If you bought a smart speaker, how might you use it? I'd have to say that in our home our smart speaker's capabilities are underused. It is mainly used to keep an ongoing grocery list, set timers, and listen to podcasts and music. The grocery list is magic though. It shows up on the matching app on my phone, so I have it when I get to the store.
One of the first things you might do is listen to your favorite music. You can get any of the main music players and it's pretty nice to be able to keep on doing what you're doing and ask Alexa to play your favorite music or to skip a song you hate. Some of the smart speakers come with excellent speakers embedded, and others are blue tooth enabled so you can play through your own speakers.
Or how about when you're having friends over? You might play games. Smart speakers have an array of games that play well with groups. Try out Song Quiz, one of the 20 Question games, or Escape the Room. Just like the old board games, but with more interaction and more fun! And if you have children doing homework while you’re socializing, they're probably using their Alexa to help them with their homework. Simply asking a question is easier than googling a topic and way easier than finding an encyclopedia!
Some of you would use your smart speaker to connect with devices in your home. This is a really cool function of smart speakers! You can turn your lights on and off, unlock or lock your door, turn on the oven with just your voice. Do you worry if you remembered to shut the garage door? Ask Alexa to shut it for you. How about those of you who are repeat door checkers? Wouldn't it be great to lie in bed and tell Alexa to lock the door one more time!
And if you love routines, you might use Alexa's routine abilities. You can set up any routine you'd like.
How about a bedtime routine? You could say, "Alexa, it's bedtime" and have her start your bedtime music. You could have her dim the lights a little bit and lock your doors. And if you had it set up, you could have her start running a warm bath.
Or a morning routine? An alarm wakes you up and your favorite music plays for about 15 minutes while you wake up. Then she'd play your Flash Briefing which could include a thought from your favorite inspirational speaker, the news of the day, and how your stocks did yesterday.
Check out the Alexa Skills Library for 3rd party apps that range from reminding you to take out the trash to checking your bank balance. Most of them are free!
And lastly, you might also ask Alexa to tell you a joke. You're on your own with this one though. The last joke she told me was, "Why did the pillow cross the road? To collect the chicken feathers."
