Voice In Canada Flash Briefing #109
Hey there. So we had a really cool podcast episode yesterday. I had the opportunity to interview Dave Isbitski.
As you may know if you did have a chance to listen to it, he’s the chief evangelist for Amazon Alexa and Echo.
And one of the little elements of the discussion that we had, which I wanted to bring your attention here on the flash briefing is we talked about why sometimes it takes longer for features to come to Canada compared to the US cause I know this is a big frustration with Canadians.
And so we discussed that and I thought because I’d get so many questions about that, I would tell you what he said here in the flash briefing as well.
Now if you want to go and listen to the podcast, you can get his whole answer and you can easily access that @AlexainCanada.ca/29
Basically what he was explaining is, it all comes down to the computer science when Amazon is creating the ability for Alexa to speak in the language of the country.
It’s more than just the language. There’s dialects, there’s cultural differences. There are other elements that go into creating the sign, find the language module.
The last thing they want to do is have Alexa sound like she’s a tourist.
And then on top of that there are different nuances about the ways people can ask for questions and those might be answered differently in different countries or in different cultures.
And then on top of that, you’ve got what’s known as the natural language understanding, which is the technology behind Alexa’s ability to understand what people are saying.
And once again there could be cultural differences in the way things are spoken to Alexa.
So the bottom line is that there’s a lot of things that go into the computer science behind making Alexa really sound like she is a native to that country.
As Dave said, the last thing they want to do is have Alexa sound like she’s a tourist in another country.
And so until they get all that just right, that’s basically the reason why it takes longer for some features to come to Canada.
I know that’s a frustration for some people, but on the other hand, I do understand what Amazon is doing.
I mean, you can imagine that if Alexa came in and she didn’t sound like somebody native to the country, it wouldn’t be a great experience.
So I know it means we’ve got to be patient, but anyway, there’s the answer, like I said, to hear the whole podcast episode and to hear his answer in his words, checkout AlexainCanada.ca/29.
Resources Mentioned in this Episode
Other Useful Resources
- Complete List of Alexa Commands
- Alexa-Enabled and Controlled Devices in Canada
- Teri Fisher on Twitter
- Alexa in Canada on Twitter
- Alexa in Canada on Instagram
- Alexa in Canada Community Group on Facebook
- Please leave a review on the Skills Store!
- Shopping on Amazon.ca
- Create a Flash Briefing Tutorial – Free Tutorial to Create your own Flash Briefing
- Flash Briefing Formula – Your Complete Premium Step-By-Step Course to Launch a Successful Flash Briefing that Gets Found and Grows Your Brand
Listen on your Echo Device! Easy as 1-2-3!
1. Open your Alexa app and click on the Menu button > Settings > Flash Briefing.
2. Click on “Add Content” and search for “Voice in Canada”.
3. Click on “Voice in Canada” and the Enable button.
Alexa, what are my flash briefings?
Alexa, what’s in the news?
You can also subscribe on your Favourite Podcast App!
For more information about the flash briefing or to get in touch with me, feel free to click on the button below! I look forward to hearing from you!
