January 2012 Summaries

The Twilio REST API Helper Library for .NET developers provides a simplified way to interact with the Twilio REST API. The library wraps the entire REST API in a set of managed APIs, allowing developers to access its capabilities via a familiar .NET API. To get started, install the Twilio helper library using NuGet and create an instance of the `TwilioRestClient` class by providing your Account SID and Auth Token. The library provides methods such as `SendSmsMessage`, which sends an SMS message, and `InitiateOutboundCall`, which makes outbound calls from Twilio. The methods can be called with optional parameters to customize the behavior. The library also returns objects that contain status information about the call, allowing developers to check for errors or exceptions. Additionally, some methods allow developers to specify a large number of options as part of the REST request using objects that can be set and provided to the method.

Steele Auto, a network of car dealerships in Nova Scotia, was struggling with outdated systems that were not performing well. Todd Thompson, the company's marketing guy, part hacker, and all Canadian, discovered Twilio and realized its potential. He launched various Twilio-powered apps, including call tracking, automated voice notifications, and point-of-sale system integrations, which significantly improved the company's business. These changes enabled Steele Auto to generate over 100 new leads, automate after-hours calls, and improve sales training with call recordings. The results were impressive, with some dealerships becoming top performers in their region in 2011, and Thompson credits Twilio for a "tangible and trackable role" in the company's success. He believes that the phone is the next big thing and is eager to share his story and expertise at LeadsCon Las Vegas.

Banters has relaunched with a new 2.0 version that offers improved features such as no restrictions on post length, anonymous attribution, and the ability to handle various types of content. The platform allows users to create inside jokes posts and conversations from their friends, follow each other like Twitter, and keep up with funny quotes and conversations. Banters has integrated with Twilio to enable Siri-powered posting, allowing users to send SMS messages that are converted into Banters posts. The integration was seamless and allowed the platform to handle long text messages by parsing them into a structured format. With its new features and improved user experience, Banters aims to promote the new relaunch at events such as SXSW in March.

The Twilio helper libraries are available on NuGet, Microsoft's open-source package management system, allowing .NET developers to easily add them to their projects without leaving Visual Studio or WebMatrix. These libraries simplify using the Twilio REST API and provide utilities for working with TwiML and Twilio Client. Adding these libraries can be done through Visual Studio 2010 by searching for "Twilio" in the NuGet catalog, clicking the Install button, and watching as NuGet downloads and adds the references to the project. For WebMatrix users, the process is similar, but involves opening the WebMatrix administration website, changing the Show dropdown to Online, searching for Twilio, and clicking the Install button. With these libraries added, developers can make requests to the Twilio REST API using the Twilio.API library, as covered in the next post.

Volume pricing for SMS is automatically applied when a user's account reaches a high threshold of messages, providing competitive pricing as the user base grows. Twilio prioritizes aggressive pricing to support businesses in building a global and sustainable presence, with resources available to help developers improve their communication experiences. The company invests in its users and focuses on international growth, offering various tools and documentation to aid in the development process.

Twilio and the Drupal Association are partnering for a developer contest at DrupalCon, where participants will create a Drupal module with Twilio integration. The top three modules will be judged by leading minds in the Drupal world and receive prizes such as a MacBook Air or Kindle Fire. Contestants can still enter even if they're not attending DrupalCon, with non-attendee winners receiving a Kindle Fire. The contest aims to encourage developers to build something awesome using Twilio's cloud communications platform, providing resources and inspiration for participants through forums and the Twilio App Gallery.

Twilio for .NET Developers Part 1: Introducing the Twilio Helper Libraries` The Twilio API provides a simple communication protocol that allows integration of Voice and SMS communication in applications, but requires common plumbing code on the .NET platform. To help .NET developers get productive with Twilio faster, Twilio provides a set of .NET helper libraries that wrap various aspects of Twilio to provide simple interactions with the REST API, Client, and generate TwiML responses. The five libraries available are for different .NET development scenarios, including ASP.NET MVC, WebMatrix, and Silverlight, and require at least .NET 3.5 or later. The libraries can be downloaded from NuGet package manager extension or GitHub, and the author of this series is Devin Rader, a Twilio Developer Evangelist with extensive experience in the .NET developer community.

Twilio helped Match.com develop an anonymous calling and texting feature called matchPhone, allowing users to communicate without revealing their phone numbers. This integration enabled the company to quickly add features to its dating site, giving users more ways to connect with potential dates. With Twilio's cloud communications platform, Match.com gained more control over its product and reduced lead time and dependency on a third-party vendor. The partnership allowed Match.com to enhance its product and improve user experience, making it a win-win for both the company and its members.

Undergrad Doers Take Aim At SOPA and PIPA at PennApps` The bi-annual PennApps hackathon showcased top engineering students from across the Eastern Seaboard, with a focus on simplicity as this year's theme. The event featured several impressive apps that aimed to solve real-world problems and tackle big civic issues, such as combating piracy controls bills in US Congress. One team, Grassroutes, stood out by creating a widget that allowed users to petition their Congressional representatives with one-click, leveraging Twilio Client technology. Their hack quickly gained traction online, with 110,000 unique visitors the following day, and has been credited with inspiring a national conversation against SOPA and PIPA. The event highlights the power of young developers working together on social responsibility projects, showcasing the influence that can be achieved when web development meets civic engagement.

A Twilio-powered call tracking service has been integrated with HubSpot, a popular marketing automation tool, allowing users to track web leads and manage phone conversions directly within the HubSpot interface. The integration aims to address the challenge of tracking customers who visit websites but then call instead of clicking to place an order or make an appointment. With this integration, website visitors will be shown a phone number assigned by Call Tracking Metrics, and information gathered by Call Tracking Metrics will be available in HubSpot. To set up the integration, users need to register for an account with Call Tracking Metrics and click "enable sync to HubSpot" under account settings. The service was built on Twilio due to its flexibility and cost-effectiveness, allowing Captico to focus on strategic internet marketing.

Twilio has expanded its capabilities in the UK by launching Twilio SMS, allowing customers to send and receive text messages using domestic UK phone numbers at a low cost of 4¢ USD per message. This move is part of Twilio's efforts to expand its services worldwide, including the launch of Twilio numbers in five new European countries. The service is available to all UK customers with access to the Twilio SMS API, and UK customers can send and receive text messages using domestic UK phone numbers immediately. Non-UK customers should note that this is a domestic messaging product for sending messages to UK numbers only, and international message delivery may not be guaranteed. To help developers get started with Twilio SMS in the UK, Twilio has provided resources such as API documentation, SDKs, and sample apps. The service is expected to benefit companies like AirBnB and Zendesk, which are using Twilio for communication services.

Twilio has announced the launch of voice-enabled phone numbers in five European countries: Austria, Denmark, France, Ireland, and Poland. Customers can now purchase local phone numbers for just $1 USD a month with inbound calls at $.01 cent USD per minute. Twilio provides resources to help customers get started, including a quickstart guide, tutorials, and code samples. As Twilio continues to expand its services globally, it plans to add new European countries over the coming months.

Protesting SOPA and PIPA: Call Your Representative Now` There are two proposed pieces of legislation in motion right now in Congress that threaten our free and democratic Internet and infringe on our basic rights, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). These bills aim to curb online piracy by allowing copyright holders to request removal of websites hosting copyrighted content. However, critics argue that they could lead to censorship and harm legitimate businesses and individuals who rely on the Internet for their livelihoods. The bills have sparked widespread protests across the country, with many calling for citizens to contact their representatives to express opposition to the legislation. Several apps are available to help facilitate this process, including those powered by Twilio, allowing users to easily dial in to make their voices heard.

The tech industry is launching initiatives to support President Barack Obama's Summer Jobs+ program, aiming to provide employment opportunities for underprivileged and disconnected youth in technology. The United States Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra announced three tech-focused initiatives, including Codecademy's "Code Summer+" program, which teaches programming basics to thousands of low-income youth. The Level Playing Field Institute will expand its SMASH Academy on four college campuses, while College Bound Brotherhood is launching a summer internship program for African American youths in Bay Area tech companies. Employers can contribute by tagging job postings and creating content for the Code Year program, with Twilio's CEO emphasizing the importance of teaching students to build and deploy their own software.

Join Twilio at the WebVisions Hackathon and Conference in New York starting tomorrow for a social good hackathon that will kick off with great talks, sessions, and workshops. Developer Evangelist Jack Aboutboul from Twilio will be representing the company during the event, giving a presentation on Business Innovation and Education Lab sessions, which is free to attend. The winning team of the hackathon will receive a free day pass to the conference on Friday, January 20th. WebVisions explores various topics including design, content creation, user experience, and business strategy, featuring keynotes from notable speakers like Fred Armisan of Portlandia.

Don't skimp on documentation as it is crucial for technical users, poor documentation can lead to confusion among developers, increased support requests, and operational debt. Users are busy and expect clear instructions, error messages should explain how to solve the problem raised by the error, and documentation pages need to be optimized for SEO with relevant keywords, images, and alt text. Writing documentation first, while still excited about the project, can help you think through decisions, program to an interface, and write great documentation that users can figure out your product.

The White House has announced initiatives to accelerate underprivileged youth in technology, with a soon-to-be-released youth job database focused on technology opportunities. A developer challenge is being proposed for the Veterans App Showcase, where participants will build an app using government database National Resource Directory and Twilio API by 8:00am PT tomorrow morning. The top apps will be recognized at the event hosted by Code For America, with the chance to meet Dr. Jill Biden and receive bonus points for submission to the Twilio App Gallery. The challenge has specific rules, including a submission deadline of January 18th, and participants must use the Twilio API and National Resource Directory in their app.

The author of the text is Alex Meyer, a developer who built an SMS restaurant ordering service using Ruby on Rails and Twilio. He encountered an issue with tracking SMS conversations in his app and found that the problem was due to CSRF protection in Rails 3, which was deleting session variables after each request from Twilio. The solution involved either changing the POST requests to GET requests or disabling CSRF protection for the specific controller handling Twilio requests by adding a line of code. By making this change, Alex was able to save and use session variables correctly, fixing the issue with his app.

The 2012 Rube Goldberg Nixie Light Hack challenge was a digital Rube Goldberg Machine building contest where developers were asked to mash multiple APIs to perform a simple task, showcasing creative hacks and innovative uses of APIs such as Twilio Client, Twilio SMS API, Netduino Plus, and an Arduinix board. The winner, Lance Fisher, created a complex machine that spanned multiple computers and devices, including Nixie tubes, which earned him a new Macbook Air and a Leg Lamp award. Other notable entries included Kristen Jones's LinkedIn Today SMS Notifyer, Youson Chang's Rube Butterfly for True Binary Random Numbers, Oscar Sanchez's SendThoughts app to send automated messages, and Fabrizio Pilato's Send App Download Straight to Mobile with AppAggie.

StartupCamp is being held on February 2nd in Miami, offering early-stage companies the chance to pitch their products or services that leverage communications technologies and networks. Participating startups will receive a comprehensive package including speaking at the fast-pitch event, video shoot, marketing campaigns, and access to the ITEXPO exhibition floor from a dedicated table. To be eligible, companies must be less than three years old and privately or angel funded. Twilio-powered startups that have participated in previous StartupCamps include GroupMe and FastCall411. The event is directed towards startups developing products or services related to communications technologies and networks.

Startup Bus Europe Launches YoBro and Invoi Powered by Twilio` The Startup Bus Europe event recently took place, where 26 developers embarked on a cross-European road trip, with the goal of launching their startup ideas within 72 hours. The teams faced various challenges, but some stood out, including Gertz, Locafoo, Wander, Invoi, and YoBro, which were powered by Twilio's platform. Invoi aims to make voicemail intelligent by using advanced voice recognition and natural language processing, allowing users to forward calls or schedule appointments without picking up their phones. YoBro provides instant voice chat for groups on mobile devices, connecting multiple parties through social platforms for topic search. The event marked the third year of Startup Bus, with plans to expand to 12 buses in cities and tribes made up of schools or organizations.

Dwolla has launched a website called dollarthoughts.com where users can submit their thoughts in exchange for $1, built using Ruby On Rails with Twilio APIs, allowing the company to efficiently manage SMS messaging and notifications. The site relies on community voting to determine the most insightful thoughts, and Dwolla's financial transaction solution provides affordable payment processing fees, with transactions over $10 charging 25 cents and those under $10 being free. Additionally, Dwolla has released a new product called "Instant" that lets users borrow up to $500 through its mobile app, turning their phone into an ATM.

Erik Dungan, a web startup veteran, built Anonysize.me, an app that anonymously finds the correct size of a gift recipient's shoes using Twilio SMS, Ruby on Rails, and other technologies. The app was created in just two days during the Zappos Holiday Hack-a-Thon and quickly gained popularity after being posted on Hacker News. Anonysize.me connects the sender with a Zappos page of shoe suggestions when the recipient responds, making it a perfect solution for figuring out the right size without giving away the gift. The app uses various technologies to provide a seamless experience, including Twitter Bootstrap, Google Web Fonts, Pusher, and SendGrid.

JustRemindIt Voice and SMS Reminders Get Sought After Upgrades` A commercial reminder app called JustRemindIt was created by Aditya Kothadiya after his wife's class project prototype received positive feedback from classmates and friends. The app, powered by Twilio, initially offered only voice reminders but recently added features such as SMS reminders, recurring reminders, message templates, stored contacts, and new monthly subscription plans. With thousands of active users, including professionals and service providers, JustRemindIt is now expanding internationally with plans to support Android and Blackberry platforms. Aditya continues to respond to customer requests for new features and improvements, aiming to be available on every platform.

The text discusses how developers created their own music hotlines using Twilio's API, building on the success of a previous "Callin' Oates" hotline that allowed users to listen to Hall & Oates songs via phone. The first music hotline was built in PHP and ported to Python by Rob Spectre, while another developer, Michael Selvidge, shared his experience of creating a similar hotline in PHP on Twilio's blog. The process involves creating a TwiML file that defines the voice menu options for users, writing a PHP script to handle user input and play corresponding audio files, and using Twilio's API to send and receive data. With these tools, developers can create interactive voice systems to play songs, send text messages, or make phone calls.

The Twilio Developer Contest aims to encourage developers to build an app that helps them tackle their tasks and goals in a more efficient way. The contest, which kicked off the new year, focuses on thinking big and taking risks, with the goal of making 2012 the best year ever. To participate, developers must submit an app using Twilio API by January 15th, with bonus points awarded for submission to the Twilio App Gallery. The winner will receive a Kindle Fire, and the contest is open to developers of all shapes and sizes who want to solve problems and grab glory using Twilio's cloud communications platform.

The Twilio Developer Contest is a bi-weekly challenge that encourages developers to build apps using the Twilio API. The contest aims to help people get organized and productive in the new year by building an app that helps with tasks such as task management, goal setting, and bug tracking. One winner will receive a Kindle Fire for submitting the best entry. The contest has a deadline of January 15th and requires submissions to use Twilio API. Developers can find inspiration from previous winners' apps and participate in forums or submit their ideas through a dedicated form.