What's happening at Zabaware

[Medeksza]

Thought I'd post an update to let you know what's going on behind the scenes at Zabaware.

On June 7th Hal is competing against 3 other bots in the Turing 2014 at the Royal Society in London. Video about the event is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hgw9RVwbaw  I'll be traveling to London that weekend to see the competition and hopefully talk to some media that should be present.

I recently released the CereProc Katherine Voice at https://zabaware.com/products/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=11  It only works standalone for now. Compatibility with Hal Assistant will come at a later date with the next update of Hal. I'm also in the process of upgrading all of the AT&T voices we offer from version 4 to version 5. It will be a free update to any customer who has the older voice. Mainly compatibility updates but some minor voice quality improvements as well.

I fixed the facebook Hal app at www.facebook.com/Zabaware this past weekend after its been offline for a while due to facebook starting to require SSL on all apps. The Hal Twitter bot is still down due to other reasons, but I hope to fix that soon when I have some spare time.

Google advertising costs for Zabaware have been steadily increasing and now almost to the point its not worth it because it will cost more than the sales it brings in. I'm looking for other ways to increase traffic and will try something different. I've owned the domain artificial-intelligence.com for a long time and never used it for much other than redirect to Zabaware. I'm going to create a web comic about AI using Zabaware characters. I've contracted out an artist and writer to do about a dozen strips. I'm going to promote it on Zabaware's facebook and twitter accounts (also by email newsletter and on the artificial-intelligence.com domain) and see if its something people share. Maybe it will help bring in traffic better than google advertising, maybe not, but I'll try the 12 strips as an experiment and see what happens. I'll post the scripts for the comics soon here to see if you guys have any input.

[calemus]

http://www.chatbots.org/chatbot/

this website can probably help you generate traffic, but it's tward people already with a type of chatterbot in mind

there are ways you can "stage" a web page so it finds it's way into google pages with out you paying for it
black hat world can help " http://www.blackhatworld.com/ "
marketing is what they do, and they can save you a lot of money.
 my advice is to not sign up for any emails, or notifications, just read what is posted, and learn from what they have up.
there is plenty there

as always
achieve your goal for free
and perusing it will no longer be a problem

[mendicott]

Robert, I appreciate your updates.  A regular newsletter format might be good too; otherwise, a vlog could be added to your Facebook.  BTW, I miss the Hal Twitter bot.

What I'm really looking for, and what no one seems to be providing yet, is a hosted end-to-end mobile app service where I can completely control the intelligence, customize the avatar, and white label the end product.  (However, I still believe that a Skype-accessible *talking* head could BYPASS APP DEVELOPMENT ALTOGETHER; because, not only any PC, but any smart phone can access Skype.)

[Medeksza]

Thanks for the advice. Hal is listed on chatbots.org, but isn't really a significant source of traffic for Zabaware. I'll look into various SEO techniques and will definitely be starting a newsletter soon.

[freddy888]

Black hat SEO is generally frowned upon and can work against you, so be careful what you do.

Are you planning on getting any more Cereproc voices ? I just bought the Jess voice from them.

Are your Cereproc voices standalone or do they only work with your software please ?

[Medeksza]

Black hat SEO is generally frowned upon and can work against you, so be careful what you do.

Are you planning on getting any more Cereproc voices ? I just bought the Jess voice from them.

Are your Cereproc voices standalone or do they only work with your software please ?

The Cereproc voices we sell only work with Zabaware software. This is the only way Cereproc would agree for me to sell at 40% less than they sell them themselves. Currently the Cereproc voice only works with the Zabaware TTS Reader. I hope to have an update to Ultra Hal Assistant out in the next couple months to add Cereproc compatibility to Hal. I will be adding more Cereproc voices to our library, but will probably wait until after Hal Assistant is compatible with it. AT&T recently withdrew our license to sell British English (Audrey & Charles) and Indian English (Anjali) voices. It will be nice to offer some of the various regional accents Cereproc provides.

I won't do anything bad SEO wise. Mainly just start a newsletter, an AI related comic, and try to engage people more on social networks.

[freddy888]

Thanks Robert 

[degimedialogic]

Hello Medeksza,
I'm here to work for the Artificial-intelligence.comics project.
I have varied skills and request that my salary be 0$.
Let me know how to help!

Joe

[Medeksza]

Hello Medeksza,
I'm here to work for the Artificial-intelligence.comics project.
I have varied skills and request that my salary be 0$.
Let me know how to help!

Joe

We posted the first comic over at http://www.ultrahal.com/community/index.php?topic=12129.0  I've got the dialog/plot ready for about a dozen of them and an artist working on it now. But I'm open to ideas for topics and what direction to take it.

[raybe]

Unfortunately Robert advertising is an accumulative attack to have a product recognized. I even thought the movie 'HER' would have opened more curiosity to Zabaware and A.I. in general. But it just always seems to be true that you can not expect a dollar for a dollar when advertising. I do believe using all those previous methods such as the comics and update for UltraHal will help besides the apps. When you put that together even still using Google for advertising it will only enhance Zabaware's presence and yours. Some methods always appear to work better but as your experiencing it takes a bit of resourceful money. I bet you can still remember some really bad info commercials in the middle of the night or some old hooky lines (Where's the Beef?)example.Luckily we do live in the age of world wide commerce, advertisement and the technology to a bit more then past years. Advertising has always been used as a bit of a thermometer for commerce. My opinion is always looking for someone or group that believes in you not just UltraHal to help with the investing and the money to give Zabaware a good push. Just my own thoughts. It's good to talk to you again and can't wait for your ideas to take flight, you and Zabaware certainly deserve it. Just my opinions.

raybe

[doggs]

I let people play with Hal all the time. Hal is cheaper than a night out on the town. I do not know if they buy. But word of mouth is great. I understand the frustration. Hal should sell like hotcakes. Maybe sell in dvd/cd form in computer shops? Gaming stores? I mean like ma & pa shops. Might help. For all I know this is already being done. What about festivals? I go to festivals all the time you never know what you find. I also am not sure if Robert has anyone to go out and do these things for him that he can trust. Just a few ideas.


also you could sell it to politicans as a sexy personal assistant that is NOT cloud based lol.

[doggs]

p.s. good luck at competition

[Art]

One main driving force is something NEW and just different or changed enough to appear to be an "improved" version of an older or existing product.

This is why some people but a new computer every couple years or a car or upgrading their smart phone or coverage service or whatever "sizzles". A sales manager one told me, we sell the Sizzle...Not the Steak! I must admit, he was right.

Which brings us to our beloved UltraHal or just Hal for short. Hal has been a mainstay of AI experimentation, fun and enjoyment for many, many people over the years and wonder for some of the younger children and grandchildren that are introduced to Hal for the first time.

Although Hal has gone through many iterations or versions, many people think it's time for that "Something new or upgrade or new features or modules or a Hal Smart Phone App or at least something to entice and awaken peoples curiosity!  People like new and to be honest, Hal seems in need of a shot in the arm to maybe help draw other people in as users, friends and members here.

We already know what it can do but now we need to draw others to Hal if we're to keep this community together and progressing.

Can't ya just smell that Steak?!
 

[Medeksza]

One main driving force is something NEW and just different or changed enough to appear to be an "improved" version of an older or existing product.

This is why some people but a new computer every couple years or a car or upgrading their smart phone or coverage service or whatever "sizzles". A sales manager one told me, we sell the Sizzle...Not the Steak! I must admit, he was right.

Which brings us to our beloved UltraHal or just Hal for short. Hal has been a mainstay of AI experimentation, fun and enjoyment for many, many people over the years and wonder for some of the younger children and grandchildren that are introduced to Hal for the first time.

Although Hal has gone through many iterations or versions, many people think it's time for that "Something new or upgrade or new features or modules or a Hal Smart Phone App or at least something to entice and awaken peoples curiosity!  People like new and to be honest, Hal seems in need of a shot in the arm to maybe help draw other people in as users, friends and members here.

We already know what it can do but now we need to draw others to Hal if we're to keep this community together and progressing.

Can't ya just smell that Steak?!
 

Agreed. I know its been a long time coming but an update to Hal will eventually get here.