Hey Alexa, it’s a Date: Upcoming Amazon Alexa Conferences in 2019
Eager to get some hands-on experience developing Alexa skills? Or maybe you’ve already designed a few and are looking for networking opportunities. Either way, there are several awesome and informative Amazon Alexa conferences around the world. From small workshops to multi-day events featuring speakers from the top brands in the industry, there’s many opportunities to rub elbows and learn from other skill developers.
Amazon Alexa Conferences
January 15-17 in Chattanooga, TN
The biggest live Amazon Alexa event, the Amazon Alexa Conference features three days of talks and workshops from top Amazon Alexa developers. Presented by VoiceFirst, a voice interface-focused podcasting network, the Alexa Conference is sponsored by Amazon Alexa itself. The “Alexa World Fair” is among its chief features, showcases some of the best use cases and skills in existence. Also, it provides Alexa developers with a lot to learn from.
Conversational Interaction Conference
March 11-12 in San Jose, CA
This live Amazon Alexa event is focused on both speech and text conversational interfaces. It provides case studies and best practices for both internal and external use cases. Hence, it’s a must-attend for anyone excited about the direction conversational interface is going in. In addition to the typical talking points, this conference also focuses on conversational interfaces in different environments such as the car—making it an excellent choice for Alexa developers trying to break away from the kitchen or living room speaker.
Connections Connected Home Conference
May 21-23 in San Francisco, CA
This one isn’t specifically an Alexa conference, but rather focuses broadly on connected devices, smart homes and the internet of things. Because platforms like Alexa often serve as a hub interface for users to interact with such devices, it’s definitely worth the price of admission for developers of smart home voice apps.
Voice Summit
July 22-26 in Newark, NJ
Voice Summit is the biggest voice-first conference, featuring participation from companies like Intuit, Capital One, Mitsubishi and even Amazon itself. You won’t just find talks here: perhaps the most useful part of the Amazon Alexa conference is its recruiting sessions, making it one of the top places for hobbyist and professional Alexa skill developers to network.
Business of Bots
February 5-7 in San Francisco, CA
2018’s Business of Bots conference was a great opportunity to learn all about bots in general, demystifying the hype around AI with no-nonsense talks and insightful information. Thankfully, the event is coming back in 2019 featuring not only excellent commentary but also a range of workshops that provide real, hands-on experience.
VoiceCon
In New York, NY (no date yet confirmed)
Another Alexa conference that is confirmed to come back next year, is VoiceCon. This conference is presented by Vayermedia, with legendary entrepreneur and marketer Gary Vayerchuk among its key speakers. This year’s edition also featured Dave Isbitski, Amazon’s Chief Evangelist of Alexa and Echo, as a key speaker. The conference focused on topics like measuring skills with voice analytics and taking advantage of new media opportunities in voice.
Alexa Dev Days
In addition to Alexa conferences, you can attend Alexa Dev Days hosted by Amazon all around the world. These events are free, providing workshops, demos and networking opportunities to Alexa skill developers. It’s a great way to get hands-on experience and learning about the latest trends in the platform. While the event is free, be sure to register ahead of time.