Why You Can Trust CNET Brilliant 'SNL' parody invents an Amazon Echo for old people
If you can't remember the name Alexa and really want to know how Satchel Paige is doing, this might be the device for you.
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Senior citizens and technology don't always get along. But in a parody ad aired on "Saturday Night Live" on Saturday, Amazon solved that problem, inventing "Amazon Echo Silver -- For The Greatest Generation." And it's kind of a shame it's not real, even for some of the younger set.
For one thing, this version of Amazon's smart speaker responds to any randomly close name to "Alexa" that an elderly person might come up with -- Allegra, Anita, Odessa, Aretha, Excedrin, whatever. It patiently repeats answers over and over, even after the asker has forgotten the question. It dutifully reminds them their favorite ballplayer died in the 1980s, fills them in on what the young people goofing off on the street corner are up to, and helps them find the phone they've lost (it's in your right hand). And when they shiver under a blanket and ask for the heat to be cranked, it uselessly points out that the room is already at 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 Celsius).
But maybe best of all, it has an "uh-huh" feature, and just keeps repeating that phrase when the owner goes off on a rambling, pointless story. Why isn't this a real product again?