The year 2016 was filled with stories about or involving personal technology. New products and services kept us wondering what technology will be like in the future and how it might affect our lives. 2016 was a time of change worldwide. High-tech inventions, changes to existing services, and even product failures combined to make this a year to remember. Digital assistants rose in popularity with the launch of Google Assistant in the Pixelphone and the Google Home smart speaker. Google Assistant can give you a list of activities, answer search questions and tell you when it is time to leave for your next meeting. It is similar to digital assistants Siri, from Apple, and Alexa, from the American company Amazon. In 2016, Alexa expanded its reach into two new Amazon products, Dot and Tap. The service was made available to other businesses last year. So this year, it began appearing on products not made by Amazon. Each Friday in 2016, Amazon sent subscribers an email with new skills for Alexa. The company also created a page for users to discover Alexa's skills. This year, Apple gave Siri the ability to connect to software programs known as third-party apps. As a result, you can use Siri to order a car with the Uber ride service or find a business with the Yelp mobile app. This year, Facebook made a number of changes, including adding Reactions. Now you can do more than Like a post on the website. You can express Reactions such as Love, Haha, Wow, Sad and Angry. Facebook now offers Live Video, so you can share live stream videos with your friends and watch videos from those you follow. Facebook also added GIFs in Messenger and more ways to share photographs.