Two Voice Devs

With Mark and Allen's plans to explore some new tools and features for #VoiceFirst developers, we discuss what we've been playing with for the past week. Mark talks about the Dialog Management API in VoiceFlow and how it can be used by Amazon Alexa developers as a way to easily design and deploy skills, while Allen takes his first steps into re-learning Android development for App Actions. More in...

On the occasion of our 100th episode, and with big changes in the #VoiceFirst industry from Google and beyond, Mark and Allen take a moment to look back on where voice has been, and what new developer tools and platforms we'll be looking at for the next 100 episodes.

Amazon has introduced an update to the Alexa Presentation Language, which allows #VoiceFirst developers to create more dynamic visuals. Mark and Allen discuss what these changes are and why they matter.

Based on a question from Will Rongholt, Mark and Allen discuss different approaches to implementing a #VoiceFirst game for Alexa skills or Actions on Google that provides a limited number of levels, after which players will need to make a purchase of some sort.

As we do #VoiceFirst development for platforms such as Amazon Alexa and Actions on the Google Assistant, we often find patterns in how we should interact with users between sessions, and the information we need to store to keep track of these interactions. Mark continues demonstrating to Allen the next two tools in the library: a streak counter and a recharge counter. References:  jovo.tech&n...

As we do #VoiceFirst development for platforms such as Amazon Alexa and Actions on the Google Assistant, we often find patterns in how we should interact with users between sessions, and the information we need to store to keep track of these interactions. Mark shares with Allen a library he has begun for Jovo 4 to assist with some of these patterns and goes into detail about the first of these -...

It's that time of year again! Google I/O! When Google rolls out the latest tools and products for developers and everyone else to use. While Allen couldn't be there in person this year, he answers Mark's questions about what Google is doing in the #VoiceFirst space in general and with the Google Assistant, Actions on Google, App Actions, and the Matter protocol specifically.

With a basic understanding of how multivocal helps you create a configuration-driven #VoiceFirst app, Allen and Mark discuss how a configuration-driven content management system for multivocal ties it all together for designers, developers, and content creators.

Allen has been talking about multivocal for years, but what is it, and what does it do for developers? He and Mark talk about some of the underlying concepts about the multivocal library, how #VoiceFirst developers use it with platforms such as Amazon Alexa and Actions on Google, and how it can use Firebase Firestore for configuration and what this means as part of a content management system.

Recently, AWS announced that their Lambda functions could now be invoked directly via HTTP, rather than having to go through another AWS service to access it. Mark and Allen compare this (and Lambda in general) to Google Cloud Functions, which offer similar features, and why these are both important tools in the #VoiceFirst toolbelt.

In the last episode, Mark demonstrated some of his work on Jovo that would lead towards a #VoiceFirst CMS integration, and Allen commented "now all you need is a UI to manage the content". This week - Mark delivers by exploring how to use Sanity.io, a "headless CMS" to build the UI that will feed into the configuration.

Ever have one of those weekends where you have a programming idea, and you just can't get it out of your head, so you decide to code it? We all have! Mark had some ideas for how to create a Content Management System (CMS) built on top of Jovo, and he had to call Allen to share the idea and some early experiments with it. Along the way, we discuss some of Jovo's core concepts and set the stage for...

Based on a question from Dana Gibson, Mark and Allen discuss some of the complexities when it comes to building Actions on Google for Assistant or Alexa Skills that access a database. From dealing with the asynchronous operations to making sure we complete the queries as quickly as possible, from SQL to tools like Firebase, Dynamo DB, and Air Table, we explore some tips and traps about databases i...

An important feature in Account Linking with both Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant is how they both integrate with existing authorization systems using the OAuth2 protocol. But OAuth2 can be tricky sometimes, as Mark and Allen relate with some tales of woe as they've tried to integrate OAuth into their #VoiceFirst skills and actions. Definitely some weird stuff happening!

With another week to ponder the implications (and implementation), Mark and Allen are both pretty excited to discuss some thoughts around what a #VoiceFirst CMS might look like and how it would work with the Actions for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Specifically, we dig a little bit into what Multivocal and Jovo are currently doing to make things easier on developers and content creators and...

Allen and Mark continue their conversation about Content Management Systems in a #VoiceFirst world and how developers could use a CMS to both simplify their development, empower the content authors and conversation designers, and lower the cost of updating Google Assistant actions and Alexa skills. Some products discussed: sanity.io Graph CMS Leximic multivocal Jovo

When it comes to #VoiceFirst applications, we often say that "content is king". But creating great conversations are also part of the content, and require close collaboration between the content author, the conversation designer, and the developer. Frequently updating the content can make for a better Alexa skill or Google Assistant action, but could be complicated. Mark and Allen discuss how (and...

What #VoiceFirst technology would we use to build an Alexa Skill or Google Assistant Action that allows us to chat with our friends? That's the question that Allen and Mark try to answer. Along the way, we learn about various technologies, tips, and tricks that we can use across an assortment of voice apps that we may build. (But should we even try to make this?)

Let's get this #VoiceFirst app going! Mark and Allen chat about some of the complexities when it comes to starting your Google Assistant Action or Alexa Skill - either as the start of a conversation, through a "deep link" invocation, or as a "one shot" question or command. While it seems like it should be straightforward, things aren't as easy as they seem! What tricks and tools do we have at our...

Frequent listener JT asked us to explain what "modality" means. Good question, JT! Allen and Mark tackle the question to try and explain it, how it is important in #VoiceFirst development, and discuss some thoughts about where this important consideration may shape our Google Assistant actions and Alexa skills in years to come.

Mark and Allen take a look at one of the foundational technologies for Alexa Skills and Google App Actions (and all of the modern web) - HTTP. Although originally standing for the HyperText Transfer Protocol, these days it has grown to support a wide range of uses, including the REST protocol, which many #VoiceFirst apps use to make information available for users.

Mark is joined by guest host Eliza Camber, an Android developer and Google Developer Expert for the Google Assistant, to discuss what App Actions for the Google Assistant on Android are, how they bring the power of #VoiceFirst features to new and existing Android apps, how they compare to Alexa's mobile features, and how mobile devices can help future assistants with the thorny question about cont...

Voice AI technology is popping up in all sorts of different places, but one place that has gotten lots of news recently has been seeing #VoiceFirst processing at fast food drive-throughs. Allen and Mark ponder this from a number of different angles, both technological and legal, and explore where developers play a role as this becomes more widespread.

Ever have one of those days (or weeks) as a developer where things don't just go wrong, they go badly wrong? Allen and Mark talk about some of their worst experiences as developers, from annoying bugs to accidentally deleting databases, and how they recovered. Most importantly - they remind us to remember the successes - not just the failures. #VoiceFirst

Mark and Allen discuss what being a senior Software Developer looks like, for them, on a day-to-day basis, and compares how it may differ for #VoiceFirst and more conventional software projects.