Reading news and playing music aren’t the only things Alexa can help us with. In fact, there are several skills this amazing AI Voice Assistant possesses that are still beyond the comprehension of most of us. Some of these skills are like time tracking and translation.

The capabilities of the Amazon voice assistant, Alexa are actually even more than the basic functionalities that one may possibly think of in relation to a voice assistant. As a matter of fact, a bag full of skills that are already in use with Alexa is still waiting to be explored by many of us. In fact, there’s a stunning increase in the number of the Alexa skills development Companies over the years considering the excellent craze for this Voice assistant among the consumers. Eventually, there’s an outstanding proliferation of Alexa skills and the more you understand these skills, the better you use Alexa.

Placing an Order

Placing orders using Alexa is probably the next best thing you can try if you are looking forward to using Alexa for business. You can order a wide variety of items through various ecommerce websites using Alexa. If you are wondering as to what’s the setup going to be like in order to order items using Alexa, it’s pretty simple. What you exactly need to do is link your account to your Amazon Echo via Alexa. Also, you need to set up your associated payment method which isn’t difficult at all.

Some people might just be a bit sceptical about the concept of using Alexa for purchasing. This is mainly because of the security concern of their accounts since, technically, Alexa is supposed to take commands from anyone. However, it’s as safe as one can possibly think of and in fact, Alexa can be configured to a large extent in terms of purchase or payment settings. You can set a password to confirm purchases and each time you want to purchase any item using Alexa, you will need to provide Alexa with that password. It can’t get any safer than this, right?

Tracking the status of your order is ridiculously easy as well and all you need to do is ask Alexa, “where’s my stuff?”

Managing Tasks

What’s the very first tool that crosses your mind when it comes to Task Management or organizing your tasks? For most of us, it’s a calendar wherein you can set events or reminders. However, the real magic begins as you link your calendar with Alexa. You can now know your calendar events anytime using Alexa. Also, you can add events and reminders conveniently by giving voice commands to Alexa.

Using Alexa skills like the calendaring Quick Events skill to add reminders or adding multi-day events to your calendar, you can undoubtedly get things pretty well organized unlike ever before.

Task management is unimaginably easy and enjoyable with Alexa. Whenever you need to add a task to your to-do list on the go, simply speak out the task to Alexa and Alexa will add it right away to your to-do list which you can manage conveniently using the Alexa app.

Texting & Phone calls

Texting is certainly the most common way to stay connected with our friends and colleagues. However, do you ever feel texting is consuming a lot of your time? If you do so, you aren’t really mistaken. In fact, a lot of people feel the same way as you do.

However, using Alexa’s SMS with Molly skill wherein you can speak out your message to Alexa and it will text it to your contacts, you can save a considerable amount of time. For this, you will need to create an SMS with Molly skill account and add your contacts to it.

By default, there’s no way Alexa can make a phone call for you. However, if you still want Alexa to assist you in making phone calls, you can sign up with Phone.com. By doing so, you can have phone calls made to your friends and colleagues by Alexa.

Dictionary Cum Spell Checker

We can’t afford to go wrong with spelling while we write an important email else things can just get pretty embarrassing sometimes, right? However, with Alexa, you are never going to get locked away with any difficult spelling. Each time, you aren’t sure of the spelling of a particular word, don’t waste your valuable time in wondering about and guessing.

Instead, you could ask Alexa to spell the word for you which would not only save your time but also, would save you from embarrassment. You can always rest assured of the right spelling with Alexa as it has a built-in dictionary. On top of that, you can add more dictionary based skills such as the Word Lookup skill.

Smart Calculations

Finding the calculator app in times of need can be pretty troublesome and tiresome sometimes especially if we don’t find it within the reach. With Alexa, you can get as much as you would possibly get from a standard calculator. In fact, it keeps you find answers to your mathematical queries such as addition, multiplication, conversion and more.

Translation

There are many situations wherein we might need to translate contents into another language for a better understanding. Getting words or phrases translated is ridiculously convenient with Alexa.

You can either ask Alexa verbally to translate the words and phrases or simply type your commands. Also, you can ask Alexa to repeat or recite the words and phrases at a slower speed.

Time-Tracking

Productivity involves a serious outlook towards utilizing time in the best possible way as time is limited. However, you can never succeed in increasing your productivity unless you know what all things you are actually spending your time on as well as how much time you usually spend on them.

Using the Work Time Tracker skill, Alexa can help you know the amount of time you spend on various tasks and projects which will certainly help you get more productive.

Cab Booking And Hotel Booking

Using Alexa is certainly going to have a massive impact upon the lives of its users and it will definitely help its users save a great deal of time and effort. Alexa can be directly seen as an unimaginably exceptional productivity tool.

Imagine the amount of time you spend in booking a cab or a hotel room. It usually takes a lot of time in searching for the most appropriate websites to book a cab or a hotel room. Most importantly, typing and filling up the forms is not just tiresome but also, a lot time-consuming. Unlike ever before, you can now conveniently book an Ola cab by simply uttering the command,“Alexa, ask Ola to book a ride.”

With an amazing collaboration of Kayak and Alexa in the recent past, you can book a hotel room anywhere by simply uttering a few words. Supposing you want to have a hotel room booked at Boston, all you need to do is say, “Alexa, ask Kayak to book me a hotel room in Boston.”

Ordering a Pizza

Ordering a Pizza using Alexa’s artificial intelligence is perhaps, the most easiest thing one can ever do. By enabling the Domino’s skill, you can order a Pizza from Domino’s. Of course, you will have to link your account to your Pizza profile. To start with, you may start by saying, “ Alexa, open Domino’s.” You can then place your order. Also, you can conveniently track your order.

These were a few important Alexa skills that can bring about a massive level of productivity in your lives no matter what field of life you belong to. However, Alexa has certainly got more than this and from the users’ point of view; it’s about finding the right mix of the various Alexa skills to make their lives more convenient.

January 11, 2018 by Incredible Planet Staff

3 Digital Trends Disrupting the Events Industry

Business

The impact of millennials and digital technology has revolutionized the events industry in the last five years. The new focus of events now is to evolve beyond its preoccupation to integrate digital trends into the events space.

The approach to integrate new technologies will engage attendees in a multidisciplinary way, conjuring unique event experiences that have only existed in imaginations until now.

The emergence of digital technology within the events space has changed the way the event industry designs elements of the live event experience. It has transformed every aspect of the experience, from planning and production to execution. For industry experts, this means adapting to the new state of evolution while pioneering strategies and concepts.

This is no easy task, but the proliferation of new tech tools such as social media and additional realities; virtual and augmented has canvassed the event industry. This means new opportunities and challenges within the events space.

To fully understand how these technological changes are impacting the events space, here are three digital trends disrupting the events industry.

1. The Internet of Things

The Internet of Things, or IoT, is the idea of connecting everyday tools to the Internet. This improves network connectivity (crucial for event management), while also creating a more efficient and data-driven network. The IoT landscape assists in all important aspects of the events industry, from presentation performance all the way down to potential attendees.

Using IoT for events bridges communication gaps to improve attendee engagement. iBeacon and RFID are two examples of IoT event technologies that assists attendee management. Both technologies allow leading event companies the ability to streamline attendee data, enabling them to keep a numerical track of guests, assisting them with location information, check-in assistance, and event schedule updates.

Such IoT event technologies minimizes the manual processes required to fill out physical sign-in sheets and information flyers, saving time and money for event organizers and sponsors alike.

2. Shared Event Experiences

Audiovisual technology still remains a trendsetter within the events industry. The new trends in AV technology lie in the utilization of mixed reality (AR and VR) and live streaming. These two shared event experiences eliminate the barriers to entry for once-exclusive events, allowing non-physical attendees to engage with the event experience.

The adoption of live streaming through social networks such as Facebook Live and Instagram Stories affords guests the ability to tune into a live event despite geographical limitations.

Less than five years ago, runway shows were tailored to the invited guests. They were exclusive affairs for those who worked within the industry. Access was granted according to names on a guest list.

The advent of live streaming eliminated such barriers. Now, Fashion Week is an instantaneous and accessible experience, reaching audiences across the world. In 2015, while roughly 125,000 people attended the September shows, over 2.5 million live-streamed the event.

Advancements in virtual and augmented reality capabilities have established new concepts in how events are experienced. Sporting events such as the Rio Olympics has employed VR and AR to enable remote spectators to experience a deeper level of immersion than previously possible. Global conferences such as CES and MWC have also utilized VR and AR to enhance the live event experience.

Such technologies make the event experience incredibly democratic. This allows event organizers the ability to create a more personalized live event experience, enabling them to brand themselves to a broader audience in real-time.

3. Event Interactivity

Another digital trend that events are tapping into is the sharing economy. On-demand services like Uber and Airbnb are empowering event organizers to use crowd-powered services to bolster event participation and engagement. Digital tools such as RFID cards and touch-screen displays increases engagement by providing hands-on experiences to specific, exclusive content.

The rise of artificial intelligence, as seen by Siri, Cortana, and Alexa, adds a boost to events, creating opportunities for personalization.

Event managers and organizers are employing a legion of AI assistants to serve as personal concierge, brand ambassadors, and even virtual event assistants. They are employed to help in all aspects of event management, from registration to budgeting. This enables event organizers to target different demographics according to their needs.

Delivering on more personalized interactions means better engagement from event participants, improving the attendee experience.

Digital technology is at the forefront of industry changes. The digitization of the events industry means changes, but more importantly, it means more opportunities. A deeper immersion experience leads to a deeper level of engagement. This leads to plenty of opportunities for brands to differentiate themselves from the competition, increasing their branding and improving the overall live event experience.