by Brian Owen, Editor, VoiceFirst Canada Media, presenter of VoiceCon Canada ‘VoiceCAN’
I recently met Bill McCarthy through the Alexa for Seniors Facebook Group. Bill is a 72 year old, retired elementary school teacher who was also a web designer. Bill has also taught adult students programming, electronics, computer repair, web design and networking. Bill is a fellow Canadian, born in Toronto and now living in London, Ontario.
When asked what benefit Bill saw about Alexa, he responded, “I think Alexa is perfect for older and disabled people, of whom I am both.” Bill has partial quadriplegia and is in a power chair.
Bill got his Amazon Echo on December 5th, 2017, the first day it was available in Canada. He started using Storyline around January 10th, 2018, and published his first skill, a Flash Briefing on January 16th, 2018. He published two more flash briefings in the next four days. Bill commented that, “One of them has been utilized by 2,428 unique users in 70 days.”
Bill published his first custom skill, available in US, UK and Canada on January 27th, 2018 and has published 3 more since then, adding “The last one I published got to 109 unique users in only 17 days”.
Bill recounted his Storyline development; “I have 2 in development right now and lots of other ideas. At this time he is “finishing a skill for an Alexa-voiced Storyline manual.” He added, “The teacher in me decided that any good piece of software, no matter how user friendly it is, deserves to have an easy to understand manual – especially for those who need that little bit of extra help understanding that one thing that everyone understands, but them.”
Bill also wants to develop and publish an interactive YA fiction series, but said, “I’m having a hard time getting Amazon to comprehend it. I think people who read, listen to, or watch a good story, would like to be able to ‘choose’ what might happen ‘if?’. Amazon doesn’t mind the typical ‘choose your own adventure’. The kind that gives you a few sentences, then an opportunity to make a decision, and repeat until you get tired of it. Mine offers a different twist! Rather than a few sentences between choices, my idea is to break a REAL short story that I have created, into 3 to 5 minute audio sections. At that point, the listener chooses one of several predetermined choices. Then, the story continues. Short sections of a real story, with choices thrown in at the end of each, to stimulate the mind.”
Bill added, “Each time I make changes to it and submit it for ‘publication’ as an Alexa skill, they send me back ‘We believe your content is better suited for publication on our Audible / eBooks stores. Please submit your content at Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) and/or Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).’ If I wanted to publish a book or an audiobook, I would! The idea I have is perfect for Alexa!”
Bill just released a skill that has Alexa teach you how to use Storyline to create your first skill. It can be found here.
I asked Bill about his thoughts on voice applications for Seniors, in areas such as health, recreation and travel, for example. Bill commented, “A brilliant use of Alexa would be taking an Echo Dot and put a small case on its bottom that contains an easily charged battery. Put something on it so it can hang from a walker, or wheelchair. This would allow someone who is elderly and/or disabled to transport it with them around the house, into the backyard, or around a retirement complex. Then, when they return to their house or room, they can put the whole thing into a small, plugged in charger for normal use.” Amazon, this writer’s opinion is that Bill had a great idea.
With the September VoiceCon (Canada) VoiceCAN 2018 conference planning underway, a suggested presentation was ‘The Voice for and of Seniors’. Bill said he would put some thought into it and we will be discussing this at the next opportunity.
Bill referred me to a couple of quotes from recent articles published, “The device is also gaining support among disabled adults and the elderly.” of which Bill reminded me that he is both, and “People should recognize how easy it is to set up.” Two great relevant articles can be found on MarketWatch here and on MIT Technology Review here.
I asked Bill about his views on privacy and security. He responded, “Don’t offer up information that you don’t want public, especially to those you don’t know!” I once heard a great adage, “Don’t do or say anything that you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of the New York Times, the next day.”
In closing, I asked Bill if he had any other views about voice tech in general that he would like to express, and he responded, “I think voice technology was literally created for our aging population. It allows us to bypass the computer. We can use the internet, without physically accessing a computer. My wife and I have revelled in the fact that when we try to remember who wrote or sang a song, or when something important happened, the internet was there to answer it for us. Alexa is making it a lot simpler for older, less computer literate seniors and disabled people.”
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