AMAZON'S ECHO, A LOT TO LOVE!

JANUARY 5, 2018

So... I bought an Amazon Echo for my wife as a Christmas gift this year but, let's face it, we really know who the Echo is for. I guess a few million other Amazon and related products were purchased as well.

I just love Alexa.

She truly understands me, she gets me, she listens to me!

And she always responds positively to what I politely ask for, without question.

Alexa will play any song, any time...instantly.

(yes, some restrictions apply.)

She'll tell me the weather and local and national news any time I ask, and Alexa knows what my schedule looks like.

Any trivia question is a snap. Research, biographies, history, Alexa knows it all.

Amazon's Echo and all the similar devices are a game changer, not unlike the iPhone ten years ago.

Many are touting broadcast radio's rebirth on these devices. But just because a distribution platform exists doesn't mean consumers will use it for what you want.

When the Amazon Echo is integrated and becomes commonplace in the car, another new era begins. Talent and broadcast radio need to really think through what type of content will engage the listener captured in this one to one communication environment.

Any song, anytime...instantly.

Oh, and another aspect of Alexa is that she speaks, and in doing so, creates a form of companionship, the bond that is broadcast radio's birthright. Granted, not the same but a first step.

For talent, the possibilities are endless. Broadcast radio may need a reinvention, as it has done many times in the past.

Wait, let me ask Alexa that...