February 2012 Summaries

Introducing Carter Rabasa, Developer Evangelist Bringing Twilio Back to Seattle` Carter Rabasa, a seasoned developer evangelist, is back in the tech scene with his new role at Twilio, a cloud communication platform. He has been working on various projects, including an international HTML5 developer contest, which aimed to help developers transition from building forms to creating games. The contest was a huge success, and Carter worked closely with the winner, who had never written a line of HTML5 code before. Another notable project was his collaboration with the creators of the popular game Cut the Rope to bring their iOS phenomenon to the web using HTML5 and JavaScript. Carter's passion for open-source software began in the mid-90s when he wrote a limited version of DOOM on his TI-85. He later pursued a degree in Computer Science, which introduced him to Linux and the OSS community. Now, as a developer evangelist at Twilio, Carter is excited to work with developers who are solving complex problems using powerful tools like Twilio's cloud communication platform.

Twilio is gearing up for SXSW Interactive in 2012, with a focus on painting the town red through various events and activities. The company will be showcasing its swag, limited edition T-shirts, and interviewing Twilio developers to share their stories. Twilio has also planned challenges and contests, including a chance to win entry to an invite-only happy hour on a boat, as well as other prizes. The team will be attending various events, including the Tech Career Expo, Lean Startup Conference, Mobile Apps Value Chain panel, SXSWBall, and parties hosted by Apigee, Heroku, Urban Airship, and Bright Light Social Hour. Twilio is inviting developers to join them in Austin and participate in these activities, with opportunities to network, learn from industry experts, and win prizes.

The Twilio team is attending LeadsCon in Las Vegas, where they will be discussing the future of lead generation and showcasing innovative uses of new communications technology. Other customers, such as Neighborcity, CallRail, and Steele Auto, will also be sharing their experiences with call tracking, click-to-call, and mobile marketing solutions. The event provides a platform for developers to learn about "how-tos" for implementing these technologies, including APIs, SDKs, sample apps, and tutorials.

MWC Barcelona is expected to be a spectacular year with the growth of the smartphone development community, attracting over 60,000 attendees from around the world. Twilio is participating in various events including "Spark the Fires of Innovation" with Alcatel-Lucent and hosting its own API Hack Day. The company's team will be present at MWC to meet new people and discuss developer engagement strategies. Additionally, Twilio invites attendees to join their get-together for a fun-filled week in Barcelona, offering telephonic company for those looking for it.

The Twilio Client for iOS is now available to developers, allowing them to easily integrate voice and presence into mobile apps using the data connection of their iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. The company is hosting a developer contest to encourage innovation, with prizes including $50 in Twilio credit and an iPad 3 for the top winner. Developers can submit their apps that incorporate Twilio's new iOS SDK, which includes documentation, helper libraries, and sample code to help them get started. The contest challenges developers to build unique mobile experiences, such as mobile games, social apps, or mobile commerce solutions, using Twilio's voice and presence features. Entries must be submitted by March 11th and will receive recognition on the official Twilio blog, while the top winner will take home a grand prize of an iPad 3.

TrustedID has partnered with Twilio to deliver real-time SMS alerts to its customers, providing an efficient and timely way for them to respond to potential identity threats. The company switched from email notifications to SMS alerts due to their faster read rate and ability to reach any mobile phone, regardless of carrier or platform. TrustedID's Chief Marketing Officer, Lyn Chitow Oakes, chose Twilio over other providers after investigating 15 options and prioritizing established players with pay-as-you-go pricing that scaled with usage. With Twilio's technology, TrustedID was able to integrate SMS alerts into its systems quickly, allowing the company to deliver this new service to its customers within weeks rather than months.

The Central Library Consortium, a group of Ohio libraries, used an outdated on-premises voice broadcasting system that was unreliable and required costly upgrades. They replaced it with a Twilio-powered solution that is more flexible, easily customizable, and scalable. The new system has reduced their monthly telephony costs by 40% and allows them to automate tasks such as sending overdue notices, which were previously done manually. The system uses Twilio's text-to-speech engine and can deliver voice messages quickly and efficiently, with a significant reduction in time compared to the old system.

The Twilio for .NET Developers Part 7: SMS & Voice Application Flows using ASP.NET MVC post provides a comprehensive guide on how to create complex call flows using ASP.NET MVC, leveraging the Twilio REST API and TwiML. The post covers setting up an ASP.NET MVC application, configuring Twilio numbers, creating a basic IVR system with a multi-step voice call workflow, adding menu options, processing user input, and handling submenu redirects. The article is written by Devin Rader, a Twilio developer evangelist, and provides detailed code examples and explanations to help .NET developers build their own interactive voice response systems using ASP.NET MVC and Twilio.

Join Twilio for a fun and interactive event at Photo Hack Day 2, where attendees will hack mobile apps with a special emphasis on photo-friendly projects. The event features a fireside chat with notable NYC entrepreneurs, including Alexis Ohanian, Ben Huh, and David Karp. Attendees can expect to see innovative projects like Honey Badger, which uses Twilio's SMS capabilities to alert users when someone else is using their computer. Other notable apps include PhotoJabber, Slideboard, Zone Minder, and Tag Fight, all of which utilize Twilio's APIs and services. The event aims to inspire creativity and innovation among developers, with a prize for the best overall Twilio hack.

The Startup Conference in Seattle was a single-day event that featured CEOs from top startups, including Rich Barton, Rand Fishkin, Neil Patel, and Glenn Kelman, who shared their experiences on transparency software and empowering people through information democratization. A Pitch Session followed, where over a dozen local startups showcased their ideas to a VC and Angel-staffed panel, with feedback provided by Kiip's founder Brian Wong. The event highlighted the optimism and electricity in the air among Seattle's startup community, particularly those in their first year of running their own businesses.

QuickPay has raised funding from Fontinalis Partners, an investment firm focused on transportation infrastructure, with the goal of transforming the $26 billion parking industry through new technologies. The company plans to use Twilio's cloud communications platform to add voice and text messaging capabilities to its smart phone app, making parking easier for users by allowing them to pay by touch of their phones. With this technology, QuickPay aims to revolutionize the parking experience, reducing the need for cash boxes, meters, and other outdated payment systems.

Twilio is being used in various creative ways this Valentine's Day, from secret crushes to online dating, with apps like UMake.me, Jars of Love, Match.com, CloudSpokes, and Parisian Love utilizing Twilio's communication capabilities to facilitate connections and relationships. These innovative applications leverage Twilio's APIs and SDKs to enable features such as anonymous texting, virtual date night planning, and call functionality without revealing phone numbers. The use of Twilio in these Valentine's Day apps showcases its versatility and potential for developers to create engaging and interactive experiences.

The project `twiSQL` is a set of SQL user-defined functions that enable telephone calls and text messaging from TSQL code using Twilio's services. It includes two main components: `msgTwilioMakeCall` to place phone calls and `msgTwilioViewCall` to view the details of a specific call. The project also demonstrates how to create tables to hold prospect information, insert records into these tables, and then loop through these records to make telephone calls using Twilio's services. Additionally, it shows how to check the status of completed calls by retrieving the XML response from `msgTwilioViewCall`. The code can be used as a starting point for building a complete call campaign system with minimal expense.

This summary provides a detailed overview of creating SMS and voice application flows using ASP.NET Web Forms. The post discusses the basics of Twilio's REST API and how to integrate it with an ASP.NET web application. It covers topics such as setting up the ASP.NET Web Application, deploying it, configuring Twilio, and creating a HTTP Handler endpoint. The example demonstrates how to create a simple IVR system that allows users to check package status, register for notifications, and connect to customer service. The post also discusses implementing submenus and flow redirects in the application's call flow, making it easier to navigate between different branches of the workflow.

TeamSnap, a tool for organizing sports teams and social groups, improved its email deliverability by integrating SendGrid's Event API, which automates responses to bounced emails and spam reports. Previously, managing email deliverability was a manual and infrequent process due to the complexity of parsing logs and handling feedback loops when TeamSnap ran its own SMTP server. By setting up the SendGrid Event API, TeamSnap now automatically handles problematic emails with minimal developer intervention, using a simple web app developed in Sinatra to process and respond to events like bounces or spam reports. This system not only ensures high deliverability rates but also allows team managers to be informed and address issues directly, contributing to a 99.8% deliverability rate and a 99.5% sender reputation. The solution requires little ongoing development effort and leverages SendGrid's tools to maintain efficient and effective email communication, freeing up resources and preventing unwanted emails from affecting deliverability rates.

The SXSW Developer Contest is an annual event where developers are encouraged to build a must-have app for the conference using Twilio API as a foundation. The contest aims to promote innovation, creativity, and problem-solving among developers. Winners receive prizes such as VIP access to Twilio events, a SXSW Interactive Badge, and exclusive swag from Twilio. To participate, developers must submit their app by February 20th, use the Twilio API, and provide a video or trailer showcasing their work. The contest is part of Twilio's efforts to foster a community of developers who can build communications and digital engagement experiences.

Twilio for .NET Developers Part 5: Twilio Client, MVC and WebMatrix Helper Libraries` simplifies the use of the Twilio REST API for .NET developers with a set of utilities that make it easy to work with TwiML and Twilio Client. The `Twilio.Client` library makes it simple to add VoIP functionality to web, iOS, and Android apps, while the `MVC Helper` library provides classes useful for ASP.NET MVC developers, such as generating TwiML content from controllers. The `WebMatrix Helper` library offers methods for sending SMS messages or initiating outbound calls in the new WebMatrix development environment. These helper libraries help .NET developers integrate Twilio into their applications and create multi-step flows for conversations.

Twilio is launching a developer contest for its Interactive event, where top developers will be encouraged to build an app that showcases their skills and creativity, with prizes including a SXSW badge, Twilio gear, and VIP access to events. The contest theme focuses on building apps around various themes such as music, film, interactive, parties, and networking, with the option to showcase a video or screencast of the app as part of the submission. Winners will receive exclusive perks, including VIP access to all Twilio events during SXSW, while all entries will receive VIP access to these events, regardless of whether they win or not.

The Lean Startup Machine is a metrics-driven process that allows founders to test their ideas against reality, and it was found to be useful for those building real, working prototypes. The teams that participated in the event were able to make significant advancements in their business strategy and product design before even building a product, with continuous and focused customer input. Through iterative testing and experimentation, these teams discovered what worked and what didn't, and were better poised to build their products with customer feedback. The event was highly educational and provided valuable insights for founders and mentors alike, and it's possible that Lean Startup Machine will come to other cities in the future.

Abir Majumdar, a seasoned developer with over 11 years of experience in San Francisco, created The OutCall, a web app that lets users schedule an incoming call to their phone, providing an escape from bad meetings or unwanted dates. Built using Ruby on Rails and hosted on Heroku, The OutCall uses IronWorker for scheduling and Twitter Bootstrap for styling. It also leverages TypeKit fonts and the Chronic gem for natural language date parsing. By using this app, users can excuse themselves from inescapable situations, allowing them to focus on other tasks or activities.

The Twilio.TwiML helper library simplifies the process of creating TwiML by providing a set of simple methods that generate TwiML elements and attributes, freeing developers from manually creating well-formed XML responses. The library allows for fluent method chaining to create complex TwiML flows, and supports hosting on publicly accessible URLs to test Twilio requests. The library is designed to be used with ASP.NET applications, providing a set of utilities that make it easy to work with TwiML and Twilio Client.

The Developer Contest: Be a DOer in 2012 with Twilio and Trello Hack` is an initiative that encourages developers to showcase their skills and creativity by participating in monthly contests. One such contestant, Richard Kolkovich, has developed an innovative SMS integration for Trello, allowing users to send To Dos directly to the platform via Twilio's API. This hack not only streamlines productivity but also provides a unique way for users to manage their tasks more efficiently. The contest aims to promote collaboration and innovation among developers, with the goal of providing valuable resources and learning opportunities for participants.

The Developer Contest Winner, Tony Webster, built an app called HeroJobs.org for veterans using the Government's National Resource Directory and Twilio SMS, which helps them find jobs nearby based on their Military Occupational Specialty.