WHAT IS AN ALEXA SKILL?

Alexa is the name given to Amazon’s smart speaker device and they come in different sizes, colors, and packages. You can interact with the speaker using your voice to perform a variety of tasks like checking the weather, locking your house doors, changing your thermostat temperature, making phone calls, playing games, and even listening to music.

An Alexa skill is an app for your Alexa smart speaker that you load onto your smartphone and that enables your smart speaker to receive specific voice commands for the app you're loading. This article will provide you with the steps to install an Alexa Skill and then use it, using The Path Radio Mix radio station as an example.

STEP BY STEP INSTALL

In the step-by-step procedure below, Step 1 through Step 6 help you navigate the Alexa app on your smartphone and search for The Path Radio Mix Skill. If you want to skip those steps and get to the install portion, below are two direct links to the app. Step 7 provides you with information on launching and using the app.

Canada Amazon Alexa Skills

United States Amazon Alexa Skills

Step 1

Find your Alexa App on your smart phone and tap to open it.

Step 2

When the app is open, look in the bottom right corner for the “more” menu option (shown with a red square) and tap it. If you’ve installed other skills, you might see “Skills & Games” in your Shortcuts, so you can skip this step and step 3 by tapping that icon (shown with a blue square).

Step 3

On the next screen, look for the Skills & Games option and tap it. You could skip this step if you got to the Skills & Games screen in the previous step.

Step 4

On the next screen, tap the search icon in the top right corner.

Step 5

In the search bar, type in the words: path radio mix and then tap search in the bottom right corner.

Step 6

The search results will display The Path Radio Mix skill. Tap it!

Step 7

On the next screen you may see a Launch button and a Settings button, or sometimes just a Launch button. Tap the launch button. You may be presented with a list of Alexa or Amazon activated devices in your home. You can pick the one closest to you for now, but once you’ve launched the skill, you can activate it with your voice on any device associated with your Amazon account.

Now you can listen to The Path Radio Mix on your Amazon Alexa device anytime you wish by simply saying, “Alexa, play path radio mix”!

This is an opinion article by Guido Piraino of  The Monthly Social Podcast. It may also be heard on The Path Radio Mix Online. You can read other opinion articles on the blog page.

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