Voice hailed ‘the next big thing’ in Irish media

The Co-Founder of Irish startup, Noa believes enthusiasm for voice technology will help keep Irish media in business.

Noa Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, Shane Ennis says audio journalism is proving a hit among Irish consumers who are looking for a more convenient way to consume news while on the go.

Noa is a narrated news platform that brings journalism to life through thought-provoking audio articles and simplified personalisation for the user.

Ennis will be speaking at Techconnect Live which takes place at the RDS, Dublin on the 30th May 2019.

With over 50 per cent of Ireland’s population projected to own a smart speaker by 2023, demand for voice technology among consumers is on the rise. Although narrated news remains popular, Ennis believes it won’t replace, but rather complement more traditional news consumption:

“Our objective with Noa has never been, and never will be to try and replace written news – our objective is to increase people’s propensity to consume high-quality journalism, and to put journalism in places that it’s never been before. As long as there is a genuine demand for good journalism, there will always be use cases where it’s nicer to read, and there will always be use cases where it’s better to listen. Our job is to build the latter and ensure a complementary relationship between written and audio exists.”

An exciting time for voice and audio

Commenting on the recent boom in smart speakers appearing across Ireland, Ennis added: “This is an exciting time for voice and audio. People are listening more than ever because they are busy and like the convenience, and because there’s a lot of content to listen to, with much of it, conveniently, on single apps with a single subscription, or completely for free. In addition to this, exclusive voice/audio hardware like Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple’s HomePod – driven by intelligent voice assistants – are making it easier for people to listen in more places while they do other things. Constant improvement of these existing services on mobile and smart speakers, coupled with the in-car opportunities on the horizon will inevitably lead to a world where we are using voice more and more in many different use cases throughout our typical daily movements.”