In less than a month, AWS re:Invent will kick off in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Alexa team is bringing over 50 technical sessions to the conference this year to help attendees dive deep into voice design and the technology behind the Alexa Skills Kit, Alexa Voice Service, and Alexa smart home.

Never before have we had so many powerful tools at our disposal to help us build for voice. Developers all over the world are using these technologies to create engaging voice experiences—they are pushing the boundaries of what's possible with voice, creating life-changing Alexa skills, and building thriving voice businesses.

This year at AWS re:Invent, attendees will learn the ins and outs of these technologies, hear real-world stories and best practices from Alexa developers, and get hands-on experience designing and building Alexa skills.

In a previous blog, we highlighted some of the Alexa sessions you won't want to miss. The full list of sessions is available here. But to help you plan your experience, we asked members of the Alexa team to share an insider’s take on the sessions they are looking forward to.

Cami Williams, Alexa Evangelist (@cwillycs)

1. What are you looking forward to seeing at AWS re:Invent?

This is my second AWS re:Invent and I'm particularly looking forward to the session line up this year. We have announced so many new and exciting features in the Alexa Skills Kit and Alexa Voice Service. I'm excited to meet with the developers in attendance, learn about their experiences with these new tools and features, and brainstorm with developers who are wanting to dive deeper and learn more.

2. Can you recommend an Alexa session?

I am most excited for the Alexa workshops. We hosted similar workshops last year and I was very impressed by the skills that attendees created. I expect this year will be just as inspiring. In particular, I am looking forward to our sessions on how to build interactive voice experiences for devices with screens and sessions on building games for Echo Buttons. If you're interested in building a skill that features Echo Buttons or a screen, do not miss these sessions!

3. Do you have any tips for first-time visitors to AWS re:Invent?

The conversations you’ll have with attendees and speakers at the sessions can be invaluable! Go to as many sessions as you can that pique your curiosity, and try to make connections. But above that, stay hydrated and keep yourself in tip-top shape: water and cough drops are your best friends!

Jeff Blankenburg, Alexa Evangelist (@jeffblankenburg)

1. What are you looking forward to seeing at re:Invent?

My favorite part of AWS re:Invent is listening to all the the great developer stories. I get an opportunity to meet literally hundreds of Alexa developers during that week in Las Vegas, and every one of them has an amazing story to tell. For some, the stories are about how they discovered skill building for Alexa. For others, it's how they got the idea for one of their skills. The passion and excitement for Alexa is something we have in common, and it's great to be able to trade “war stories” about our experiences and our surprises working with voice user interfaces.

2. Can you recommend an Alexa session?

I've been heavily invested in building skills with in-skill purchasing for the past six months. I'm really looking forward to hearing what developers think of in-skill products and how they're using them in their skills. There are two in-skill purchasing sessions I'm really looking forward to: Learnings From the Field: Best Practices for Making Money with Alexa Skills and Three Lessons from “Escape the Room” That Apply to Making Money with your Alexa Skills.

3. Do you have any tips for first-time visitors to AWS re:Invent?

This is my third AWS re:Invent, and I wish someone had mentioned these tips to me when I was planning to attend my first:

• Invest in a comfortable pair of walking shoes. Even if you stay in the same hotel the whole week, you're going to walk much more than you expect. Las Vegas is deceivingly big!
• Register early for the sessions you don't want to miss. Also, remember that chalk talks and workshops aren't recorded, but sessions are. When it doubt, attend (in person) the sessions, chalk talks, and workshops that won't be recorded for you to watch later.
• Spend your free time trying the new things you learned. You're going to sit in some amazing sessions about incredible technology. Spend a little time in your hotel room each night trying out the new stuff you learned. You'll find it's easier to do when the knowledge is fresh, and you'll have more free time in Las Vegas than you will when you get back home. Take advantage!

Monica Dolan, Alexa Event Marketing Manager

1. What are you looking forward to seeing at AWS re:Invent?

I manage the Alexa team's presence at AWS re:Invent from start to finish, so I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the Alexa team in action. We have lots in store that will surprise and delight re:Invent attendees! I'm excited to see that the most popular sessions will be repeated across the event campus. This means attendees will have the opportunity to attend more of the sessions they are most excited about. In the past, attendees may have not been able to attend specific session due to the distance between venues.

I'm also looking forward to visiting the Builder’s Fair at The Quad. The demos at the Builder’s Fair showcase the cutting-edge technologies in IoT, machine learning and artificial intelligence, virtual reality/augmented reality, media services, serverless, and, of course, Alexa. The 2017 Builder’s Fair showcased top hobbyist projects and hacks. The Alexa team featured our Alexa skills contest winners and this year we hope to feature more of our top hacks and projects.

2. Can you recommend an Alexa session?

I would recommend signing up for the Alexa Hack Day. The Hack Day is an eight-hour hackathon that will challenge both developers and designers to build something cool with Alexa. Our team is very excited to see what developers build!

3. Do you have any tips for first-time visitors to AWS re:Invent?

Sign up and reserve your spot early for the sessions you are most interested in to ensure you get a seat! Also, allot time to visit the Expo Hall. It’s a great opportunity to engage with the various Amazon teams.

Memo Doring, Alexa Evangelist (@MemoDoring)

1. What are you looking forward to seeing at re:Invent?

I'm super excited about meeting skill builders in person. As part of my job, I get to interact with a lot of people online via Alexa developer webinars and our Twitch channel. AWS re:Invent gives me the unique opportunity to meet many of you in person! If you're planning to attend, you should try to do the same! Make time to mingle with others during the many evening activities, and you can usually chat with speakers as they leave their sessions.

2. Can you recommend an Alexa session?

Last year we introduced a new session format called “chalk talks.” This format combines your traditional presentation with a whiteboard session and QA. It's a very interactive way of learning something new. We've highlighted some of our top chalk talks that you won't want to miss in this blog post. I'm especially looking forward to the How to Train Your Alexa Skill Language Model Using Machine Learning session. If you've ever wondered how to make a world-class voice user interface, that's the session to be at. If you're not planning to attend this year, you can still get the Alexa at re:Invent experience at home via our Twitch channel. Every day we'll be streaming session recaps, so be sure to tune in.

3. Do you have any tips for first-time visitors to AWS re:Invent?

Every morning, take a few minutes to plan out your day. Since sessions are held in several hotels, you might need to do some walking or catch a shuttle. Wear comfortable shoes, and drink plenty of water!

Paul Cutsinger, Head of Developer Education (@PaulCutsinger)

1. What are you looking forward to seeing at re:Invent?

I'm looking forward to meeting up with the Alexa Champions. They've been so deeply involved with Alexa and I always learn so much from their experience. I'm also really looking forward to the AI Summit where our VP and head scientist for Alexa AI will talk about the impact of artificial intelligence.

2. Can you recommend an Alexa session?

I'd recommend sessions that showcase interesting developers to hear from. For example, Gal Shenar of Stoked Skills will lead a session on making money with Alexa. He'll share how he designed and implemented in-skill purchasing for his popular game skills Escape the Room and Escape the Airplane. You can also hear from Steven Arkonovich in this session about building multimodal skills to learn about his experience building voice-first visual experiences for his popular skill called Big Sky. Pulse Labs will also lead a session on voice UI design and tools for building better voice-first experiences.

3. Do you have any tips for first-time visitors to AWS re:Invent?

Here's a great checklist that will walk you through all the AWS re:Invent offerings. In addition to checking out as many Alexa sessions as possible (sessions starting with ALX in the catalog), try the Tatonka Challenge. It's a chicken wing eating contest, but it's fun.

We Can’t Wait to Meet You at AWS re:Invent

Visit the AWS re:Invent website to register, explore these sessions in more detail, and view the complete catalog of Alexa sessions. To stay in touch and receive the latest Alexa development news before and after AWS re:Invent, subscribe to our newsletter.