Understanding Google My Business & Local Search
Siri: When did you start working?
Last night I was driving to Baltimore for an upcoming LocalU seminar. I heard the ding of a received text while listening to a podcast and I was curious. I asked Siri to read it to me. She did. She asked if I wanted to reply, I said yes. She sent my response flawlessly.
A while later I was heading down the highway and glanced at my email and wanted to send off a quick response to one ( I know, I know…it’s dangerous. Do not try this yourselves). I dictated, she understood me and inserted my response correctly into the email.
At 9:30, just outside of Williamsport and dog tired, I pulled over to the side of the highway and asked her to recommend a few nearby hotels as I couldn’t see any signs off of the exit. She asked me which of the several choices I wanted and if I wanted to call one or get driving directions. I indicated that I wanted driving directions and she guided me to the next exit and through a maze of service roads to a decent night’s sleep.
Hmm… it wasn’t until this morning that I realized with a start that she was 4 for 4. Was it an aberration and the Siri brain farts will start again today? I think she was showing off.
Slowly, ever so slowly, it seems that Siri is getting smarter. When did that happen?
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Comments
11 Comments
I will have to test it with my wife. She just can not get along with Siri. I will test it and get back, since for her in the past it was miserable so she stopped using it. Sorry I am going to miss the local U
After getting over the initial fascination with Siri, I got so frustrated with it that I really stopped using it. Guess I’ll give her another shot.
Siri has been almost flawless for me since I got the iPhone a few months ago. That being said, I’m also enunciating my commands like a newscaster getting ready for 5 o’clock news.
Funny, I just noticed this last night that she will now read messages. I had held out on jailbreaking for the past few years, but a few weeks ago I decided to do it, based on an article I read about the top Cydia (jailbreak) apps. One of these apps is “Hands Free Siri”, which lets me trigger Siri by saying a keyword, so now I don’t have to fumble for the button while I’m driving or have my hands full.
She does an excellent job reading texts on the road but still can’t read me my email.
I have been working on a voice search optimization project and have also noticed a remarkable improvement in Siri’s performance since she launched with the 4S. In fact I was a user of the Siri app before it was bought by Apple and it always was a great proof of concept (if flawed in execution)
Mike, it’s so nice to hear that you two are getting along so well… I’m actually quite jealous, as I’m making due with my iPhone 4. The more I hear you speak about your relationship… the more I yearn for that type of loyal, digital companionship 😉
I get a long with Siri fine because I e-nun-ci-ate my words ever so carefully. My wife hits the button, gets flummoxed, not knowing what to say, then blurts out her (otherwise perfectly fine) request that Siri doesn’t grok.
You definitely meet her halfway…and maybe then some.
Siri’s been amazing for a while now.
Try it to schedule appointments right into your calendar:
“Schedule lunch with Firstname Lastname Sunday at noon at the Sizzler”
It works flawlessly.
I’m afraid to say I still avoid voice recognition like the plague. I’m sure Siri is great, but after years of irritations with differing systems I can’t bring myself to try. Perhaps I should.
Awesome to see you two getting along so great! My experience with Siri has been hit and miss. Initially, it was a lot of fun but I gave her up due to the annoyance. Time to re-visit Siri and see where she is at these days.
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