January 2011 Summaries

This week, Twilio is hosting a developer contest in collaboration with AppHarbor, where developers can submit their best Twilio-hosted app for a chance to win prizes including $500 in AppHarbor credit and $100 in Twilio credit. The contest runs until February 6th and encourages developers to try Twilio for different use cases and industries. The winners will be selected by representatives from Twilio and AppHarbor, with bonus points awarded for providing helpful materials that demonstrate the value of the app or explain how it could become a business someday.

The Betwext service is built on top of Twilio, allowing event coordinators to send scheduled text messages to their guests without manually importing attendees. To use Betwext, users need an Eventbrite API key and require the mobile phone number field in their event settings. The service automatically imports attendees as subscribers when they register for events, making it easy to stay connected with them through targeted messaging campaigns.

JustRemindIt is a pay-as-you-go service that uses Twilio's API to call users with reminders at the specified time. The service was created by Aditya Kothadiya, who prototyped it for a class project and received positive feedback, leading him to build a commercial version. JustRemindIt offers low-cost reminders starting from 8 cents and features a free iPhone app for easy reminder entry. Aditya plans to expand the service with additional features such as recurring reminders, SMS and e-mail reminders, a web interface, and possibly an Android client.

Roger Pincombe, a DailyBurn user, created a simple SMS interface that allows users to check nutrition facts for various food items while standing in line at fast food joints. The application uses Twilio's SMS service and seamlessly integrates with DailyBurn's database of 475,000 food items. Roger's app won the "Two for One" contest between TechStars and Twilio, receiving an all-expenses-paid trip to Boston, an Amazon Kindle 3G, $100 in Twilio credit, and a copy of Do More Faster. The judges praised Roger's creative integration of Twilio and DailyBurn as the decisive factor in selecting his app over other finalists.

I am Rahim, a new Developer Evangelist at Twilio, where I will be working with developers on the West coast to help them create innovative projects that utilize Twilio's APIs and services. I was first introduced to Twilio through the Boxee/Twilio developer contest, where I saw the potential of their technology to disrupt industries beyond telecommunications. With my background in developing contract projects for companies and creating custom solutions like phone-based auctions and audio tours, I am excited to join a company that is making a significant impact on various sectors. As a Developer Evangelist, I will be writing blog posts, speaking at events, and providing support to developers who are using Twilio's services to build innovative applications.

The `Any Goes Contest` was won by Billy Chasen who built an SMS-controlled door lock using a Parallax Spinneret Webserver and Twilio's services. The system allows anyone with any phone to open the office door without keys, utilizing text messages as the primary means of control. Billy's project is notable for its simplicity and ease of use, making it accessible to users beyond just those with specific apps or software. The contest also recognized three runners-up, including projects such as Blizzalert, TextLang, and hipfone.me, each showcasing innovative uses of Twilio's services in different contexts.

The Twilio Developer Contest is an ongoing competition where developers are encouraged to create innovative applications using the Twilio API to organize groups of people. The contest aims to showcase creative use cases beyond simple group messaging, with a focus on originality and completeness. Developers can submit their entries before January 30th, 2023, at 11:59pm PT, and the winner will receive an Amazon Kindle 3G and $100 in Twilio credit. This is one of several contests run by Twilio to promote developer engagement and encourage developers to try the platform for different use cases and industries.

Twilio hosted a meetup in New York with three SMS talks that showcased the potential of Twilio's platform for various applications such as door lock automation, notification systems, and educational tools like test prep systems.

The Twilio Developer Contest for Coordinating People is now open, with the goal of finding a creative way to use Twilio to coordinate or organize large groups of people. The contest emphasizes original use cases that have not been done before and will be judged on the size of the group and the innovative approach taken. The winner will receive a Kindle 3G and $100 in Twilio credit, with the contest ending on January 30th at 11:59pm PT. This is an opportunity for developers to showcase their skills and creativity, and any non-winning entries are eligible to enter again. Judging has already begun for another contest, and the results of a previous contest will be announced soon. The Twilio community hub provides resources such as documentation, ebooks, industry reports, webinars, best practices, code samples, and inspiration to help developers improve their communication skills.

I am proud to announce Music Hack Day New York, a music hackfest where creators will come together to create software, hardware, art, or anything related to music. The event will feature tech talks, workshops, and a showcase of the best hacks, with a focus on music technology, including demos of the Twilio API. Music Hack Day is organized by NYHacker, a group of hackers, developers, and tinkerers in New York City aiming to support each other in work and play, grow NYC as a tech hub, and inspire others to do the same. The event will take place on February 12-13, 2011, at an undisclosed venue in Manhattan, with more information available on http://nyc.musichackday.org.

Twilio is partnering with TechStars to host a "Two for One" contest where developers can integrate Twilio APIs with various TechStars companies' APIs to win a trip to Boston. The contest has already seen some great integrations being built, and several TechStars companies are offering APIs that can be integrated with Twilio, such as StatsMix for enhanced reporting, Rezora for real estate call tracking, and SendGrid for email deliverability. Developers can get started by checking out the APIs and resources provided by these companies, including documentation, sample apps, and developer portals, to build their own integrations and submit an entry before January 16th.

In January, Twilio Meetups will take place in New York and Toronto, offering a platform for developers to connect, share knowledge, and learn from each other. The events in New York and Toronto are scheduled to feature talks, food, and drinks, with a focus on SMS as the theme. The meetups will also provide an opportunity for attendees to showcase their projects and learn from others. Additionally, Twilio is encouraging developers to host their own meetups in various cities across the country.

NthCaller by Tim Lytle has won the Twilio "Push" developer contest with its innovative call screening app that allows users to easily queue and screen multiple calls in real-time, utilizing Twilio's API for seamless integration. The app is designed to be user-friendly, with a simple web interface that updates dynamically as calls come in, and can be used as a starting point for more complex applications such as virtual switchboards or number routing services. Tim Lytle, the developer behind NthCaller, has previously won a Twilio contest with DropMail and credits Twilio's API for being "ridiculously simple" to work with, which led him to start developing with the platform.

As a Twilio Developer Evangelist, Brian Levine shares his experience building his first Twilio project, PhoneDynamo, a phone privacy website that uses a proxy number to forward calls from users' cell phones. He reflects on how easy it was to integrate the web app with the Twilio phone system, thanks to the natural and intuitive API. With his new role at Twilio, Brian aims to empower developers like himself by understanding their pain points and providing guidance on building great things with Twilio. He emphasizes the importance of considering application architecture when integrating Twilio into a larger project, particularly for applications that require high call volumes or need to maintain fast page loads. Brian invites developers to share their Twilio ideas and provides resources and contact information for further assistance.

The Twilio Developer Contest is a competition where developers can submit their apps that use Twilio along with any API or service provided by a TechStars company for a chance to win prizes including an all-expenses paid trip to Boston and $100 in Twilio credit. The contest is open to anyone who has previously submitted an entry, allowing them to resubmit with improvements to increase their chances of winning. A panel of judges led by David Cohen, Dave McClure, and Brad Feld will review the entries based on creativity, usefulness, and design, while also offering a chance for entrants to have their entries reviewed by 500 Startups for potential investment in Twilio-powered startups.