The Future of Voice

In a recent article in GigiOm, Martin Geddes discussed the future of voice. Mr. Geddes proposes that “We’re about to see a major shift in voice technology. Think wearables, encryption, Facebook-like streams and customized acoustic profiles.” This view of voice as innovation instead of an antiquated form of communication is often referred to as “hypervoice.”

The Hypervoice Consortium, which Mr. Geddes leads, “is an industry association whose purpose is to promote the development of spoken voice as a full hypermedium.” Now, you might be wondering what hypermedia means. For that definition, we searched Wikipedia for an answer – “Hypermedia, an extension of the term hypertext, is a nonlinear medium of information which includes graphics, audio, video, plain text and hyperlinks. This contrasts with the broader term multimedia, which may include non-interactive linear presentations as well as hypermedia. Most modern hypermedia is delivered via electronic pages from a variety of systems including media players, web browsers, and stand-alone applications (i. e., software that does not require network access). Audio hypermedia is emerging with voice command devices and voice browsing.”

the future of voice

What does this mean to you? As technology continues to develop, voice will be used in more creative ways. Think voice activated commands, such as Siri, but more robust. For instance, it will soon be common place to be able to conduct complex searches using keywords that are recorded in audio files. For instance, imagine being able to go through your recorded calls to search for the number of times that the keyword phrase such as, “did I resolve your issue,” is used. You’ll be able to do this without having to type a single request or have the audio files transcribed into print.

Why is voice, one of the simplest methods of communication, now leading a new wave of innovation? Mr. Geddes suggests numerous reasons, including easy access, compatibility with current technology (think mobile devices), and wide availability. “Voice intersects with a long list of hot topics: the internet of things, search, location services, wearables, security, connected car, big data, quantified self and beyond. As analyst Benedict Evans of Andreessen Horowitz recently tweeted: ‘It’s kind of ironic that voice is one of the next big things in mobile.’”

Halloo is part of the future of voice! To learn more about Halloo’s voice features, including how Halloo is already embracing innovation in voice, please take the tour or download the Halloo iOS7 app.