February 2014 Summaries

Twilio and Box are hosting an event called Twilio & Box Get_down 2014 at SXSW 2014 in Austin, TX. The event will take place on March 7th from 3pm-8pm at Javelina. To attend the party, participants must complete a challenge by texting (512) 872-5683 and following the instructions. Those who have previously completed the challenge are expected to know their way around Twilio and Box. The event will also feature meet-and-greets with Startup Bus riders who formed teams and built companies from scratch during their bus ride to Austin.

This article guides readers through the process of integrating Twilio with a Rails 4 application. The author, Carter Rabasa, shares his personal experience of using Ruby on Rails to rapidly build software for his recreational sports league and how it influenced him to become a developer evangelist at Twilio. To integrate Twilio with a Rails app, one needs to sign up for a free account, obtain a phone number, and configure the webhook settings in the dashboard. The author then creates a new file `twilio_controller.rb` that defines an action called `voice`, which handles incoming phone calls by playing a message using TwiML. To make this work, the author uses the `Webhookable` Concern to set the HTTP response content type and render the TwiML object as raw XML. Finally, the app is deployed on a development server, and the author tests it using cURL and Ngrok to expose the server to the public internet.

Twilio has announced the expansion of its SMS capabilities to six new countries: Australia, Austria, Estonia, Hong Kong, Lithuania, and Switzerland, allowing developers to send and receive text messages with local mobile numbers. This expansion enables international messaging in 198 countries, making it easier for companies like Uber and PayByPhone to deliver excellent customer experiences. With the added capability, Twilio aims to provide a unified API for global reach, enabling businesses to communicate effectively across borders.

** In this updated post, Kyle Kelly-Yahner explains how to build a simple group messaging application using ASP.NET MVC and Twilio. The application has three main concepts: group members, commands, and messages. Members can join the group by sending the command START to the group's Twilio phone number, while leaving the group requires sending the command STOP. As users send messages to the group's Twilio phone number, Twilio initiates a POST request to the ASP.NET MVC application, which processes the message and returns a response to the original sender via TwiML commands. The application uses REST API to broadcast text messages to group members. Kyle highlights that the concepts used in this application can be easily applied to other programming languages or frameworks.

Twilio is partnering with IBM to bring its communication services to developers on the IBM Cloud Platform. The partnership is centered around the Codename: BlueMix platform, which combines open source PaaS technology with various application services. Twilio's voice, messaging, and VoIP functionality will be available to developers through this integration. With this partnership, developers can easily deploy and manage Twilio applications from the BlueMix administrative console. The core technology behind BlueMix is Cloud Foundry, an open source PaaS that provides infrastructure agnosticism and easy deployment options. Developers can integrate various services provided by IBM and third-party providers like Twilio with ease. To get started, developers can sign up for the BlueMix beta and follow instructions to create a new app, configure it with Twilio, and deploy their first application.

The City of Boston implemented a proactive towing alert system using Twilio Voice to reunite cars with owners more efficiently. Prior to the implementation, police spent valuable time tracking down owners and towing companies took up space storing the cars. The city digitized their database of phone numbers, license plates, and addresses in 2011, allowing for automated voice calls to be sent to car owners. This system has reduced costs by spending less than .002% of revenue on voice alerts and has plans to expand to auto-notifications for emergency service teams and law enforcement contacting citizens directly. The system uses Twilio's API to dial car owners with vital information about the tow, including where they were towed from, why, and how to pick up their car.

Matt Makai, a developer and consultant, recounts his experience of accidentally dropping his client's production database, which led to a series of errors and ultimately resulted in the successful restoration of the data from nightly backups. He learned two key lessons: the importance of regular backups and the value of working with a capable team that can help recover from mistakes. Makai joined the Developer Evangelism team at Twilio, where he aims to build a supportive culture that encourages experimentation and learning from errors, rather than fearing them. With his experience and background in consulting for various clients, including non-profits and government organizations, Makai is committed to improving the tech scene in Washington D.C. and fostering a community that promotes collaboration and mutual support among developers.

Jeff Atwood, founder of StackOverflow, uses Star Wars episodes to illustrate different types of communities, such as developers seeking answers on programming challenges (Stack Overflow - A New Hope), system administrators looking for technical support (Server Fault - The Empire Strikes Back), and computer enthusiasts engaging in discussions (Super User - Return of the Jedi).

Burpy Crowd Sources Food Delivery With Twilio SMS` The founders of Burpy, a crowd-sourced food delivery business, aimed to reduce wait times and refine the delivery workflow. They founded the company in 2012, primarily serving UT Austin students, with a unique SMS-based system for drivers that uses geo-targeting to allocate jobs to the closest driver. This approach automates communication with drivers, reducing response time. The company has expanded rapidly across several cities and is now focusing on finding reliable full-time drivers to serve customers at all hours.

The Messaging Quality Dashboard is a tool provided by Twilio that offers insights into message deliverability and carrier acknowledgement, allowing businesses to communicate with confidence across different countries and regions. The dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of carrier acknowledgements in various countries, enabling users to gauge the success of their messages and make data-driven decisions to improve their messaging strategy.

Twilio has grown significantly since Chetan Chaudhary started working there, expanding from 70 people to its current size.` `He began his career as Director of Channel Sales and is still growing with the company.` `In this role, he shares insights into what it's like to work on the Twilio sales team and the changes that have occurred since he first joined the channel sales team at Twilio.

The Bolt app for Android aims to make it easier for users to call friends and family, even simpler than the default phone app. The company was founded after years of frustration with carrier lock-in and the limitations of existing products in delivering a seamless experience. Using Java, Postgres, Redis, and Twilio SMS, Bolt is building an "unbundled" experience that allows users to pay for data while using voice calls and messaging without relying on their carriers. The company plans to expand its services with an iOS app and messaging capabilities, aiming to push the mobile ecosystem towards a data-only future.

The author, Jarod Reyes, a casual Star Trek fan, built an in-browser version of the iconic Star Trek Communicator using Twilio Client. The goal was to create a simple interface that allows users to record their captain's log after the beep, with a 15-second timeout. The application uses TwiML instructions to control the call and display recorded logs via the Twilio REST API. The process involves creating a Twilio Application, generating a Capability Token, setting up a Twilio.Device, writing JavaScript code to initiate a connection, and hosting a TwiML file that prompts users to record their log. The application also displays a list of all recorded logs using the Twilio REST API.

As a developer evangelist, gauging success is often subjective and requires tracking various metrics such as awareness, engagement, and API adoption to determine the impact of one's efforts. However, establishing clear goals and identifying signs of burnout can help make the role more sustainable. A full-time gig may be necessary for excellence, but part-time work with strategic projects and self-care can also be effective. To become a developer evangelist, it's essential to understand why you want to pursue this career path and gain diverse technical knowledge, find a developer product you love, and develop the skills of empathy, patience, and hustle.

Scaling for thousands of pizza orders during the Super Bowl requires a robust contact center solution that can handle high volumes of calls. A leading pizza franchise turned to LiveOps Cloud Contact Center Platform and Twilio to power their support staff, enabling them to answer customer calls easily from their browser using WebRTC. The platform allowed agents to monitor wait time, route calls, and chat with customers about their favorite pizza toppings, handling tens of thousands of orders in a 15-minute window. This achievement marks the shift towards cloud-based contact center solutions, making it easier for companies to deliver an awesome customer experience.

Timmy Crawford is a developer who built ConePatrol, an SMS alert system that sends fresh powder updates to skiers via Twilio. The service has gained popularity with over 1,000 users, mostly due to the ease of use and the fact that it doesn't require a native app download. Timmy's experience as IT Manager at Mt. Bachelor also influenced his development skills, leading to the creation of "Track Your Turns" system. ConePatrol's success showcases the versatility of SMS in applications beyond traditional push notifications. With limited advertising, the service has passed its 1,000 subscriber mark and is now exploring new features such as tracking ski runs via SMS alerts. Timmy plans to expand his Twilio hacks into other niches, including MMS support, and is excited about the potential for innovative applications in this space.

Making API errors more transparent is crucial for efficient learning and troubleshooting processes in software development. Ensuring that users can easily determine what went wrong when an error occurs is key. To achieve this, developers can use more verbose error messages that include relevant details such as the method and URI sent to the API, the error message, and a link to more information. Additionally, using ANSI escape sequences to print out errors in different colors can make them more visible. However, it's essential to consider how users will receive the exception object and protect against displaying silly error messages if they are not printed to a terminal. By implementing these strategies, developers can make API errors more transparent and helpful for both new and experienced users.

Sending Securely: SendSafely Uses Twilio Two Factor Authentication To Ship Files` SendSafely is a file-sharing company that prioritizes security, encrypting all user files to protect sensitive data. The company uses Twilio's two-factor authentication to add an extra layer of protection to its users' accounts. When sending files, SendSafely generates a client key for the sender and a server key for the recipient, allowing for secure tracking and delivery of encrypted files. This approach combines security with convenience, enabling users to share sensitive data without compromising their privacy. By leveraging Twilio's authentication services, SendSafely provides an additional layer of protection against unauthorized access to user data.