November 2015 Summaries

Jeff Lawson, co-founder of Twilio, reflects on his experiences in three previous companies where he struggled to find conviction and burned out due to a mismatch between his personal interests and the company's focus. He realized that it was the lack of conviction around the product or customer that led to his burnout, but found this conviction in communications. This insight led him to start Twilio, a software company focused on providing cloud communication solutions, where he could leverage his passion for solving problems and iterating rapidly.

FitMeal` is a weight loss tracking tool that uses SMS to record users' meals and provides nutritional information via Twilio SMS, allowing users to track their calories without having to manually log their food in a blog or app. The project was initially built by its creator, Georges Duverger, as a way to help himself lose weight, but it gained popularity after being featured on Vice's Snapchat feed, leading to a surge in registrations and forcing Georges to build a waitlist for his service. FitMeal uses Python, Django, and Heroku, and has been shown to be effective in helping users achieve their weight loss goals while also providing a sense of personal and professional success for its creator.

Kristen Salomon, an electronics engineer at littleBits, a New York City based company that creates electronic building blocks, shares her journey from tinkering with hardware and creating early websites to speaking at conferences like Signal 2016. She was inspired by her passion for learning and STEM to give back to the community through Science Club for Girls, and later found inspiration in public speaking after submitting a proposal for Signal last year. Recently, she has been practicing coding chops through Codingame and working on side projects, including a home monitoring system using littleBits and Twilio SMS. Salomon is excited about connecting with people at Signal 2016 and sharing her work as a source of learning and inspiration. She advises developers to submit proposals for speaking at the conference, even if they have never spoken before, as it can be a great experience.

The article provides a tutorial on building a dashboard using React, Express, and Socket.IO to track phone call status. The author starts by setting up the backend with Express and Twilio, then moves on to building the client-side React app that displays and handles the data's state. The app uses Socket.IO to communicate with the server in real-time, allowing it to update its state when a call's status changes. The tutorial covers how to create reusable components, handle state changes, and connect the client's rendering to actual data coming from the server. With this code, the dashboard app is complete, providing a basic example of what can be done with React, and encouraging developers to continue building more complex applications.

Jeff Lawson, the CEO of Twilio, participated in a live chat on Product Hunt, where he shared his insights on various topics including creative use cases for Twilio's communication platform, the importance of small focused teams, managing developer onboarding, and the future of communication within apps and products. He discussed how scientists are using Twilio to track bears, diagnose Parkinson's disease through voice recordings, and how developers can save lives by creating communication tools to diagnose diseases or help victims of human trafficking. Jeff also shared his favorite emoji, which was the first one sent with Twilio via SMS during testing, and recounted a story about bringing Dave McClure into Mitch Kapor's office as an advisor, leading to a successful investment.

Sai Yerram, a developer who once faced the consequences of not load testing his application, has created a Twilio endpoint load tester using Python and Go to help fellow developers avoid similar mistakes. The tool allows users to test their Twilio endpoints with valid and invalid data, simulating flash loads and estimating resource utilization costs. Sai built the app with empathy in mind, recognizing the importance of understanding users' needs and other developers' perspectives. His experience has taught him that comprehensive unit testing is essential, but it's equally crucial to have a tool like his load tester to simulate real-world scenarios.

The Spring MVC framework is being used to build a web application that can send SMS and make phone calls using the Twilio REST API. The application starts by setting up an environment with Java Development Kit 1.8 or later and Maven 3.0 installed, and then clones a GitHub repository containing the initial code for a Spring MVC application. A controller is created to handle incoming HTTP requests and return the appropriate view. The application uses request parameters to determine whether to send a text message or make a call. The Twilio REST API is used to authenticate with Twilio and send SMS messages and make phone calls. The application also includes logic to handle different modes, such as sending texts or making calls, using request parameters. Finally, the view is modified to use the model attributes added in the controller to display the mode and number being sent.

Twilio.org, a platform that aims to empower nonprofits with communication tools, has partnered with Freshdesk to offer NGOs 15% off of Freshdesk's communications suite. This partnership is part of the organization's appreciation for nonprofit participation and its inspiration from their deeds. Nonprofits such as the Red Cross, The Carter Center, and Building Beats are making a significant impact by utilizing effective communication tools. For instance, the Red Cross has implemented an open-sourced dispatch system that saves dispatchers time and hassle, while The Carter Center uses SMS to report critical election data via its ElMo app. Similarly, Building Beats coordinates scheduling text messages for volunteers using Twilio's platform, enabling them to focus on music education and entrepreneurship. These examples demonstrate the potential of communication tools in driving positive change in various sectors.

Twilio, Bluemix, and AlchemyAPI are used to analyze the sentiment of text messages. By setting up a Twilio account and a Bluemix trial, developers can receive SMS messages and use the AlchemyAPI service to determine their sentiment. The application responds differently based on the sentiment, providing a positive or negative response. The project is built using Ruby and Sinatra, with the help of the Cloud Foundry CLI. Developers can push their local copy of the application to Bluemix and test it by sending messages to a Twilio number. The AlchemyAPI service provides a score and type for each sentiment analysis, which can be used to inform responses. By integrating these services, developers can build applications that understand and respond to user emotions in real-time.

A serverless MMS app was built using Amazon Lambda, API Gateway, and Twilio, allowing users to send selfies without setting up backend servers. The app uses DynamoDB for user data storage and S3 for image storage, with a 100% serverless architecture. A step-by-step guide is provided on how to configure, develop, and deploy the app on AWS, including creating Lambda functions, API Gateway endpoints, and IAM roles. The app sends a publicly accessible link to the stored image after receiving an MMS, and it can be tested by sending an MMS to a Twilio number or using a Chrome Extension Advanced Rest Client. Troubleshooting tips are also included, such as ensuring the correct IAM role is used for Lambda interactions.

The author of the text, Siraj Raval, shares his experience of finding love on ChatRoulette, a video chat platform. He explains how he met his current girlfriend using this platform and attributes its success to the fact that it didn't allow users to create personas beforehand. The author then proposes building an app similar to ChatRoulette for Android devices called CallRoulette. This app will have a simple interface with a single button that can start and end calls, allowing users to engage in random phone conversations. To develop this app, the author recommends using Android Studio and the Twilio client library, which provides a way to make phone calls programmatically. The app's backend logic is handled by a Java class called CallRoulette, which interacts with the Twilio API to establish connections and manage call sessions. The app also includes a server-side component that uses TwiML (Twilio Markup Language) to determine what actions can be taken on incoming calls. The author provides step-by-step instructions for setting up the server and deploying it to Heroku. Once the app is deployed, users can access it through the Android device or a web browser, allowing them to engage in random phone conversations with other users.

The Carter Center, a non-profit organization, has developed an open-sourced election monitoring program called ElMo to track democratic elections worldwide. To collect and log critical information from 30,000 election observers, the organization chose Twilio's SMS service for its reliability, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. The new system allows for faster data provisioning, easier number management, and reduced financial outlay compared to their previous methods. This switch has enabled the Carter Center to effectively monitor elections and human rights in developing countries, with a goal of increasing the adoption of ElMo by organizations worldwide.

The author, Sam Agnew, built a notification system that allows users to receive SMS notifications whenever the International Space Station (ISS) flies over their location. The system uses Python, Redis-Queue, and Twilio's Copilot features to schedule tasks and send text messages. The application has a web interface where users can enter their phone number and latitude/longitude, and then subscribe to ISS notifications. The system also includes Geo-Match and Sticky Sender features, which enable the use of a pool of Twilio numbers for international subscribers. The author provides step-by-step instructions on how to build and deploy the application using Flask and Redis-Queue.

The Martian Helmet Image is overlaid on the selfie using OpenCV's Haar Feature-based Cascade Classifiers to detect faces. The image is resized and padded with a border before being merged with the background using OpenCV's bitwise_and function. The resulting image is then saved back to the original file path, overwriting the original image. A Flask application is also built to handle incoming MMS/SMS requests from Twilio, which sends a selfie to be martianified when received.

Twilio is announcing the general availability of Copilot, a set of features designed to automate complex logic in messaging apps, reducing developer headaches and enabling faster app deployment. The feature automates tasks such as sending messages from the best phone number and ensuring content is delivered correctly across different carriers. Additionally, Twilio introduces Messaging Services, a new UI construct that allows developers to create unique SMS projects and manage multiple applications with ease. With Copilot and Messaging Services, Twilio aims to streamline the process of building and maintaining messaging apps, giving developers more time to focus on building their apps.

Today, Twilio has updated its Account Portal with several changes aimed at improving user experience and operational efficiency. The navigation structure has been simplified, making it easier to access various sections such as Services and API Keys. Voice and SMS products now have their own dedicated sections, each with specific configuration, developer tools, and operational data. Consistent main navigation menus have been introduced across all product sections, reducing the complexity of switching between different products. Short codes are now listed together with SMS in a single section, while API Keys have been introduced as a new developer tool to manage credentials, providing a simple mechanism for managing API credentials lifecycle.