August 2012 Summaries

This is a fantasy football draft tool that allows users to create a conference call for their league, powered by Twilio Client, Nodejitsu, and RedisToGo. The tool eliminates the need for complicated software installations and configurations, making it easy for friends to join in from anywhere. Users can access the Draft Room at http://fantasyfootball.twilio.ly, where they can enter a unique room code to connect with their league mates. This solution streamlines the conference call process, allowing users to focus on trash talking during the draft. The tool is built using open-source technologies and resources are available for learning more about its development and behind-the-scenes details.

The Philadelphia Police Department is utilizing Twilio SMS to empower residents to report crimes anonymously through text messages, making it easier for the department to solve cases. The tip line was built using Twilio's ease of use and affordability, allowing Hyaline Creative to create a functional system in under four days. A short code, PPDTIP, was applied for and approved by carriers, enabling the department to send larger volumes of messages. The system now includes features such as message organization and keyword checking, making it easier for residents to report suspicious activity. With its launch in April, the people of Philadelphia have begun sending increasing numbers of SMS tips, including reports of hit-and-run incidents and all-terrain vehicle sightings.

The Young Rewired State Festival of Code encouraged kids under 18 years old to code, with participants building over 100 projects in 40 centers across the UK. Two new startup accelerators, Wayra Academy and Ignite 100, were launched, offering opportunities for developers to collaborate and grow their businesses. The Mobile Entertainment Awards will feature a "Outstanding Contribution to Mobile Entertainment" category, where the community can vote using Twilio SMS. The Turing Festival in Edinburgh showcased live coding demos, including one by Plushcap, and featured a photo cameo with Justin Bieber. These events highlight the growing innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in the UK's mobile industry.

TrialX: Unlocking Clinical Trials with Twilio API The current clinical trial matching process is inefficient, with four out of five trials delayed due to participant recruitment challenges. TrialX was founded in 2008 to address this issue, and its co-founders used the Twilio API to create an application that connects patients and clinical trials. The app, Ask Dory, allows patients to easily find trials near them, and the integration with Twilio enabled the team to add click-to-call functionality, making it even easier for patients to connect with trial doctors. The Twilio technology provided reliability, flexibility, and ease of use, as well as reporting capabilities that are valuable in assessing the impact of the tool. TrialX has continued to create value using Twilio, building apps such as Call-E that enables proactive notifications from doctor's offices to remind patients about upcoming appointments or screenings.

Alex Kern is a self-taught programmer who started coding at the age of 9 with PHP and later learned C, Java, and Ruby. He joined his high school's FIRST robotics team as a lead web developer and robot programmer in 8th grade and accepted his first job at an LA-based web startup while also interning at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to work on the Mars Science Laboratory. Kern is now attending UC Berkeley as a freshman, but currently works on open source projects, including Blastee, an app that uses Twilio to alert emergency contacts in times of need. The app was created during Hack for Change and helps users quickly connect with pre-selected contacts who can provide assistance.

We celebrated a major milestone at Twilio, reaching 100,000 developer accounts in June, and invited three inspiring individuals from the community to share their milestone stories, including entrepreneurs, hackers, and innovators who have taken risks and achieved success with Twilio's services. These individuals shared their personal stories of overcoming challenges and achieving milestones, such as hitting a tracking number record at CallRail, joining the startup community in the Bay Area, using Twilio for political activism, and more, showcasing the power of the Twilio community. The milestone stories can be viewed on the Milestone Story page, offering a glimpse into the experiences and achievements of Twilio's users.

The Twilio Top Developer Panel Picks for SXSW 2013` highlights various panels at SXSW 2013 that focus on developer best practices, the future of coding, hackathons, APIs, community management, and more. The panels are curated by Twilio and feature a range of industry experts and innovators. These panels offer insights into the latest trends and innovations in software development and developer marketing, providing valuable information for attendees to learn from and network with peers. `Twilio` is also promoting its own offerings through the panel picks, showcasing its commitment to supporting developers and fostering innovation.

Meet the speakers at TwilioCon 2012 who will be sharing their expertise on mobile communication, machine learning, UX design, and more. These speakers include Kunal Batra, founder of General Machines, Steve Klabnik, a Ruby Hero, Mal McKay, Lead Developer at Mobile Commons, Emily Wright Moore, a UX Designer at Code for America, Pete Moore, Co-Founder at Ninja Blocks, and Hannah Robinett, a User Interface Designer at Datalot. They will be discussing various topics related to communication, technology, and design, with a focus on hands-on sessions with Twilio products. The event aims to bring together developers, designers, and industry experts to share knowledge and best practices in building digital engagement experiences.

Twilio has partnered with Y Combinator to support startups in building and testing their products, providing an accelerator credit to help companies launch successfully. This partnership highlights several Twilio-powered companies that demoed at recent Y Combinator Demo Day, including Instacart, Referly, viaCycle, Zapier, and others. These companies are utilizing Twilio's APIs, SDKs, and other resources to enhance their products and services, such as providing communication and digital engagement experiences. Additionally, Twilio offers a range of developer tools and resources, including documentation, ebooks, industry reports, webinars, and a community hub, to help developers build and improve their applications.

You can start with Twilio Voice by sending a message that utilizes the text-to-speech engine for notifications or dynamic text, allowing you to access a powerful tool. In the next screencast, you'll learn how to greet callers by name and generate dynamic speech based on variables. If new to Twilio, it's recommended to start with SMS Quickstarts to familiarize yourself with purchasing a phone number and replying to an SMS message via TwiML. For more guidance, refer to the related resources and documentation available on Twilio Docs and Resource Center.

GameChanger is a mobile app and website that provides an easy scorekeeping solution for amateur sports teams, allowing coaches to save time and provide customized alerts to families and fans via text messages sent through Twilio SMS. The company initially focused on baseball, signing up over 45,000 amateur teams, but now sends nearly two million SMS updates a month. Choosing Twilio's API and service was critical in GameChanger's ability to scale, allowing the platform to handle increasing volumes and switch seamlessly between regular telephone numbers and short codes required for high-volume messages. With Twilio's international and voice capabilities, GameChanger plans to expand into overseas markets, including basketball and other amateur sports, with the goal of reaching billions of people across 150 countries.

This tutorial describes a DIY home automation solution using Twilio SMS, PowerSwitch, Arduino, and PusherApp. The system allows users to control a power outlet remotely using a phone or web interface. The project involves setting up an Arduino board with a WiFly module and connecting it to a PowerSwitch, which controls the power outlet. A Pusher service is used to trigger events when an SMS is received or a form button is clicked on a website. The system also includes a basic server-side application written in Ruby using Sinatra and hosted on Heroku. The tutorial provides step-by-step instructions for setting up the hardware and software components, as well as configuring the Pusher service and Heroku environment variables.

Building an Unconference App For RailsConf with Twilio and Twitter` is a story about how the organizers of BohConf at RailsConf 2012 in Austin, Texas used Twilio and Twitter to create an alert system for attendees. They built a scheduling app for the conference but needed a way to reach people quickly and efficiently during the event. The team used the Twitter Streaming API with the TweetStream ruby gem to listen for tweets from specific users and keywords, and then sent SMS's to interested individuals using the Twilio Ruby gem. They also developed a Sinatra web app to manage a list of SMS subscribers stored in Redis, which responded to incoming messages with TwiML. The system worked well, but required some tweaks to screen out retweets.

viaCycle is a bike-sharing system that allows users to quickly checkout bikes for short trips using their cell-phones, similar to Zipcar but for bicycles. The company was founded in 2009 by Sid Doshi and his Mechanical Engineering Grad friends at Georgia Tech as a student project, with the goal of making bike-sharing simple and accessible. viaCycle uses an electronic lock system powered by Twilio SMS and Voice, which includes GPS tracking, allowing users to find the bike, call or text in the PIN, and enjoy their ride. The company has developed a turn-key bike-sharing program that can be set up for universities, corporations, mixed-use developments, neighborhoods, etc., with costs per bike reduced by 1/2 or 1/3 compared to existing bike-sharing systems. viaCycle is now operating and managing programs for Georgia Tech and plans to expand to other schools, companies, and resorts in the near future. The company's team has a background in Mechanical Engineering with Master's degrees, and they use Twilio for Voice and SMS access, as well as a basic web application stack (Django/Postgres) for back-end operations. viaCycle is focusing on bringing its product to more places and developing its next version of the system.

Twilio has successfully launched its Twilio Short Code product over a year ago, enabling developers to create innovative messaging and notifications products. Hundreds of registered short codes are now available in the inventory, empowering next-generation communications. This platform is being utilized by various organizations, including startups, enterprises, non-profits, and government agencies, to change the way people interact with their devices. By leveraging Twilio Short Codes, developers can mobilize their communities, fight crime, reach customers, and provide the best user experience. The tool is particularly useful for companies like Walmart and the City of Philadelphia, which are using it to stay engaged with customers and keep citizens safe, respectively.

As a mobile platform for developers, Djanoa is addressing the challenges of phone number scarcity in Senegal by providing keywords that consumers can use to access various applications. The company's founder, Assane Seck, was influenced by Twilio's design decisions, such as the use of webhooks. Meanwhile, HeHe Ltd., a mobile apps development company in Rwanda, is building SMS-based applications for businesses and institutions, aiming to create a social network for clients and customers. These initiatives aim to empower people through mobile technology, leveraging the accessibility and potential of mobile devices to promote development and innovation. The work of Assane and Clarisse is part of a broader revolution that can inspire new business opportunities and increase efficiencies, ultimately changing lives for the better.

Triage.me is a healthcare-focused app that uses SMS to direct uninsured patients with limited access to health care clinics, aiming to reduce emergency room visits by providing them with the nearest clinic options, hours, directions, and transportation information. The app, developed by Dan Wilson and Mark Olschesky, leverages Twilio's SMS capabilities to reach anyone with texting abilities, regardless of smartphone ownership. Triage.me is currently in beta testing in Wisconsin and Washington D.C., with plans to expand its availability to more cities as the team refines the app and grows their user base.

This tutorial demonstrates how to create a scheduled reminder app using Twilio and IronWorker, with the goal of helping users stay on track with their daily workouts, such as Beachbody Insanity. The project utilizes IronWorker's scheduling capabilities and Twilio's SMS functionality to send reminders and updates to users. The app is built using Ruby and Sinatra, and uses IronWorker's command line interface to deploy workers to the IronWorker platform. The tutorial covers the basics of setting up IronWorker and Twilio, configuring the workers, uploading them to the IronWorker platform, and setting up a callback URL for incoming SMS messages. The project showcases how scheduling and callbacks can be easily used with IronWorker and Twilio to build powerful communication and digital engagement experiences.

Telling a story with code can be challenging, but using a narrative framework such as a problem statement, middle section with solutions, and conclusion with a demonstration of the solution can make it more coherent and engaging. The author shares an example of building a karaoke machine in the cloud using Twilio's products, showcasing how to use the microphone, sound system, music, and lyrics to create a compelling story that uses all three building blocks of Twilio Voice, SMS, and Client. By following this framework and making the code work together to demonstrate the solution, developers can capture their audience's attention and convey their message more effectively in presentations and other public speaking engagements.

We built ooomf to level the playing field for mobile app developers by providing a platform where they can create beautiful landing pages to distribute their apps and acquire new users, with the goal of showcasing exceptional mobile apps and rewarding them with traction. The platform uses Twilio SMS to provide a text-to-download feature that simplifies the process of downloading an app directly on a mobile device, making it easier for users to discover and share great apps. With a public beta version releasing this week, ooomf aims to be the simplest and most beautiful way to discover and share the best apps in the world.

Twilio #TweekWeek Celebrates the Entrepreneurial Spirit` Two weeks ago Twilio conducted an experiment called Tweek where employees were given a week to work on any project they chose with whomever they wanted without any product cycles, specs, or restrictions. This was done to give employees more time to innovate and refine their ideas. The teams that participated in Tweek demonstrated their projects on Friday and six of them will be deployed to production within the next two months. The results are already being seen at Twilio with some infrastructure tweaks being implemented in production. The company believes in the entrepreneurial spirit and trusts in small teams to self-assemble and achieve amazing things, which is why Tweek was a way to celebrate these values in a big way.

SendGrid's Parse API is a versatile tool designed to enhance email integration by allowing users to parse email bodies and attachments from incoming emails and post them to web applications. This capability enables a range of functionalities, such as posting blog articles, updating mailing lists or databases from email replies, and managing support requests via email. The API offers real-time data tracking through custom code, making it a powerful resource for improving operational efficiency. Use cases include Vanilla leveraging the API for enhanced payment processing and communication, a company streamlining expense updates by extracting data from emails, and Turnkey Sports & Entertainment facilitating seamless email logging and communication within their closed system. Overall, the Parse API provides a flexible solution for businesses to simplify processes and deliver superior email experiences.

FoundIt! is a lost and found service that uses unique sticker tags to help reunite people with their lost items. The company's co-founder, Katie Bandstra, believes that the philosophy behind FoundIt! taps into people's emotions and moves them to do good deeds when they find something valuable. Research has shown that making it easy for people to return lost items can increase the return rate, which is why FoundIt!'s sticker language is designed to elicit an emotional response. The service was started by a father who had lost his daughter's photography portfolio and his wife's new camera in taxis, and he wanted to find a way to label their belongings without exposing their personal information. FoundIt! uses Twilio to receive reports of found items and send notifications to the owners via SMS and email. The company has seen a recovery rate of 88-96% for lost items, with its "emotional" language stickers and tags being a key factor in increasing this rate. FoundIt!'s goal is to become ubiquitous, partnering with community organizations and businesses to provide value-added services and spark local projects.

Box is hosting a hackathon in August with Twilio as one of the participating companies, aiming to inspire developers to create innovative business apps that revolutionize the workplace. The event will bring together top tech companies like Sendgrid and Iron.io to support the cause. Attendees will have the chance to hear from Twilio's CEO Jeff Lawson about his vision for enabling developers to build the future of business communications. Participants can also expect to score some exciting prizes, including an iPad and a $2,500 Amazon gift card. The event hashtag is #redefiningwork, inviting others to follow along with the action.

Joël Franusic is a Developer Evangelist at Twilio who recently joined the company to help developers, which aligns with one of his passions. He was approached by the Utah Foster Care Foundation to create an SMS voting system for their Chalk Art Festival, which utilizes Twilio's API due to its unique requirements such as allowing multiple votes and handling large volumes of participants. Joël quickly developed a custom application using Twilio's Hackpack templates for Heroku and Flask, connecting to a MongoDB database to store the votes. The application allowed festival visitors to vote by sending an SMS with a 3-digit number, with results displayed on a URL provided by the organizer. The system successfully handled over 8500 votes during the event, demonstrating Joël's ability to rapidly develop and solve problems using Twilio's API. This experience has fueled his enthusiasm for working with people, teaching, and solving problems, ultimately leading him to become a Developer Evangelist at Twilio.

Zapier has launched its developer platform, allowing companies and developers to add their own apps to the library for users to build Zaps. The platform features a drag-and-drop interface, making it easy to set up integrations between different apps. Users can choose from over 60 available apps, including Twilio, and integrate them with other services without writing code. The company was founded by three friends who met through their shared love of music, and they have since become known for their innovative approach to integrating different applications. With its new platform, Zapier is expanding its capabilities and making it easier for users to automate tasks and workflows.

The BeerText.Us team built an app that allows users to send SMS queries to a database of beer information, using the BreweryDB API and Twilio's SMS service. In just 72 hours, they grew to thousands of users and received feedback from the community, iterating to improve the service. After winning no prize but receiving recognition on sites like Lifehacker, their app continues to attract users and receive updates as they work to address issues and add features.