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> Highly disagree I think what people actually uses them for is very different than what tech and marketing think its for, but there is a massive market and ev
by nolok 6y ago
> Highly disagree
I think what people actually uses them for is very different than what tech and marketing think its for, but there is a massive market and everyday people love it to play music, call another room in a big house, control the light, check what's on tv tonight and if it's raining tomorrow.
Having my 64 years old mom emptying her fridge and then randomly saying "Alexa, what can I cook with VEGETABLE ? [answer] Okay, remind me tomorrow morning" was something very opening, as was "alexa, where is my PRODUCT" to hear about when its delivered.
Especially since I - a tech user - was a first buyer of many of these techs but mostly don't use them.
My mom doesn't know how to use tech. She makes a face when the TV remote has button that are not numbers and arrows, she still doesn't understand nor care about what the 3 buttons at the bottom of her android phone do (home / back / ...), but she has fully integrated alexa into parts her daily routine, yet completly left it out of others that it could handle.
The last time I saw something that eye opening about tech for non tech user was chromecast/firetv.
So yes, I totally understand why those companies want that spot, because whoever gets my mom queries gets her ad profile, gets her delivery orders, her music subscription, dictates what compatible brands she will use, etc ...
- jakear 6y ago> whoever gets my mom queries gets her ad profile This got me thinking —- are folks who can’t/won’t/rarely operate computers but are heavy users of voice control living in a post-ad world? Where would personalizes ads even be displayed? All the streaming services don’t have ads (at the right price point), and sure the buying products through voice devices could push particular brands, but amazon already does that with “amazon’s choice” products and I know many people who will only buy those, so nothing is really changing there. Similar for recommended content on streaming services.
- rswail 6y agoAlexa, what butter should I order for this recipe? Alexa, buy me the shoes that Kim Kardashian has on her latest instagram pic, size 7. Amazon will control that gateway and can sell those answers to the highest paying advertiser. That's even better than paying for the #1 position on google search.
- jakear 6y agoHow in the heck are butter suggestions going to be a personalized ad? That’s the same as “amazons choice”, or super market branded butter. Same for the shoes, that’s even more not-an-ad, as you’ve specifically requested a make/model. Personalized ads work by getting you to buy something you’ve been considering or getting you to consider something you haven’t heard about, in both of these cases they aren’t doing that.
- nolok 6y agoIt's not advertising per se, it's having the first place on that query on the list of amazon products. If you search on amazon you have sponsorised products at the top, products that aren't at the organic top with amazon's ranking system but pay to be above it.
- jakear 6y agoRight, that’s “Amazon’s choice”/similar. Which isn’t dependent on tracking/personalization, it’s the same as super markets getting paid to put particular products in better locations. The ads I’m talking about are when I’m on a random website and I see sidebar ads for products totally unrelated to that page, but related to my interests. Voice-only folks are post-ad in that sense. And the original comment was specifically about an “ad profile”, which only matters for personalized ads. Without personalized ads, the ad profile is meaningless, so getting one via voice devices is not all that valuable. (Again, for voice-only folks)