Is there a way to push content and/or make Amazon Echo to start the conversation. I tried building Alexa skill - however it is activated only after specifying the wake word.
My use case it to make Amazon Echo to announce if there is Nagios Alert or CloudWatch alert being told by Amazon Echo; then continue asking what happened and get the conversation going on.
Is there an API already or work around to do that ?
Based upon what I learned from the AWS re:Invent 2016: Tips and Tricks on Bringing Alexa to Your Products (ALX304) presentation, an Alexa device will only initiate activities. It cannot be used as a destination for a 'pushed message'.
One exception is that a skill can initiate a conversation that asks for responses. It sends questions to the device, and the user responds by voice. However, this has to be initiated from the device.
For a list of other Alexa-related talks, see: AWS re:Invent 2016 Sessions
The Echo cannot speak without first being prompted by the user, according to this answer. You must say the wake word and a command before Alexa can respond:
Currently, Echo only speaks when spoken to; a user has to use the activation word “Alexa” to prompt it to begin listening for a command or request, and then it’ll respond to said input with its own vocal response. Alexa hasn’t supported the ability to provide any kind of audio notice unprompted as a result of data it receives from a user’s connected services – the closest it comes is being able to sound an alert based on an alarm or timer.
(quote from this TechCrunch article)
This use case is not supported at all, and there aren't any workarounds that I know of. Unfortunately, your Echo can't do this at the moment.
