This year we have 4 Workshops to choose from. They’re full day workshops, so you can really get stuck in and learn loads about the topic you’re most passionate about.
Workshops Day ~ 27 June, 2011
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1:
9:00 - 5:00
How to build a Web App from A-Z
Having a great Web app idea is only the beginning of the fun. Taking that idea from your head and getting all the way to launch is no easy task and unfortunately there aren’t any official instructions. In this workshop, Mike will give you tips on the complete process of building a Web app, from A to Z.
What you'll learn:
- Building; your Web app, your company, your team
- Marketing; with and without money
- Product management; so you know what’s right to build
- Metrics; to track your progress
- Financing; the 5Ws of fund raising – who, what, when, where, why and how
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2:
9:00 - 5:00
Add Location to Your Next Application
Much like social features, location enables a new view into our data and provides a more meaningful context with which to filter our data with. There are a lot of great tools out there for adding location features to your application. Add GeoIP to your website to improve UX. Add location filtering to your mobile application to provide greater search relevancy.
In this workshop, Schuyler Erle will discuss terminology, the basics of geography, where to get data, and how to build basic services on top of that data.
What you'll learn:
- Location; terminology, history, uses
- Data; where to get it, how to use it, licensing issues
- Building; location SOLR/Lucene, GeoDjango, PostGIS
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3:
9:00 - 5:00
Next Generation Branding for Your Web App
Learn the new rules of online marketing from someone who has been there and done it. Alex will show you how to get the biggest bang for your buck online and make your site not just stand out from the crowd but be THE center of attention.
What you'll learn:
- How do I become part of the conversations surrounding my brand?
- What’s the best way to use social marketing tools to engage with my users and get ahead of the competition?
- How are some of the biggest brands in the world crushing it on the web and why
are others failing?
- How do I create relevant experiences for our users
- How do I build a powerful, positive brand?
- What’s the most effective way to change one-off visitors into loyal users?
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4:
9:00 - 5:00
Understanding Big Data
Apache Hadoop enables people to store and extract value from all of
their data: structured, unstructured and at nearly limitless volume.
HBase is the Hadoop database. Use it when you need random, realtime
read/write access to your Big Data. This workshop will explore these
two projects (and other components of the Hadoop stack such as Pig,
Hive, and Flume) by going through appropriate use cases and choosing
one simple example for implementation.
What you'll learn:
- What is Hadoop and how does it work?
- What is HBase and when should you use it?
- Basic intro to Pig, Hive, Flume
- What are some appropriate and inappropriate use cases?
- Implementation of a simple use case
We’ve got an amazing line-up for you this year. It’s two full days across two tracks, so that’s two times as much content as last year! We’ve also got four full day in depth workshops so you can really get stuck in to the topic of your choice.
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Track 1:
9:00 - 9:05
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Track 1:
9:05 - 9:45
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Track 1:
9:50 - 10:30
The GitHub Effect: Forking Your Way to Better Code
Over the last three years we have seen a massive shift of open source projects moving to the distributed version control system Git, most of which are hosted on GitHub. At GitHub we’ve made it simple to “fork” any open source project you like. This means that potential contributors can experiment with code without having to jump through the hoops inherent in centralized hosting models. This approach has lead to what we call The GitHub effect—an explosion in contributions to open source software that embraces the forking model. In this talk I will speak in detail about what this phenomenon means for the future of the open source community and what other ideas we have for making it even better.
Track 2:
9:50 - 10:30
A Web of Apps
The age of Apps is well upon us. From online experts proclaiming the death of the web to the seemingly daily debates on “native vs. web”, the question on everyone’s mind is: how will the web strike back? In this talk, we introduce the Mozilla project’s Web Apps initiative. Through this, we are going to enable an open, competitive marketplace for web applications that enables artists, makers, creators, developers, entrepreneurs worldwide to build, distribute, monetize and engage users by creating compelling App experiences on the Web. The tools, services and infrastructure we are building puts the interests of users and developers right at the forefront. We will demonstrate how this improves the user experience and opens new possibilities. We will also identify several areas where we expect to further foster open innovation and collaboration as together we build the Web of Apps.
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Morning Break: 10:30 - 11:15
Time grab a coffee, a snack and a chat!
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Track 1:
11:15 - 11:35
Beyond the Browser
The desktop is one of the largest and most ignored ecosystems on the planet. There are nearly two billion desktop users whose experience hasn’t changed much since the mid 90s. What has changed, though, is the way users are accessing their apps. With web apps supplanting native apps, users are relying more and more on their browser – which was designed for browsing content, not running apps. Join Adrian for an exploration on how web developers can redefine the desktop by creating a better connected app experience for users
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Track 1:
11:40 - 12:20
Starting your Startup
Choosing your technology stack is one of many decisions you’ll have to make when creating a company from scratch. Along with this, you’ll need to figure out who you should found a company with, who you should take money from, what the company culture should be, management processes, and who to hire when. Joe will be covering basic technology stack choices (cloud v. hosted, frameworks, etc.) as well as other critical decisions one faces when starting a startup.
Track 2:
11:40 - 12:20
How to spend money to successfully grow your web app business
Once you’ve made the world’s great product, what next? It’s time to tell the world! But wait, getting the word out is expensive. In this talk we’ll explore how to spend a dollar to make two, and answer the all-important question: “how much should I spend to get a customer?
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Track 1:
12:25 - 1:05
HTML5 vs. App
A few years ago, HTML5 was the anointed Next Big Thing in software developer, but like SOAP and SOA, its spotlight was stolen before it had its day, and mobile apps are soaking up the lion’s share of industry attention and investment. But really, are the two mutually exclusive? Can HTML5 power mobile apps that people want to use? And how do companies tackle building for the web and a soup of device platforms without going crazy? Join Ben and Dion as they discuss how web technologies have a material role to play in creating mobile apps and reducing production costs for development.
Track 2:
12:25 - 1:05
Why Should I love you? How to create a brand people truly love
Ok so you’ve built your web app, now what? How do you get users, and more importantly how do you create LOYAL users who come back often and feel compelled to spread the word about your app. In this session Alex will look at bulletproof ways to build your userbase quickly and cheaply, market your web app, and create a brand people truly love.
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Lunch Break: 1:05 - 2:20
Break for lunch on us. Networking, some time to catch up with each other, and a bit of a breather before the afternoon sessions start up!
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Track 1:
2:20 - 2:40
Relationships and Balls: How to Grow Them
Fear holds many back in business. There is fear of not having enough to offer, fear of not knowing what to say, fear of rejection. This session is about how the game is changing and how to build quality relationships often out of nothing and how to maintain them.
Track 2:
2:20 - 2:40
Shark Tank
4 startups go head to head and pitch their ideas to our 4 top panelists.
If you’d like to submit your app idea then email Lou with your ideas.
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Track 1:
2:45 - 3:15
Build with HTML5
The best way to learn about HTML5 is to build with HTML5. In this session Giorgio will share his experience working on some beautiful HTML5 projects with the community and Microsoft teams, discussing lesson learned, best practices, and some crazy ideas too.
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Afternoon Break: 3:15 - 4:00
A chance to grab a coffee and a snack. The perfect pick me up for the last stretch of the day.
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Track 1:
4:00 - 4:10
An Introduction to Delivering Happiness
Jen, CEO and Chief Happiness Officer of Delivering Happiness will talk about her history with Zappos / Culture book, the writing of DH, the bus tour, and now the DH movement, leading to an introduction to Tony Hsieh.
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Track 1:
4:10 - 4:40
Delivering Happiness
In this talk Tony will go over a brief history of his business doings, Zappos, Delivering Happiness the book, and discuss the science of happiness!
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Track 1:
4:45 - 5:25
Data without Limits
The new data centricity drives that we have to rethink how we collect, store, manage, analyze and share our data, as all these processes now require limitless resources. Enterprises and startups alike are investing in large scale data analysis to serve their customers better and create a competitive edge for their companies. From Cloud to Crowds, many new techniques are required to ensure that questions can be answered with high quality in a timely and cost efficient manner. This talk will focus on the unique challenges of big-data, the changes in infrastructure required to support the new world and how innovations in crowd sourcing and cloud computing are removing barriers for companies to be successful.
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Track 1:
5:25 - 5:30
Closing Remarks from Day 1
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Official FOWA Party! Brought to you by Zappos: 7:00 - 12:00
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Track 1:
9:00 - 9:05
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Track 1:
9:05 - 9:45
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Track 1:
9:50 - 10:30
How To Create Prototypes and Influence People
The value of an idea is zero unless it is communicated. To make a difference in your company, to get funding as an entrepreneur, to change the world, you need to be able to convince others of your ideas. Even the Palm Pilot started as a single-day prototype: a block of wood carried by founder Jeff Hawkins for weeks. The first wind-up radio was slapped together in a few hours after its inspiration. Many of the worlds most influential products have started as a prototype done in a day. This talk teaches you how to get a prototype done now, the right way and wrong way to give a demo, and how to start influencing people.
Track 2:
9:50 - 10:30
Everything I Ever Need to Know About Social, I Learned From the Muppets
Sure, we all know we can build nifty tools with social features, or get the word out about a product or cause using others’ nifty tools. But what makes for a successful ecosystem of tools and users? How can developers and communities alike plan for a shifting landscape of lightspeed breakthroughs and changes? Surprisingly enough, the Muppets have already taught us these lessons.
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Morning Break: 10:30 - 11:05
Time grab a coffee, a snack and a chat!
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Track 1:
11:05 - 11:25
The Future of Shopping and the Opportunity for Web Developers
Mobile, social, local and digital are the four key mega-trends changing the Web. They are also changing the way people shop and how we view commerce today. But what do the shifts in commerce really mean and how can the Web developer and entrepreneur communities take advantage of these changes?
eBay Inc. has a unique set of assets to drive the future of commerce and has brought them together in a new cloud-based platform called X.commerce.
X.commerce brings together all the eBay assets in one place to help merchants grow their businesses and connect developers to merchants so they can do what they each do best.
Naveed Anwar, the head of community for X.commerce, will explain the platform opportunity and show how developers can use the full range of eBay Inc assets, as well as technologies from a range of partners, to create the future of commerce.
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Track 1:
11:30 - 12:10
HOWTO: Securing Your Ecosystem
Twitter has one of the largest APIs and developer ecosystems of any site by usage on the planet. In part, its success was born out of the easiness and openness of its API. In early 2010, Twitter decided to move its platform from one using basic authentication to one using OAuth over the course if 6 months. This is the story of how Twitter decided to secure its platform while remaining open and easy to use and by not losing or alienating any developers in the process. There are lessons to be learned in how to create a platform properly in the beginning, and how to manage and migrate the community you gain.
Track 2:
11:30 - 12:10
Situation Normal, Everything Must Change
In today’s computing world, it can often feel like we are drowning in wave after wave of new trends. This sea of concepts are simply the evolution of our industry from a product to a service based economy. Using the example of cloud computing, this talk will examine the evolution of technology, the management challenges this brings, why the modern firm needs both order and chaos and how it’s always a case of “situation normal, everything must change”.
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Track 1:
12:15 - 12:55
The Kevin and Gary Show!
Kevin Rose and Gary Vaynerchuk take to the stage for a no holds barred Q&A session. Anything goes!
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Lunch Break: 12:55 - 2:00
Break for lunch on us. Networking, some time to catch up with each other, and a bit of a breather before the afternoon sessions start up!
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Track 1:
2:00 - 2:40
What happens when business meets the real-time web
Drawing on examples ranging from manufacturing and the military to the most adaptive web businesses, tony will share how real-time data changes what businesses do, how they do it and what that means in the age of the real-time web. What are the common mistakes people make when bringing real-time data to their business? how does it change purposes, usecases and audiences? And how are people using real-time data to create advantage on the web? Tony will cover how to react, adapt and thrive in the age of the real-time web.
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Track 1:
2:45 - 3:25
HTML5: Smart Markup for Smarter Websites
Everyone’s going gaga over HTML5 and the plethora of how-tos and demos available on the web are inspirational, but often leave us with more questions than answers. In this session, Aaron Gustafson will focus his attention on HTML5 as a markup language, provide you with a solid context for its enhanced semantics, and show you simple, effective ways you can put it to use on your site today.
Track 2:
2:45 - 3:25
The Next Disruption: The Opportunity for Civic Startups
So much of the culture of the web stands in stark contrast to our notions of what it’s like to work with the government, but a lot is quietly changing, and there’s increasingly an opportunity for web 2.0 teams to make a real impact on the $166B government technology market. There’s money to be made, but glory as well, as this largest of our public institutions is in desperate need of disruption. And there’s increasingly an opportunity for web 2.0 teams to make a real impact on the $166B government technology market. Remember, the government market is 30% of our GDP.
This session will outline three demographic trends that make change in the sector inevitable, describe the changing environment that is opening up a formerly insular system, and then get real about how hard it really still is to work in a government context. We’ll hear stories from such companies as Azavea, OpenPlans, SeeClickFix, and GroundCrew. Then we’ll return to the sunny side of the street and talk about how you can disrupt this market from the inside or the outside, and why it’s worth it.
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Afternoon Break: 3:25 - 4:05
A chance to grab a coffee and a snack. The perfect pick me up for the last stretch of the day.
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Track 1:
4:05 - 4:25
Designing a business
We’re not just building web apps, we’re designing businesses! There are good designs and bad designs. Drawing from his experience of building successful web apps since 1995, Gregg will give you a framework for judging the virtue of your business.
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Track 1:
4:30 - 4:55
How To Attract Angel Investors
Kevin Rose will head up this panel discussion offering advice on attracting investors and most importantly, how to not get screwed by investors!
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Track 1:
5:00 - 5:40
Towards a Global Brain: What if we are the artificial intelligence?
At the same time as we’re seeing breakthrough after breakthrough in artificial intelligence, we’re also seeing the fulfillment of the vision of Vannevar Bush, JCR Licklider, and Doug Engelbart that computers could augment human information retrieval and problem solving. The key applications of the web combine machine learning algorithms with techniques for harnessing the collective intelligence of users. Bit by bit, this is leading us towards a new kind of global brain, in which we have met the AI, and it is us. This global brain is still a child, but as its parents, we have a responsibility to think about how best to raise it. What should we be teaching our future augmented selves? How can we make the emerging global consciousness not only more resilient, but more moral?
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Track 1:
5:40 - 5:45
