Mobile Monday London: January 2013

30 Jan 2013

Mobile Miscellany, 30 Jan 2013, A chance for free MWC Tickets, Next Event - Finance - in March

Continuing with a theme of start-up and SME related topics, we move from last month's product focused Demo Night to planning this month's finance focused event. Oh, and read on for more info about how to enter the draw for free tickets to MWC, kindly donated by our lovely friends over at Globo plc.

Demo Night 21 Jan

The snow could not keep the crowds away from last Monday week's demo night and once again we enjoyed hearing from an eclectic mix of start-ups through to more established companies across a wide range of product areas. Naturally the subject of HTML5 vs Native made an early appearance, though pleasingly it formed only a small part of the proceedings!   Check out the round up from the event at http://www.mobilemonday.org.uk/2013/01/all-about-demo-night.html

Next Event March - Finance for Start Ups and SMEs

We are hoping to run a follow up to our last very popular event on growth opportunities for SMEs and Start-Ups which we ran just over a year ago  http://www.mobilemonday.org.uk/2011/12/write-up-mobile-monday-28th-november.html.

Once again John Spindler of Capital Enterprise has kindly agreed to take the chair - and will once again give his inimitable whistle stop tour of what funding and other options there are. We're currently putting together the panel for that and we're also interested in hearing from potential supporters for the event.

When I say interested, what I actually mean is that we rely on the support of our generous sponsors to stage events and so please do contact us if you're in a position to help!

Free MWC Passes Kindly Donated by Globo plc

Thanks to our lovely friends at Globo plc http://www.globoplc.com we are delighted to be able to offer 10 passes to Mobile World Congress http://www.mobileworldcongress.com, 25th – 28th Feb 2013. Here’s what you need to do: Explain why you should get a pass in no more than 100 words and send it contact@mobilemonday.org.uk. Winners will be announced 5th Feb.

If you were at Demo night you'd have seen long-standing MoMoLo member Trevor Goldberg present there, here's what they say about their GO!Enterprise product, which he presented:

Globo’s GO!Enterprise, is a mobility platform, enabling the development, deployment and centralised management of applications running on any device, delivered in a secure containerized environment, ideally suited to the implementation of BYOD strategies, without the need for costly or complex MDM or MAM solutions. The GO!Enterprise Mobile Client can be downloaded from all mainstream app stores and demo access to the server and studio for application development can be requested http://www.goenterpriseserver.com.

While you are at MWC, Globo plc (www.globoplc.com) will be exhibiting at MWC in Hall 8.1, D49 so pop by and say hello!

10 places available now for The Mobile Academy - April 2013

So, you may have heard us talking about The Mobile Academy, jointly run by Mobile Monday London and University College London. We now have alumni from our programme which ran at the end of last year - seems odd to say alumni, but that's what they are! We were very touched by the wonderful feedback they gave us, and encouraged by this we are delighted to announce another 36-hour evening programme for anyone keen to start or continue their journey in mobile innovation.

Focussing on the practical business, design and technological aspects of developing successful mobile products, services and experiences, this programme is delivered by industry experts – many of whom are members of our Mobile Monday London community.

The waiting list is growing every week and currently sits at just over 100. There are only 65 places available on the programme. In tune with our community ethos we very much want to offer discounted places to individuals, start-ups, those in education and so on. However, we are giving priority to those who are in a position to pay the full course fee of £3,000. You can probably use a calculator as well as I can, but you'll see that that's an absolute bargain at well under £100 per hour of tuition. I don't suppose you have any doubt about the value and quality of the course, but we're very proud of it and you can see what our alumni said about it at themobileacademy.org.uk.

So, we're giving priority to full-price tickets and applications are open now for that. Please contact Julia as soon as you can to reserve your place and/or to talk about broader Mobile Academy sponsorship opportunities. julia@themobileacademy.org.uk

Meanwhile please remember to register your interest on the wait list, we'll be opening registrations for discounted places in March.

That's all for now. Hope to catch you on the 18th.

28 Jan 2013

All about Demo Night...

Demo Night proved as popular as ever, despite the weather's best attempts to keep people away!

Firstly, our thanks to our event partners ICT KTN . Huge thanks to the demoers and all of those who applied to demo, to our volunteers and to Lauren Maffeo (from AppBeat) for helping with this blog post. We also want to thank Gerlinde Gniewosz (CEO Founder, Ko-su.com and Simon Frost (CTO at Six3) for updating us on their progress since demoing last at last year's Demo Night event. And of course, we thank our wonderful community, who never fail to help the demoers with both supportive and constructive observations at the event and also tweeting using our hashtag #momolo.

Our our brave and wonderful demoers this time around were as follows:

Blue Badge Style – Fiona Jarvis & Kishan Gupta @bluebadgestyle - Guide for the Discerning Less Able
Boss Level – Nick Brown @boss_level - a massively multi-player, multi-platform HTML5 game
Connecthings – Damaris Homo @Connecthings - AdTag platform - allows cities to manage networks of contactless tags (NFC tags & QR codes)
Critical Arc – Glenn Farrant @criticalarc - SafeZone - securing and making safe large open environments
Decibel Technology – Ben Harris @DecibelTech - Mobile Analytics Software
Dennis Publishing – Paul Cooper @dmfcoops - Men's Fitness UK iPad App

Trevor Goldberg of Globo Plc

Globo Plc – Trevor Goldberg @Globoplc - GO!Enterprise - Enterprise mobility
Trademob – Adrienne Gauldie @adriennegauldie - Tech that optimises mobile app advertising for your KPIs
Vyclone – Holly Clarke @vyclone - Social Video Platform
We Choose Fun – Marc Sallent @wechoosefun - Audio Snaps - an app that allows people to take a picture and at the same time record the sound around them
Animal Systems - Geraint Jones @animalsystems - Chirp, a new platform that lets people share content with sound

Here are a few themes that our volunteer blogger Lauren picked out to give you a flavour of the range that we saw:

1) Multi-Platform is a Must

From iOS to Kindle Fire ... Blue Badge is a good example, with their App now available in Google Play, iTunes for both iPhone and iPad and Blackberry World. Paul Cooper of Dennis Publishing described their in-house approach to publishing titles like "Men's Health" which they describe as a C.O.P.E. method (Create Once, Publish Everywhere) - "a scalable approach to cross-platform publishing for content to reach everyone".

2) The Importance of Security

More than one app focused on security of some kind. Critical Arc’s SafeZone app addresses "security and safety in large open areas like universities," defining safe zones around areas of threat. Universities are their target market, but following a question about privacy laws, they confirmed that their whereabouts will only be tracked should they open the app. By contrast, service personnel handling time-sensitive scenarios will be consistently tracked to build real-time situational awareness and communicate with fellow responders.

Similarly, Trademob "takes on the mobile frontier,” seeking to alleviate the 22% of accidental and 18% of fraudulent clicks that yield low conversion rates for websites. Their app detects click fraud by analysing site marketing performance, then blacklisting guilty publishers. Apps are often about fun; these seek to fill market gaps by solving security concerns both on and offline.

3) “Rich Experience” Apps

Decibel take the stage

With more than 700,000 live apps available for iOS and Android, having fully original ideas is hard - perhaps there is something around richer experiences - as we saw with Vyclone, which lets users sync, co-create and edit multiple videos of a shared event. Audio Snaps from We Choose Fun were also going along the same sort of route - they let you capture pictures alongside sound. Great question from the audience prompted the point further: “I’m gonna ask the obvious question - why not just use video?” Presenter Marc Sallent replied "Video tells a story. A picture captures a moment. Add sound, and it will be richer.” Their demo which featured stills of waterfalls and children alongside corresponding sound, was indeed captivating.

Dan Appelquist blogged about his highlights on the BlueVia blog:

"...HTML5 gaming start-up Boss Level – writing cool browser-based games.

Social mobile video start-up Vyclone live-demoed their application for capturing video from multiple sources and editing it in the cloud at near-real-time. The app is specifically aimed at festivals and events.

Animal Systems presented their innovative new app, Chirp.io, that shares data between handsets using audio – think of it as an audio version of a QR-Code.

One interesting presenter, Barcelona-based We Choose Fun presented an prototype application for combining still image photography with sound capture. Although not immediately intuitive, the result was really interesting – for instance, capturing a street scene along with the ambient noise that goes along with it, creates a new way to experience that scene. The app also apparently combines the audio and image into the same jpeg file. Could it be the next Instagram? The app isn’t live yet but I hope they put it out there because I’d love to experiment with it.

We also heard from two of the companies that presented at last year’s demo night, e-learning company KO-SU and WAYRA UK Academy member messaging app Six3 about their continued success. Mobile Monday Demo nights are a great example of the innovation happening in the community right now and I can’t wait for the next one..."

We agree with you Dan, neither can we!

17 Jan 2013

Full line up for Demo Night Revealed!

Here is the full line up for Demo Night, Monday 21st January.

Thank you very much to all of you who put yourselves forward to demo, we're sorry that we had to turn so many down, we had to make some tough choices.

The MoMoLo sorting hat has chosen the following interesting and diverse list of demoers:

Animal Systems - Chirp - new platform that lets people share stuff with sound

Blue Badge Style - Guide for the Discerning Less Able

Boss Level - Scavengers - a massively multi-player, multi-platform HTML5 game

Connecthings - AdTag platform - allows cities to manage networks of contactless tags (NFC tags and QR codes)

Critical Arc - SafeZone - securing and making safe large open environments

Decibel Technology - Decibel Analytics - mobile analytics software

Dennis Publishing - Men's Fitness UK iPad App - native app

Globo Plc - GO!Enterprise - Enterprise mobility

Trademob - Tech that optimises mobile app advertising for your KPIs

Vyclone - Social video platform

We Choose Fun - AudioSnaps - an app that allows people to take a picture and at the same time record the sound around them

We will also be joined by Gerlinde Gniewosz (CEO Founder, KO-SU Limited) and Simon Frost (CTO at Six3) who return to tell us about their journey after appearing at Demo Night last April.

Agenda

6.00 Arrival

6.30 Demos

8.00 Networking

9.30 Close

As usual attendance is free, but registration is required and we have only a handful of places remaining, so hurry to EventBrite!

Location

The CBI Conference Centre at Centre Point, the very tall building immediately above Tottenham Court Road tube station, on the Central and Northern Lines. Please use the entrance at street level under the bridge formed by the building itself.

Partners

We will share your registration details with our event partner ICT KTN.

Competition deadline extended to January 22 for BlackBerry Jam (5-6 Feb)

For the opportunity to win a ticket for BlackBerry Jam, simply Tweet why you'd like to be there, using the hashtag #bbjmomo. If you want to be in with a chance, do this by close of play on Tuesday 22 January.

If fortune does not favour you in that competition, there is a guaranteed 50% discount using the code DJEGX9 at http://www.blackberryjamconference.com/europe.

Here's the invitation from our friends over at BlackBerry:

Join us in Amsterdam for BlackBerry Jam Europe 2013, formerly the BlackBerry Developer Conference, is a showcase for the bold, new direction BlackBerry is heading with the upcoming BlackBerry 10 platform. The event attracts developers and industry leaders who understand the power of BlackBerry and want to take advantage of building mobile applications for the platform. Whether you're a Native, Web, or Android developer, don't miss this opportunity to explore the powerful, game-changing BlackBerry 10 platform.Here is the full line up for Demo Night, Monday 21st January.

10 Jan 2013

Mobile Miscellany, 9 Jan 2013 - Deadlines looming on Smart UK and BlackBerry Jam Compos, Wayra and MoMoLo Demo Night ...

Happy New Year … which is the time of year for predictions ... but we're not going to do that, instead, there are some tight deadlines for a number of really great opportunities to advance your business in 2013 - read on for more about our upcoming Demo Night, BlackBerry Jam, Smart UK Project and WAYRA … apply for them all!

Smart UK Project - entries close 11th Jan

This has been a real opportunity for companies from the MoMoLo community in the past - and I can't put it any clearer than the people over there do, so here goes:

The Smart UK Project is seeking nominations for the UK’s most innovative mobile company until Friday 11th January. Any UK-based company working in the mobile industry that can demonstrate a new product or service that has the potential to change the way people use mobile across the world is encouraged to enter.

Shortlisted entrants will receive pitching support, a place at a media networking event before Mobile World Congress and global media exposure. The finalists will receive a ticket to Mobile World Congress 2013 for the final judging where the UK’s Most Innovative Mobile Company will be announced on 27th February.

Companies wishing to enter the competition can now do so at www.smartukproject.co.uk

BlackBerry Jam 5-6 Feb - compo closes Weds 16th Jan

I have been really interested to find out what BlackBerry 10 is all about and hot on the heels of its launch, Jan 30th, here is the ideal opportunity to find out. Our lovely annual sponsors BlackBerry are offering some free tickets via to attend BlackBerry Jam 5-6 Feb, Amsterdam, or if you don't win those, 50% off. Details at http://www.blackberryjamconference.com/europe.

So first off, for the opportunity to win a ticket to BlackBerry Jam - simply Tweet why you'd like to be there, using the hashtag #bbjmomo, and a distinguished panel of judges will review your tweet against a number of criteria including, but not limited to whether you make reference to conserves, or not. If you want to be in with a chance, do this by close of business Weds 16th Jan.

If fortune does not favour you in that competition there is a guaranteed 50% discount using the code DJEGX9 at http://www.blackberryjamconference.com/europe.

Here's the invitation from our friends over at BlackBerry:

Join us in Amsterdam for BlackBerry Jam Europe 2013, formerly the BlackBerry Developer Conference, is a showcase for the bold, new direction BlackBerry is heading with the upcoming BlackBerry 10 platform. The event attracts developers and industry leaders who understand the power of BlackBerry and want to take advantage of building mobile applications for the platform. Whether you're a Native, Web, or Android developer, don't miss this opportunity to explore the powerful, game-changing BlackBerry 10 platform.

Wayra - call for entries closes 21st Jan

The MoMoLo community has a fair few representatives in the first ever Wayra London, who will pass out this Spring. I mean they'll graduate from the Wayra Academy, rather than literally pass out. Well, I expect there will be some drinking so you never know … er, that's not the point. They all speak really highly of this programme and have benefitted hugely from it.

Now's your chance: Wayra is now making a global call for projects - this means that anyone in the world can apply to join Wayra in London, for those of a more adventurous disposition, the call is also open in Barcelona, Bogota, Buenos Aires, Dublin, Madrid, Munich, Prague, Santiago and Sao Paulo.

Find out about Wayra and apply at http://www.wayra.org/joinus.

Demo Night - 21 Jan - applications to demo closes 14th Jan

As you heard earlier this week (and apologies for any repetition) we're going to start the year with a demo night, which is where the community shows you what is happening rather than merely talking about it!

I won't repeat all the details here, but suffice to say that this is one of the most popular events of the glittering annual MoMoLo calendar - and what's more, this is the one event where pitching is allowed and actually encouraged!

Applications to do a demo, talk, whatever, will close on 14th Jan, enter here: http://j.mp/momolo-demonight-2013-jan

To attend, register here: http://momolondon-2013-01-21-w.eventbrite.com

Hope to catch you then - hope you made a list of all the things you're going to apply for, but do so soon!

Jo

7 Jan 2013

Demo night returns! 21st January

Mobile Monday London in partnership with ICT KTN (http://ictktn.org.uk) is pleased to announce the return of Demo Night on 21st January 2013!

If you're not familiar with the demo night format, well, it looks like this. Each of roughly 10 participants gets to speak about their idea, product or service for exactly three minutes and field questions from the audience for a couple more minutes.

There are no special qualifications, you may have a ready to roll product, you may have an interesting idea, you may be a large company or small company... check out last April's demo night write up for an idea of what it is all about. http://www.mobilemonday.org.uk/2012/04/event-round-up-2nd-april-demo-night.html. Past demoers have gone on to do all kinds of interesting journeys, so we'll ask a couple of them to talk about their experiences too.

Importantly, if you'd like to do a demo, then please fill in the form at http://j.mp/momolo-demonight-2013-jan asap. Lots of past demoers have found the experience of having to put their message across in 3 mins very helpful, but even more helpful has been the feedback, encouragement and suggestions from members of the community that they get. Apply now! We will be closing applications to demo no later than 14 January.

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