The Alexa Podcast

Episode 11 of The Alexa Podcast, presented by VoiceFirst.FM, features special guest Mayokun Adeniyi - the co-creator of the first Alexa meetup in Africa. The discussion spans Mayokun's ambitions for the group, what he sees in voice-first technology, and his hopes for Alexa as a platform. The Alexa Podcast is hosted by Bradley Metrock (CEO, Score Publishing) and Kevin Old (software developer, LifeWay).

Episode 10 of The Alexa Podcast, presented by VoiceFirst.FM, features special guests Aviel Ginzburg (Alexa Accelerator, Powered By Techstars) and Rodrigo Prudencio (Amazon's Alexa Fund). The discussion spans what constitutes success for a startup coming through the Alexa Accelerator, how both of our guests assess companies, a history of Alexa Accelerator alum Novel Effect, and a broad discussion around voice-first technology with two key players at the center of Amazon's efforts. The Alexa Podcast is hosted by Bradley Metrock (CEO, Score Publishing) and Kevin Old (software developer, LifeWay).

Episode 9 of The Alexa Podcast, presented by VoiceFirst.FM, features special guest Dave Isbitski (Chief Evangelist, Alexa and Echo, for Amazon). The discussion spanned what constitutes success for a technology evangelist, how he responds to questions about Amazon's data security and privacy, resources Amazon makes available for developers, and the next generation of Alexa skills which go beyond mere information recall. Dave Isbitski will speak as part of Digital Book World 2018 (www.DigitalBookWorld.com) this October in Nashville, and Amazon will sponsor The Alexa Conference, Presented By VoiceFirst.FM, taking place in January 2019 (www.voicefirst.fm/alexaconference). The Alexa Podcast is hosted by Bradley Metrock (CEO, Score Publishing) and Kevin Old (software developer, LifeWay).

Episode 8 of The Alexa Podcast, presented by VoiceFirst.FM, features special guest Jackson Stone (Senior Software Engineer, Skuid).

The discussion covered Jackson's background, Skuid's business model, Lex vs Alexa, and some news out of CES from earlier in the week. Hosted by Bradley Metrock (CEO, Score Publishing) and Kevin Old (software developer, LifeWay).

Episode 7 of The Alexa Podcast, presented by VoiceFirst.FM, features special guest Amy Stapleton (CEO and founder, Tellables). Amy discusses Tellables' approach to interactive storytelling, some of the challenges in implementing immersive experiences using the Alexa platform, and the role voice assistants will play in storytelling (among many other things) as we move into the future. Tellables' feature on Amazon's developer blog, as mentioned in this episode, can be viewed here: https://developer.amazon.com/blogs/alexa/post/9e0d0f76-a275-4bbe-871a-2a556e5c017f/creator-of-tricky-genie-a-popular-kid-skill-for-alexa-shares-tips-for-fostering-consistent-customer-engagement. Hosted by Bradley Metrock (CEO, Score Publishing) and Kevin Old (software developer, LifeWay).

Episode 6 of The Alexa Podcast, presented by VoiceFirst.FM, features the Alexa / Techstars incubator company Novel Effect. Matt Hammersley (CEO and founder), Eric Goetz (Director of Audio Content Development), and Chris Roach (soundscape / audio producer) join forces for a great discussion of how voice-first devices can complement the reading experience without cannibalizing it, how Amazon's investment into voice technology has lifted Novel Effect, the story of the decision to start the company, and a glimpse into the future of the company's extensive product roadmap. Hosted by Bradley Metrock (CEO, Score Publishing) and Kevin Old (software developer, LifeWay).

Episode 5 of The Alexa Podcast, presented by VoiceFirst.FM, features special guest Aaron Emigh, co-founder and CEO of Brilliant. The discussion spans what makes Amazon such a good partner with Alexa software and hardware developers, similarities between Brilliant's Alexa-enabled lightswitch panel and the Echo Show, the urgent need for security and privacy on devices like Brilliant's, the potential applications in the health care sector, and more. Hosted by Bradley Metrock (CEO, Score Publishing) and Kevin Old (software developer, LifeWay).

Episode 4 of The Alexa Podcast, presented by VoiceFirst.FM, features special guest Andrea Bianco, Alexa Champion and the entrepreneur behind Smart House Consultant. Andrea explains how she started her company, and the work she does in providing Alexa-based smart technology to new and existing homes. Hosted by Bradley Metrock (CEO, Score Publishing) and Kevin Old (software developer, LifeWay).

Episode 3 of The Alexa Podcast, presented by VoiceFirst.FM, features special guest Teri Bertram, longtime video game industry veteran and developer. Teri recently ported famous text-based video game "Colossal Cave Adventure" to Amazon's Alexa, making news among video game fans around the world. We discuss video games, what Amazon needs to do to facilitate more video game development for Alexa-enabled devices, and much more.

Co-hosts Bradley Metrock (CEO, Score Publishing) and Kevin Old (Software developer, LifeWay) interview John Kelvie, founder at Bespoken, about his company, the tools Bespoken has developed for voice application development, and the direction in which the entire movement is headed.