For Brodie Fenlon, Senior Director for Daily News at the CBC, it’s a
“game changer.”
“It” is Alexa, Amazon’s digital voice assistance, which is
played over its Echo Voice Activated Internet (VAI) device.
Just like how the iPhone changed and disrupted the way
people access information, Alexa, and other voice-activated search engines, are
poised to disrupt things again.
“It is listening all the time,” he says. All people
will need to do in the future is say: “Alexa, give me the news.”
But where will it, and other VAI technologies, get
their news from?
That’s the big question for the media.
If they want to be found on Alexa, and other VAI
devices, they are going to have to develop new platforms for those devices.
Right now, Alexa plays pre-recorded
headline updates from broadcasters such as NPR, BBC News, the Economist and the
Associated Press.
If other
media want to get on board, they will need to team up with Amazon to develop a
new “skill” for the device.
In
England, for example, the BBC has created its own skill to allow listeners to ask
for local stations and podcasts.
Here in
Canada, the Toronto Star has developed a skill so
users can ask for top headlines from that newspaper.
What’s
involved in making a skill?
Any
company can create an Alexa skill and submit it to Amazon for approval.
There is
no charge for the skill itself, but companies have to pay to host the skill on Amazon
Web Services.
The cost
to host a skill varies depending on how popular and how complicated the
skill is. The average cost is $100 a month.
Of
course, Amazon is making the entry so inexpensive to corner the market on VAI
technology (over rivals Google, Microsoft and Apple).
Later, it
could charge companies and brands more to have their skills feature more
prominently on the devices.
Rapid Rise of Voice Activated Internet
So far, Amazon’s strategy seems to be working.
In December, it said it sold “tens of millions” of the
devices.
Already, over 35 million Americans use it monthly.
Most of them are younger (of course).
By 2020, it is estimated there will be 128 million Amazon Echo devices in use—alone.
How
are People Using Alexa?
As for their use, a survey by NPR in October found that the top two most popular reasons
for having a VAI device was to listen to music and ask questions without
typing.
Getting news and information was number four.
They also use them for shopping, weather, traffic,
audio books, cooking and ordering food.
42% of VAI device owners already say they are “essential
to their lives.”
65% say they wouldn’t want to go back to life before
they had one.
What
Does This Mean for Non-Profits?
So—what
does this mean for non-profit communicators?
If VAI technology is anything like the iPhone, it
means we need to start thinking about how to get into this game.
Just as the rapid rise of mobile forced groups to make
their websites mobile-friendly, VAI technology will require us to start
creating ways to share our information by voice.
What can that mean in practice?
Say there’s a natural disaster in the developing
world. I ask: “Alexa, which Canadian NGOs are responding to the disaster?”
How will it find them?
Right now I don’t know, but I think I better find out.
What if, after Alexa finds which NGOs are responding,
I want to make a donation?
“Alexa,” I will ask, “which of those NGOs accept
voice-activated donations?”
What if the answer is none?
Giving by voice—sounds far-fetched, right?
Not that far-fetched; according to that same NPR Report, 57%
of smart speaker owners have bought something with their voice.
How long before what’s called v-commerce leads
to v-fundraising? (Voice-fundraising.)
I have no idea. But I’m sure it’s coming.
And non-profits will need to get ready.
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