Last week, members of the GraVoc Media team, Matt Molk and Eleni Maistrellis, jetted off to fabulous Las Vegas to attend the world-class web and mobile development conference: Future Insights Live. In its third consecutive year hosted in Vegas, Future Insights Live presented the best practices and techniques of web and mobile design and development, and also gave a peak into the future of technology.
This time, what happens in Vegas isn’t staying in Vegas. Matt and Eleni are bringing back all of the knowledge they gained and design techniques of the future to keep GraVoc Associates and our clients at the forefront of web and mobile innovation.
After attending two intensive days of sessions spanning across many different aspects of development, Matt and Eleni have compiled a list of their highlights.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Jason Lengstorf (@jlengstorf, Copter Labs) peeled back the layers of the web to reveal how pervasive APIs are in today’s connected world, and how companies can leverage APIs to provide more value for their customers.
- Brian Leroux (@brianleroux, Adobe & Apache) demystified the PhoneGap/Cordova relationship and history that has perplexed developers, and confirmed its reliability going forward as a native app builder. Brian stressed “Kittens turn into cats” in regards to understanding the long-term direction open source projects take.
- Lisa Larson-Kelley delivered robust demonstrations on the up-and-coming WebRTC project. Web developers can now incorporate video, voice, and data sharing using peer-to-peer connectivity via simple JavaScript APIs, seamlessly through the user’s browser. Check out this cool demo of WebRTC produced by Google as a Chrome Experiment: CubeSlam
- Jon Setzen (@jonsetzen, MediaTemple) encouraged developers to let the content be the shining star in any project design. He offered insight on how to work with the client to highlight the brand’s story throughout the site simply and elegantly, and make the viewer feel like part of an experience.
- Rebekak Cancino (@rebekahcancino, Forty) argued that the multi-platform, multi-experience digital design challenges of today and tomorrow require a revolution in the way we create content and design. She suggested that this revolution needs to bring about a system of full collaboration and co-creation, and suggested ways that we can make that happen. Rebekah ended her presentation with a thought-provoking quote: “People don’t experience content separately from design, ux, and code. Making things shouldn’t be that way either.”
- Sarah Parmenter (@sazzy, You Know Who) emphasized the importance of gathering data before beginning any development project, and basing design decisions on the data at hand.
WHAT’S HOT
As an added bonus, here are some of the newest and hottest technology projects of the now and future:
- MYO – A gesture controlled armband to direct your digital world.
- Google Now – Your very own digital personal assistant, brought to you by non-other than Google.
- Estimote Beacons – Enable micro-location based notifications in your app, creating a personalized experience.
- Humin – New phone app (currently in beta) that captures others’ contact information, and remembers it in a way you would naturally think.