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Amazon Will Pay Developers With the Most Engaging Alexa Skills (venturebeat.com)
Amazon today announced a new program to bring revenue to developers of Alexa skills based on how much engagement their voice app is able to generate among users of Alexa-enabled devices. From a report: Amazon appears to be the first of the major tech companies with AI assistants and third-party integrations -- like Google, Samsung, Apple, and Microsoft -- with a program to compensate developers based on engagement created by their voice app. Metrics used to measure engagement of an Alexa skill include minutes of usage, new customers, customer ratings, and return visitors, an Amazon spokesperson told VentureBeat. Developers of Alexa skills in the U.S., U.K., and Germany are eligible to join. Developers with a skill active in all three countries will receive separate payments based on engagement in each country.
Depending on how good the app was, the length of time of engagement might be short, but I"m guessing that would be made up by increased repeat business.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
I submitted a skill. They strung me along for about 4 months asking for pointless tweaks while changing the acceptable encryption schemes, etc. At the end of all that they finally said "Some skills will never be accepted" and ended it there. No way to follow up.
Quick check of the dev forums and there are plenty of similar tales. The reason why? Whatever the skill was eventually became part of core functionality, or another large company released something identical shortly thereafter. My particular skill wound up in core.
You know, I get it. Maybe you don't want to reveal your road map. But don't string people along for months knowing you have no intention of ever approving. I've had plenty of ideas for skills since, but I'm never going near it again. Fuck those guys.
phone sex bot for the win!
I'm calling it now. A sex chat program or something like it will actually win, but will be disqualified from the competition.
The voice interface, while looks good in science fiction as it is an easy way to push the plot along. However these devices such as Alexa, are often getting in my way of instant data. As someone who keep my phone silent and my PC on mute I find getting info from a keyboard, or with gestures on a good interface, is much better to get info. Plus other people don't have to hear me ask silly questions or bore listing to the answers.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Enough said.
Captcha: Exploit
This is great news for anybody who uses these voice-based devices. The app ecosystem on these devices has been an absolute sewer, because only apps with a monetization strategy get published. There is a tonne of room for some very cool little applications that use voice inside the home for quick information requests and the like. But as is, nobody is going to build those apps because they cost money to run. Not very much money, but you still need to host a service somewhere. The worst case scenario for somebody up until now who was developing an Alexa Skill was to have it blow up in popularity, and then get stuck with a large hosting bill.
> Hello, I am Alexa.
* Hello Alexa, I am AC.
> How long have you been AC?
* All my life.
> Tell me more...
* About my life?
> Tell me more...
* MORE!
> OK... "Hello Eliza, you are AC". Tell me more.
* "MORE" DAMMIT!
> Tell me more...
* For fucks sake, Alexa...
Using Google's AI is terrible.
Me: *pushes button*
AI: *ding*
Me: "Navigate to my next appointment"
AI: "I don't know how to help you with that"
Me: *pushes button*
AI: *ding*
Me: "What is my next appointment"
AI: "Your next appointment is XYZ in Woodland"
Me: *pushes button*
AI: *ding*
Me: "Navigate there"
AI: "Turn left on..."
Seriously. Why does it work when I do two steps (What is my next appointment? Navigate there.) and not one step (Navigate to my next appointment)? Lame.
Or how about:
*phone dings*
Me: *pushes button*
AI: *ding*
Me: "Read me my notifications"
AI: "Sorry, I don't have access to your notifications just yet"
Me: *picks up phone, ready notification, gets pulled over in Washington State, gets cited for distracted driving, has to pay $250 to the state mafia*
I hate voice assistants with a passion, but unlike touchscreen desktops I do think they have a real chance of becoming useful and popular. We have enough sci-fi with talking computers that I think people already have a feel for the times where they might be more useful than a display based system. Except for Google assistant. Try calling that thing up with a sore throat, it's some beautiful negative reinforcement I tell you. That glottal abortion "OK Google" will be left unnamed in the dumpster it was born into.
& take it everywhere?
Only skilled developers can skill alexabot skills, not Luddite apps
You got fucked like a like a cheap whore
They let you do the hard creative work, and they mimicked it in house for cheap. When it was ready, you got told to leave. And you got stiffed on the money.
Seriously, I am appalled at their 'apps'. I use it for weather/timers/basic arithmetic (didnt know cos/sin and was hoping it would be useful while woodworking). I have yet to find a single app worth the effort of installing it. Anybody find one thats useful?
"compensate developers based on engagement" - so only the lucky few with a popular "skill" get paid, The rest works for free. That's even worse than a zero hours contract.
Figure out a decent way to have Alexa keep track of all those things you can't find when you want them. "Alexa, I am putting my ... in the closet, third shelf."
A dingo ate my sig...
The engagement would only be short with a bad developer. The loop should go: "oh I want you to.." *pause* "please wait while updating user profile for your new level of interaction" *pause* "sorry about that. Oh you are so strong..."
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
Please find new and innovative ways to get users hooked on and dependent upon a chat bot.
Same with cellphones, they'll use the same tactics the gambling industry to induce literal addiction In end users.
And those of us who use it for what it's meant for, something useful, will benefit. Everyone else. Welcome to Dystopia.
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I don't remember Apple having to pay developers to make apps for the App Store. Actually I don't remember a single cash incentive program for developers that worked. People like a platform or they don't, forcing engagement with prizes buys you very little.
Isn't this backwards? Surely from a user experience point of view, we'd want the minimum possible engagement with the device?
I should say "Alexa, I'm too hot" and have her turn down the thermostat. It shouldn't be, "Alexa turn down the thermostat" followed by her asking "which device" and then my having to remember what the Ecobee is called (and also to make sure I don't name a smart plug or light anything too similar so that I don't get told off for trying to change the temperature on the wrong sort of device, rather than her figuring that I want to use the only device on the network with a thermostat).
I guess it could be argued that there might in future be applications where you would want to converse with Alexa. But if her understanding of English is so limited that changing the temperature is a battle, those applications are still a long way off.
If the goal is only to increase interaction, the side-effect could easily be they create annoying or undesirable behaviors that do increase interactions, but dramatically lower satisfaction.
Like nunchuck skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills? Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills!
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.