Cloud team. They have taken an interesting approach to their Alexa Skill, rather than creating multiple skills for each GE appliance in your home they have created one super skill, named Geneva. The team shares what they learned creating Geneva and how to test and evolve such a complex interaction model. Links: GE Connect Appliances Website: http://geappliances.com/connect GE Appliances YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/GEAppliances Brookfield Residential Sample SmartHome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drLwilRDsL8

In the episode Dave chats with John Kelvie. John is the founders of Bespoken, a suite of tools that helps developers with building, debugging and monitoring their Alexa Skills. Links: Bespoken Tools: http://bespoken.tools/ Bespoken Blog: http://bespoken.tools/blog John's Twitter: http://twitter.com/jpkbst Alexadev Slack Channel: http://alexaslack.com

In the episode Dave chats with Sameer Lalwani, Sr. Program Manager on the Alexa Skills Certification team at Amazon. Sameer shares best practices for getting your skill published as well as guidance for building more engaging skills for your customers. Links: Certification Requirements for Custom Skills: https://developer.amazon.com/public/solutions/alexa/alexa-skills-kit/docs/alexa-skills-kit-submission-checklist Certification Posts on Alexa Blog: https://developer.amazon.com/blogs/home/tag/Certification Alexa Skills Kit Support Forums: https://forums.developer.amazon.com/spaces/23/index.html Contact Us - Alexa Skills: https://developer.amazon.com/public/support/contact/contact-us?subjectCategory=ALEXA

In the episode Dave catches up with Zach Parker, head of Business Development for Alexa Smart Home at Amazon. The two discuss recent product innovations, new customer experiences and current Smart Home industry trends. Links: Smart Home on Amazon.com: http://amazon.com/smarthome Smart Home Skill API: https://developer.amazon.com/alexa/smart-home

In the episode Dave chats with Alexa Champion, John Wheeler. John is the author of the popular Flask-Ask framework which helps developers quickly create and test high quality Alexa skills using the Python programming language. Links: John's Twitter: https://twitter.com/_johnwheeler Flask-Ask Website: https://flask-ask.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ Flask-Ask training at Alexatutorial.com: https://alexatutorial.com/ Flask-Ask GitHub: https://github.com/johnwheeler/flask-ask Flask Website: http://flask.pocoo.org/

In the episode Dave chats with Bob Lautenbach. Bob is an Alexa skills developer who has published a bunch open source projects that aid developers in creating Alex skills using C# and Visual Studio. Links: Bob’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/boblautenbach AlexaSillsKit.NET: https://github.com/AreYouFreeBusy/AlexaSkillsKit.NET Amazon ASK Linking: https://github.com/boblautenbach/amazon-ask-linking Alexa ASK .Net Template: https://github.com/boblautenbach/AlexaASKNetTemplate Enabling oAuth Refresh Tokens with ASP.Net Web API: http://bitoftech.net/2014/07/16/enable-oauth-refresh-tokens-angularjs-app-using-asp-net-web-api-2-owin/

Customers can now browse the breadth of the Alexa skills catalog and discover new Alexa skills on Amazon.com. In this episode Dave chats with Nora Kelly, a Sr. Marketing Manager on Alexa whose team covers consumer marketing and customer experience for Alexa skills. The two discuss how Alexa skills are ranked, how skills appear in the weekly trending placements, how to ensure customers know your skill has been updated and how you can interact with customers directly on your skill's Amazon.com detail page. Links: Alexa Skills Department on Amazon.com - http://amazon.com/skills

In this episode Dave chats with Alexa Champion, Mark Carpenter, about his popular ASK Weekly Newsletter, the growing Alexa Dev community and Mark's Talking Alexa Podcast. Links: Ask Dev Weekly Newsletter: http://askdevweekly.com Talking Alexa Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-alexa/id1150803413 More About Mark: https://developer.amazon.com/alexa/champions/mark-carpenter

In this episode Dave chats with UK Alexa Evangelist, Dean Bryen, about the Alexa international launch. The two discuss the developer community in the UK and Germany as well as how to use multiple spoken languages within your own Alexa skills. You can follow Dean on twitter @deanbryen.

In this episode Dave chats with Alexa Champion, Walt Quesada, about his experience building Alexa Skills with .NET and the Alexa Skills Kit. Walt has also written a course for Pluralsight on the same topic as well as on his website. Walt's Website: http://qnovations.com Alexa Skills Kit .NET Pluralsight Course: http://www.pluralsight.com/courses/amazon-echo-developing-alexa-skills Github projects: https://github.com/AreYouFreeBusy/AlexaSkillsKit.NET https://github.com/boblautenbach/amazon-ask-linking

In this episode Dave chats with Alexa Hackathon Team Manager, Paul Cutsinger. The two chat about early Amazon Developer Day events, how that has turned into a formal Alexa hackathon team, ways developers are learning at these events and the interesting projects that have been created around Alexa.

In this episode Dave chats with Alexa community members Galactoise and Chiaco about building for the Alexa Skills Kit, creating an engaging Alexa skill, how to test and debug your skills, how they build an Alexa emulator as well as important lessons they have learned along the way.

In this episode Dave and Alexa community member Jo Jaquinta cover their early gaming backgrounds, how Jo has built an Alexa Space Empire game and what pitfalls he ran into along the way. Jo also covers how he has increased engagement rates within his Alexa skills but continued to evolve the game with new ASK features like SSML audio.

In this episode Dave and Charlie discuss the launch of Smart Home Skill API for Alexa Skills Kit, give insights to some of their own history in Smart Home, talk about what solutions developers are building, and more.