Voice in Canada Podcast

In episode 183, Teri welcomes Janice Mandel. Janice Mandel, Communications Advisor for the Open Voice Network Shares Stories About Her Voice Career Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 182, Teri welcomes Marc Ladin, Founder of VoicePunch and Marc Ladin, Founder of VoicePunch Talks About Venture Capital Investments in the Voice Industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri welcomes Scot Westwater and they discuss if organizations are ready for the voice revolution. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 180 of The Voice in Canada Podcast, Teri welcomes Scott Sandland, CEO of Cyrano.ai. Click here to view the show notes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri welcomes Celene Osiecka. Celene Osiecka Shares Her Perspective on Automation in the Voice and AI Industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri welcomes Oita Coleman. Oita Coleman, Senior Advisor at the Open Voice Network Talks About User Privacy & Collecting Data on episode 178 of The Voice in Canada Podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Jim Kennelly Shares His Perspective on the Voiceover Industry and AI Synthetic Voices. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri welcomes Emily Jones Joanisse and Tas Damen and they discuss "How Connected Canadians Partnered with Amazon Alexa to Help Seniors Stay Connected." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Violinist to Conversational AI Designer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri welcomes Susan Westwater, CEO of Pragmatic Digital and they discuss voice marketing. Get the episode show notes here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Collin Borns, Head of Business Development for Speechly Shares the Impact of Voice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Voice Gaming with Wanderword and Poptale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri welcomes Sarah Andrew Wilson. Sarah Andrew Wilson is the Chief Content Officer at Matchbox.io. Matchbox is the creator of some of the most popular voice applications on Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Samsung Bixby. There are 20 voice applications in their portfolio. It was founded in January 2017 by Joel Wilson.Some of the most popular ones are the Question of the Day, Kids Quiz, and Find my Phone. Matchbox creates and posts high-quality content  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri welcomes Steve Keller. Steve Keller Shares His Perspective on Sonic Branding, Voice and Diversity Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri welcomes Katy Boungard. Katy is a content designer and voice producer that has a background in television and digital. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri announces VoiceCon.LIVE: the first international voice conference on Clubhouse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Dr. Teri Fisher Shares Release Details of the New Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 8. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri welcomes Ian Utile. Ian is a tech entrepreneur and CEO of Attn.Live. Attn.Live is a sonic streaming platform that utilizes social audio to create NFTs while broadcasting live to Alexa and YouTube. Some fun facts about Ian: Ian has 2 boys, lives in a treehouse, and loves building tech companies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri welcomes Sofia Altuna. Sofia shares her story, what voice technology she is passionate about, and how to humanize voice technology. Sofia is part of the global product partnerships for Google Assistant. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode: Dr. Teri Fisher welcomes Abran Maldanado, Co-Founder of Create Labs Introduces Artificial Intelligence Robot C.L.Ai.R.A. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri welcomes James Poulter, CEO and Co-Founder of Vixen Labs. James discusses why creating voice experiences for brands is so important. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Dr. Teri Fisher welcomes Roger Kibbe. Roger is a senior developer evangelist for Samsung Bixby. Roger talks to a lot of developers, designers, and companies and discusses how they can build something really interesting utilizing voice or conversational AI on Bixby. Roger is a technology geek at heart but he is also an extrovert, and the best part is that his work allows him to utilize his strengths. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri welcomes Emerson Sklar. Emerson is the Chief Evangelist at Bespoken. Bespoken is the world leader in testing, training, and monitoring for AI-driven voice and chat experiences. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri welcomes Rana Gujral, CEO of Behavioral Signals, who shares his expertise on emotion detection in voice. Rana is an exceptional forward-looking visionary, who is the CEO of Behavioral Signals. He has spent his career working as an investor, executive, and entrepreneur with extensive experience in enterprise software, product development, strategy, business-building, and emerging markets. Rana was awarded the ‘Entrepreneur of the Month’ by CIO Magazine and the ‘US-China Pioneer’ Award by IEIE. Rana was also listed among the Top 10 Entrepreneurs to follow in 2017 by Huffington Post. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Dr. Teri Fisher welcomes Dr. Joan Palmiter Bajorek, who is the CEO and founder of Women in Voice. Women in Voice is a global organization that provides empowerment for women and minority genders in voice technology. Joan is also a researcher and linguist that is working on The Voice Ecology.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Dr. Teri Fisher welcomes Heidi Culbertson. Heidi is the Founder and CEO of Marvee, which is a voice strategy conversation design studio. Marvee creates experiences and helps others create experiences that are specific to the over 50 cohorts with a focus on active aging. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri interviews Nick Schwab, Founder of Invoked Apps. Nick Schwab is the founder of Invoked Apps. He created the very first sleep sounds on Amazon Lexie. Nick has been creating Alexa skills and other voice apps since 2016. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Audrey Arbeeny is the owner and executive producer of Audiobrain. Audiobrain is a globally recognized sonic branding boutique dedicated to the intentional development of music and sound. Audrey is one of the best in the industry when it comes to sonic branding. According to Audrey, “Sonic branding is the strategic and creative development and deployment of a consistent narrative of a brand.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri interviews Sat Ramphal. Sat is the Co-Founder and CEO of XiByte. Sat recently launched the Maya app; a virtual business bot for entrepreneurs.Maya is a conversational bot that helps facilitate administrative tasks and navigates company operations using the power of voice. Maya listens to your goals, ideas, runs administrative tasks, and provides insights on what is needed to grow your idea. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Voice in Canada podcast, Teri interviews Brandon Kaplan who is the CEO and Founder of Skilled Creative, a full-service voice agency located in NYC.Brandon got the inspiration for his company back in 2016 when he went to an Amazon workshop and was introduced to voice. Brandon was always obsessed with technology and even as a child, he loved taking electronics apart but did not have an interest in putting them back together. Back when Brandon was running a content marketing agency, he got introduced to the service industry. His passion was unpacking people’s problems and helping them find solutions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri interviews Adam Cheyer. Adam is an outstanding leader and visionary in the voice technology industry. Adam is the co-founder of Siri (which Apple acquired). He is the co-founder of Viv Labs (Viv Labs was sold to Samsung to create Bixby). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri welcomes Harish Consul, President, and CEO of Ocgrow Group of Companies. Harish shares how Ocgrow’s partnership with Amazon brings innovation to the Sola development in Calgary. The Sola development is a 172 unit luxury condo building that offers Alexa enabled units and super-fast Gigabit Ethernet (15-18 times faster than current speeds) to residents. Ocgrow will continue to offer additional integrations and hardware for Sola Calgary to offer a seamless lifestyle for its’ residents. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 19, 2020 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Dr. Teri Fisher welcomes Shyamala Prayaga works for Ford and is the Autonomous Conversational AI Lead. Shyamala is doing cutting-edge work that is shaping the auto industry. She is the founder of the Digital Assistant Academy. She is also working on a book called “Emotionally Engaged Digital Assistant” and another book called “Humanizing Privacy.” She has also been named a top 40 Voice Ai Influencer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri welcomes Jon Stine. on is the Executive Director for the Open Voice Network. Jon has 15 years of experience in the retail apparel industry and 20 years of experience in the technology industry working at organizations such as Intel Corporation, and Cisco Systems. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A look Towards 2021 and The Roaring 20s Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) Voice Game Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Developer Evangelist talks About Creating a Casino on Alexa Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Special Guest co-host Noelle Silver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Dr. Teri Fisher welcomes Rebecca Evanhoe. Rebecca shares her experience as a UX Conversation Designer and talks about her upcoming book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Voice in Education Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Avatars for Loved Ones with HereAfter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Co-Hosted by Ian Utile Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deals on Alexa, Echo Devices, Smart Home, and More Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An interview with Nicholas Sawka, AJ Wool, and Benjamin Falvo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New Echo, Echo Show 10, Echo Dot, and Dot with Clock Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Canadian Experience with the Country Manager of Amazon Alexa Canada Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri will talk about Amazon Alexa Blueprints which enable people to create their own personal Alexa skills and responses in minutes.Enjoy!Blueprints are a way for anyone, including people with no coding experience, to create their own custom Alexa skills. They are like templates and there are more than 30 of them available to Canadians. To set up Blueprints, start by going to your Alexa app and clicking on the bottom right icon that says, “More” Click on Blueprints and you will get some data on what Blueprints is about. If you click on ALL, you will see the 30+ Blueprints that are available for use.Below, Teri will talk about some of the 30+ Blueprints and share what we can do with some of them:Custom Q&AAllows you to customize Alexa’s responses to questions.When you click on it, it gives you a sample of some things that you can do.You can set it up so that Alexa can give a customized answer to a certain question.Hallmark Valentine’s GreetingIt allows you to create some valentines greeting cards with personalized images and messages.CountdownIt allows you to set a customized countdown for a particular event, time, or date.In this Blueprint you will find an example where when you say, “Alexa, open New Year’s Countdown”, Alexa will say, “Time to get started. Hey everyone. Get ready for [The following year]” and proceed to do to the countdown to that year.Story QuizThis one enables users to create a story and test their memory.It can be a fun one to do with kids and there is a sample Story Quiz in the Blueprint to guide you.FlashcardsThis one can come in handy especially now that people are going back to school.You can create flashcards and use them to test yourself, and use Alexa to help master any subject.Listening QuizWith this Blueprint you can create a skill that enables you listen and recall things.It can be helpful in prepping you for content.You just have to put in the content and Alexa will test you on the content by saying it to you.All About MumYou can use this one to surprise your mum with a personalized story narrated by Alexa.It allows you to create an interactive story with a timeless lesson or games.Whose TurnYou can use this to create a skill that will help you determine whose turn it is to do something.TriviaYou can use this to program a trivia game on any topic that you like.What to DoIf you have a number of things that you need to get done, you can put them in a list, and Alexa will randomly choose for you which one to do.FactsYou can use this to create a personal list of facts on any topic that you want and when you ask Alexa to open the facts, she will give you those facts.Family JokesThis one enables you to create a list of your favorite family jokes when you need a laugh.How Many DaysWith this Blueprint, you can create a skill where you give Alexa an important date and she will count down the days to that event.If you’ve got a big event coming up like a wedding anniversary, birthday, or anything like that, this skill will act as a great reminder.AdventureYou can use this to create an adventure story where your child is the hero.You can start a new story from scratch or use an already custom-built one in the Blueprint.Compliments This one will enable you to compliment people through Alexa by creating your own list of compliments.Holiday StoryThis will allow you to create a story with a particular person as the main character.HouseguestThis is great for people who rent out their homes or have an AirBnB.It helps in guiding guests when they visit the home or AirBnB.Yes No MaybeThis one asks Alexa any Yes or No questions, and Alexa gives a randomly selected response.Fortune TellerIf you want to create a skill that will give you a glimpse into the fortune, then this is the Blueprint to use.Santa’s LetterThis allows you to write and send a letter to Santa, and then you can check back every day to track its progress to the north pole.Sci-FiYou can create an interactive story with a Sci-Fi theme using this Blueprint.Birthday TriviaThis is a fun one for a birthday party. You can create a trivia game about the birthday boy or girl, which can be a lot of fun for a party.Five Item RushThis one allows you to create a game where you can score your friends in this wacky categories game.Dad JokesYou can create a list of dad jokes using this one.BurnsThis one will allow you to create your own custom burns and use them to burn family members and friends.Fairy TaleUsed to create a prince and princess-themed tale.Three Word SortYou can use it to train your brain in a topsy-turvy sorting game.QuizThis one enables you to challenge your friends with open-ended questions.InspirationsWith this one, you can curate a list of your favorite motivational quotes.Task TrackerThis one is very useful for creating and managing your checklists to help you stay organized.Baby SitterIf you hire baby sitters, then this is great for answering any questions your baby sitter may have about your child when you’re not around.SidekickThis one is all about Alexa having your back with funny responses.Chore ChartThis is useful for scheduling and tracking weekly chores for your entire household.All About DadThis one enables users to create a personalized story narrated by Alexa to surprise their dads.RoommateIt’s almost similar to the Baby Sitter Blueprint in that it enables you to create a skill that will help your roommates by providing them with all the important information they should know.Pet SitterYou can use it to create a personalized skill that helps your pet sitter care for your favorite animal.How to Use the BluePrintsWhen you click on one of the many Blueprints, you will see a button at the bottom that says, “Make Your Own”When you click on that, you’ll go through and follow the steps Alexa gives you on the app. It will tell you to customize the skill and fill in some blanks to answer questions.Once you’ve done that, it will take you through how you add custom things to the database of information that you want Alexa to share with you.The process is very self-explanatory and it will guide up to the point where you will launch the skill in your own device.List of resources mentioned in this episodeTeri’s YouTube ChannelAlexa BlueprintsThe Comprehensive Flash Briefing Formula CourseThe Voice DenVocalID.aiOther useful resources:Voice in Canada: The Flash BriefingComplete List of Alexa CommandsAlexa-Enabled and Controlled Devices in CanadaTeri Fisher on TwitterAlexa in Canada on TwitterAlexa in Canada Facebook PageAlexa in Canada Community Group on FacebookAlexa in Canada on InstagramPlease leave a review on iTunesShopping on Amazon.ca Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri welcomes James Vlahos, Founder and CEO at HereAfter, a company that uses conversational AI to help people save and interactively share life stories so that they never have to lose the voices of people they love.Welcome, James!HereAfter is an AI platform designed to allow people to have spoken "conversations" with loved ones who have passed away, based on voice recordings taken while they are still alive. The conversations are made possible by platforms like Amazon Alexa. James is also the creator of DADBOT, a veteran tech journalist for The New York Times, and author of “Talk to Me: How Voice Computing Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Think” His book addresses the economic, cultural, and psychological impact of conversational AI and how it’s altering our traditional perception of human consciousness.His Tech JournalismHe wrote about diverse technology oriented topics, from the HyperLoop to businesses using smell to lure customers into making purchases.From 2015, he developed an interest in Siri and Alexa because he was fascinated by the fact that what we had been learning from science fiction about personified beings who could have conversations with us was actually becoming a reality.He wanted to write about the two voice assistants but ended up approaching it from a different angle, instead writing about how Hello Barbie was created by a company called PullString. PullString was acquired by Apple.For him, writing about that was a great way to get into how to create a dialogue system and teach a computer how to talk. It led him deeper into voice technology.Writing His BookWhen he did the Hello Barbie project, he could see that it was just the tip of the iceberg, and he could see that Amazon, Apple, and Google were battling each other in the voice technology race, and so he knew there was great potential in the space.He realized he couldn’t just fit everything about voice technology into an article so he decided to put it in a book.HereAfterHe was inspired to create it when his late father was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and had a few months to live.James did a conventional oral history project with his father, recording him talking all about his life. He got hours of recordings and had them professionally transcribed.Around the same time, he was involved in conversational AI while researching for his book, and he realized that voice technology was a new way to share those recordings of his father in such a way that he could somehow hold on to him even after he had passed way.He created a conversational app that could be accessed on Facebook Messenger. One could create messages on the app and get audio/video clips from it. He called it the DADBOT.DADBOT has been the basis for everything he has worked on and created ever since.They are working on making HereAfter a scalable technology that anyone can use. They are on Amazon Alexa exclusively and expect to be on Google Assistant soon.They have received mixed feedback from the market. For example, most people want to wait before they record their memories, almost like how people always put off writing a will.Signing Up on HereAfterOne starts by signing up for the service, after which they are orally interviewed by someone in the company.The company then records the person’s life story in a very structured manner with the end product in mind.The audio is then edited and put into the HereAfter system so that when an end user asks a question about that person via Alexa, they hear that person’s voice answering them from the actual recording of that person.They are currently developing an app that will do the interviewing.HereAfter has positively impacted families and enabled them to capture the life stories of their loved ones for the benefit of their present and future family members.Remembrance Versus ReplicationScience fiction movies like HER show us a world where people can have relationships with AI beings on their phones and other devices, which brings up the question of whether we could possibly continue relationships with loved ones who have passed away through technologies like HereAfter.James reiterates that HereAfter is just an advanced tool for remembrance rather than for replication.List of resources mentioned in this episodeHereAfter WebsiteJames on LinkedinThe Comprehensive Flash Briefing Formula CourseThe Voice DenVocalID.aiOther useful resources:Voice in Canada: The Flash BriefingComplete List of Alexa CommandsAlexa-Enabled and Controlled Devices in CanadaTeri Fisher on TwitterAlexa in Canada on TwitterAlexa in Canada Facebook PageAlexa in Canada Community Group on FacebookAlexa in Canada on InstagramPlease leave a review on iTunesShopping on Amazon.ca Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teri welcomes Dr. Steven Arkonovich, a professor of philosophy at Reed College by day and a leading Alexa skill developer by night.Welcome, Dr. Arkonovich!Dr. Arkonovich began developing Alexa skills in 2015 before the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) SDK was even released and is best known for having the top-rated Alexa skill for weather. Big Sky has over 2,500 reviews and a 4.5-star rating. That puts Big Sky in the top 20 for skill reviews overall and number one in the weather category. He comes on to talk about his experience in creating skills for Alexa and Bixby, and his award winning skill, Big Sky.Philosophy Professor to Voice Technology EnthusiastA combination of trying to put off doing a research project and an Achilles tendon injury is what ultimately led him into developing an interest in voice technology, He was confined to a chair for a long time and so he was looking for things to do.He got an Alexa device early on and he liked the technology. He kept hacking around with it to have it do things that it wasn’t capable of doing at the time, like play music on his stereo or turn his lights on and off.Coding ExperienceHe hadn’t done any coding before he got into Alexa skill development.The fact that critical aspects of philosophy and coding are similar helped him in his start as a skill developer.He wanted to integrate Alexa into his music server software so he could tell Alexa to play his preferred songs or albums. That was when he was referred to an actual Alexa skill developer who was doing some early Alexa projects.The developer wrote some basic code for him, but it had some issues and he decided to fix them himself. That’s how he started self-teaching himself the necessary coding to do to the skill development.His First SkillsIt was a lights integration skill which included color loops and timers, features that are not yet available in any Alexa skill or device.He would use it to control his lights.He also developed skills for Evernote integration, Google Calendar integrations, and other things.The Google Calendar integration skill is actually still available in the skill store.Big SkyThis is his flagship skill and it’s all about the weather.He created it to give him much more detailed and obscure weather information that at the time Alexa didn’t provide. Amazon has since upped their game in that regard.He didn’t think much about it when he published it, but then over a period of six months, people started using it and it became very popular.Facing Skill ImitationsHe has unique features in his skill (Big Sky), but he has witnessed some concerning issues with Amazon copying some of his features into their own weather skill.Asking for the weather from Big Sky or Alexa is similar in certain ways, but Big Sky is much more detailed in the forecasts it provides. It, for example, analyses the weather behind the scenes to find interesting patterns like whether the chance of rain is increasing or decreasing.The data it provides comes from the Dark Sky API.Takeaways From Alexa LiveHe loved the event and the features Amazon released.He thinks the Quick Links feature is going to be beneficial for all users including Alexa skill developers. The NFI tool kit will also be great for developers and users depending on how it will be implemented.Other features that he liked included Alexa Conversations (which was integrated into Big Sky).List of resources mentioned in this episodeDr. Steven Arkonovich on TwitterBig SkyThe Comprehensive Flash Briefing Formula CourseThe Voice DenOther useful resources:Voice in Canada: The Flash BriefingComplete List of Alexa CommandsAlexa-Enabled and Controlled Devices in CanadaTeri Fisher on TwitterAlexa in Canada on TwitterAlexa in Canada Facebook PageAlexa in Canada Community Group on FacebookAlexa in Canada on InstagramPlease leave a review on iTunesShopping on Amazon.ca Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.