Getting to know Alexa: the long way towards full adoption and understanding | Part 2

Quelle: Amazon
Source: Screenshot taken from an Amazon’s Video
Excitement, entertainment, and nonsense are the best words to describe our first feelings about the first contact we made with Alexa, Amazon‘s voice-controlled AI assistant that is integrated into Amazon Echo and Echo Dot.
 
After testing the most operative part of the device, it is the turn for evaluating Alexa’s communication and self-learning skills. How smart is Alexa? Does she learn from mistakes? Is the communication process natural and seamless?

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(3 vote(s), average: 3.67 out of 5)
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4 trends that go beyond mobile and should not be missed out [5 Reading Tips]

Quelle: Dino Quinzani & pexels.com (bearbeitet von dotSource)
Source: Dino Quinzani & pexels.com (edited by dotSource)
Last week a new edition of the Mobile World Congress took place in Barcelona to present the latest trends in the mobile industry. Although this year there were neither many stellar presentations of gadgets nor excessively prominent visitors , it can be said that mobile is the connecting element in which advanced technologies come together to prompt new ecosystems such as the connected car.
 
The use of smartphones as constant companions coupled with a better quality of internet connection result in a multiscreen world: According to a study presented by Google, 24% of consumers indicate that they usually access the Internet through three devices (smartphone, tablet and laptop or computer).
 
These two indicators prove that mobile is reaching digital maturity. But, apart from reaching this conclusion, the world’s largest gathering for the mobile industry gave a glimpse of the most important trends for this year. Let’s dive into it!

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(1 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Getting to know Alexa: from fascination to normalisation | Part 1

Quelle: Amazon
Quelle: Amazon
Ahead of schedule the smart assistant Amazon Echo completed the trial period and has been available for sale on the marketplace for any German customer 2 weeks now. The Handelskraft editorial staff was quick to order one and test it for a few days. We were more than curious to “experiment” and “talk” with a virtual assistant and obviously many questions arose while waiting for the package to be delivered: How useful and spontaneous could Alexa be? Could she become part of the family? Could the conversation be fluent and natural?
 
It is not a surprise that still today humans only feel fascination for the possibility of communicating with machines and interacting with them proactively. However, initially the rise of voice search functionalities (OK Google) and more recently the emergence of virtual assistants such as Amazon Echo, Google Home or Siri might contribute to change this perception. However, how far are we until it comes to normality?
 
In our 2-part series about Alexa we are going to the very heart of these questions that we are pursuing.

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(1 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Mobility trending at Best Brands Awards 2017 [5 Reading Tips]

Quelle: pexels.com
Quelle: pexels.com
Last week the 14th award ceremony for the best brands of the year took place. The new special category, focused on future mobility brands this time, grabbed the attention of everyone. However there was much curiosity for getting to know the consumers’ final say this time. Would there be unexpected newcomers? Would the German car industry’s power show up once again?
 
In order to decide on the winners, Gfk carried out a representative study that measures the strength of a brand against two criteria: market share and the degree of attractiveness of the brand according to the respondents (consumers). Having said that, what brands appealed the most to consumers?

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(2 vote(s), average: 3.00 out of 5)
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Is Artificial intelligence really taking off? [5 Reading Tips]

Quelle: Fotolia
Quelle: Fotolia
The buzzword Artificial Intelligence (AI) is passing from hype to reality and it is expected to become not only a game changer but also one of the main global economy growth drivers in the years to come. The different AI technologies already put in place by traditional companies as well as the increasing number of AI start-ups that successfully offer value added through these AI technologies, already give us a glimpse of AI’s full potential for consumers and also industries.

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(1 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Getting inspiration from Slack and Otto, the start-ups in vogue [5 Reading Tips]

Quelle: Pexels.com
Quelle: Pexels.com
Like every year, the most promising and successful businesses within the sector were honoured at the 10th Crunchies Awards, which are a kind of Oscars of Sillicon Valley. Therefore, it is always a good moment to turn round and pay attention to what is made in the cradle of technology in order to draw inspiration and keep up to date in a world where the next step is taken every day.
 
So which start-ups should be kept watching? What is the basis for their success? Are there any alternatives on the market?

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(2 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Premium coffee cups served by robots in seconds [5 Reading Tips]

Quelle: Cafe X
Quelle: Cafe X
In times of ‘Star Wars’, the roles of C3PO and R2D2 already hinted that humans and robots were destined for perpetual close collaboration and understanding. Now the spread of the Internet, the continuous progress in advanced technology, and its applications in every aspect of human and business life make that fiction come true for consumers.
 
Robots are starting to become visible to the public in unbelievable roles. Thus, the latest expression of this new ecosystem is called Gordon, who intends to revolutionise the way we order and consume coffee and, ultimately, to destroy Starbucks’ empire.

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(2 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Updated white paper: »E-Commerce Potential in B2B – What can e-commerce and m-commerce do for your business?«

B2Bcover2_small

The Internet has been made not only for B2C purposes. The expansion and growth of Amazon Business and Alibaba proved it. It was a matter of time that B2B companies also embraced the digitalisation of marketing and sales and influenced how sellers and buyers interact. According to a Forrester Research, 93 percent of B2B buyers prefer to buy online once they have decided what to buy.

In this context of digital transformation, leading B2B companies now give high priority to e-commerce and m-commerce, and use the same weapons as their B2C counterparts to continue growing and offer value added.

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(2 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Tune your ears – Audio content marketing is coming! [5 Reading Tips]

Quelle: pexels.com
Quelle: pexels.com
The spread of digital home assistants such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, along with other IoT applications including smart cars and chat bots, introduces the voice as the next-generation interface. Actually, Gartner predicts that 30% of web browsing sessions will be screenless by 2020, what opens up new horizons for audio content marketing.

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(2 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Alibaba is using big data analytics to fight against fake products [5 Reading Tips]

KamicPhuc / Flickr.com
KamicPhuc / Flickr.com
Internet is a free channel; however it does not mean that anything goes. For many years, the largest e-commerce platforms of the world (Amazon and Alibaba) have been looking the other way when fake products issues started to arise, undermining the reputation of online retailers and threatening the viability of many honest businesses. However that tendency has changed radically.
 
After Amazon gave the first moves against IP infringements, Alibaba has found the perfect formula to clear their e-commerce sites from intellectual property pirates: the use of advanced technologies (big data analytics and AI, among others) in combination with close collaboration between them and genuine brands, such as Louis Vuitton, Huawei, or Samsung, and relevant authorities.
 
Will this promising recipe redefine the way we are fighting against fraud, scam, and IP infringement? To what extent are companies adopting big data solutions and in which segments has big data taken off?

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(2 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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