Amazon Alexa & Echo, my ubiquitous companions during the lockdown

As the pandemic sweeps the world, we are dealing with greater concerns, such as the health of family, friends & our own selves. 

Working from home has become the new norm for everyone. In a casual conversation with my wife during the lockdown, we were discussing how my meetings are being postponed indefinitely, how classes have been cancelled and how schools and colleges remain shut. It’s here that we questioned ourselves, “What is it that we need to do?” or “How do we engage our little one?” and came to the realization that it’s time that we align ourselves to the new way of life, which is mostly going to be driven on digital platforms.

Amazon Echo (3rd Gen) Bluetooth Speaker with Alexa (Blue)

As a techie, I need to plan my day effectively, even before the software gets to me, other engineers test the individual components of the software to make sure each part is working correctly. Similarly, I start my day with a task list. Thanks to Amazon Alexa I am able to manage my tasks with the Echo smart speaker. Well, you know interruptions are inevitable, maybe something personal that I might have to take care of, etc,. Personally, I do have disruptive periods during the day, one mid-morning where I answer emails and any questions from team members.

As you can see, Voice assistants are getting more ubiquitous. Amazon Echo (3rd Gen) isn’t just for listening to music, scheduling, running our smart home or setting reminders, it has brought some "sense of excitement", in our life, which has now been confined to four walls. Amazon Echo smart speaker has made the morning drill easier. Right from reminding me of important meetings, to reminding me to take a break, Amazon Alexa has been very helpful. Listed below are a few requests that I have asked Alexa throughout this lockdown.

Wake up to your favourite tunes and listen to soothing music with Amazon Alexa

Music can not only boost your mood in the morning but can also give a great kick start to your day with positive energy. “Alexa, wake me up at 7 AM to Kishore Kumar Songs” or ‘’Alexa, set an alarm for 5 AM to devotional songs’’. Also, I like listening to music whenever I take a break or I am not able to focus on work ‘’Alexa, start Focus Music’’ or ‘’Alexa, start mind music relax’’. I also enjoy listening to popular music across the country by saying “Alexa, play the music that is trending in Bangalore”.

Alexa can remind you for important things and bill payments

"Alexa, set a reminder for my meetings at 11 am and the perfect time to wiggle my way out. "Alexa, remind me to take a break at 5 pm’’. Many times, I forget to pay utility bills, why not have this reminder set? "Alexa, remind me to pay my utility bill", "Alexa, remind me to wish my teacher, it’s her birthday".

Working from home with a kid. What was giving you joy?

One upside of our home confinement is that I no longer need to spend time commuting back and forth to work. So, I reallocate that time to doing something that will bring me joy, spend time with my kid, play games & have fun stuff. I need to be wary of multi-tasking. "Alexa, launch math quiz”, “Alexa, ask Tic Tac Toe for a game", "Alexa, play Stone Paper Scissors, "Alexa, open Amazon Storytime ".

Taking care of ourselves, we have been living a sedentary life. Don’t neglect health.

"Alexa, start a 7-minute workout ", "Alexa, set a 30-minute workout timer", "Alexa, help me do yoga ", "Alexa, start a five-minute plank", "Alexa, start five-minute jumping jacks"

COVID 19: Stay up to date Since we are struggling with social isolation at home, then social media might also help with that. 

 "Alexa, what do I do if I think I have coronavirus", "Alexa, how many cases have been registered as COVID positive in Karnataka", "Alexa, start news flash briefing".

We all have to-do lists. As a family, we try to keep appending the list.

"Alexa, add follow-ups to my To-Do list", "Alexa, ask Byju’s for Physics Trivia", "Alexa, ask Khan Academy web for Electrostatics".

Why not be "entertained" by Alexa. I finally unwind my day, by listening to some songs and watching shows on Amazon Prime.

"Alexa, tell me a joke’’, "Alexa, Neha Kakkar ke gaane sunao", "Alexa, watch Paatal lok on Amazon prime”.

There are now more than 30,000 skills on the Amazon Alexa Skills store. Although, there’s plenty of competition in voice technology, Alexa is well-positioned for the decade to come.