This summer, Tech in Motion San Francisco hosted over 200 attendees for The Future of Mobile Panel Event at Tagged HQ, home of the social network for meeting new people.The panel of experts included talented mobile developers from San Francisco and New York: Jeanine Swatton, Technology Evangelist; Bill Magnuson, Co-Founder & CTO at Appboy Inc.; Tom Anderson, Senior Developer Evangelist; and Alex Gaber: Mobile App Technology Developer.
The night began with a full hour of networking prior to the panel, proving very productive and fun due to the color coded name tags. Name tags were divided accordingly between networkers, job seekers and hiring managers, so everyone had the inside scoop as to who was attending and why.
With Tagged HQ’s cozy couches, Tech in Motion’s home-made sangria and a keg filled with Hefeweizen, the evening felt like a comfy tech talk at a buddy’s house. Once the moderator Owen Thomas, Editor-in-Chief of ReadWrite at Say Media, kicked off the discussion, the panelists were on point and engaged in talking tech.
Owen initialized the discussion with the broad yet appropriate question of “what does the future hold for mobile development?” The overall response was that the future of mobile is clearly seen in the amount of control mobile devices have over every aspect of one's life. Controlling your house, your health and even your business are all platforms mobile technology will have substantial advances in over the next years.
“The potential of mobile has just begun," claimed Bill, CTO of Appboy, Inc. "Mobile will continue to find new form factors, new populations and enable products and services to touch our lives in unexpected and fantastic ways.”
He also pointed out how wearable tech is becoming a normal part of life. Simple yet complex gadgets can be worn while doing daily activities - and give data results that have never before been possible. Bill illustrated with the example of racing against friends down a mountain at a ski resort, and being able to track speed, location and video. Wearables and mobile smart phones are the commonalty nowadays. Although everyone has their limits on how many wearables one can wear at one time; Owen joked that the max is three wearables at once.
Our dependencies and safety are increasingly becoming an even bigger issue as mobile technology advances. The gravity of how much information our devices hold and how we share our information has extreme pitfalls in addition to the extreme advantages.
Jeanine, a Technology Evangelist, stated a startling truth: “People fear losing their phone more than death itself!” This comment won a shared laugh, as well as a genuine acknowledgement among Tech in Motion attendees.
“For me, the take away was to remove the limits," shared Tom, the Senior Developer Evangelist, on his view of breaking limitations in mobile. "People should stop thinking that the future of mobile is tied to the handset. It may be a watch, a TV, a car, a train table, tablet, almost anything you can think of."
"Mobile is about getting access to your data and performing the tasks you want wherever you are with whatever device you have. Even going so far as to have the devices around you anticipate your needs and wants and perform those actions for you (i.e. a car that reroutes to avoid traffic).”
With BlackBerry as the headlining sponsor, guests were given the opportunity to win a free device, the Z30 mobile. They were also introduced to the state of the art technology BlackBerry has to offer.
Sinch acted as the social sponsor for the night and had prizes at their table too. Sinch understands the needs of developers who want to create the next big thing. Apps are better when they are more social and with their tried and tested SDK, integrating communication features into yours is quite literally a Sinch!
The guests finished out the evening with a question and answer session, sending the discussion flying. Tech in Motion members played off each other’s questions and concerns about the future of mobile. Each of the panelists stressed the importance of security, especially when building an app. They even incorporated personal stories of triumph and failure.
Tom made jokes about how long he’s been in the tech industry, and how he genuinely holds a strong optimism for this ‘new revolution of mobile technology’ that is happening right now. Upon closing the formal portion of the night, guests mingled and networked over a final drink before heading home. To read some more live tweets visit MobileFOMO mobile marketing news, titled Tech in Motion Hosts Future of Mobile Panel at Tagged HQ: Recap.
Don't forget to check out the Tech in Motion event lineup for a chapter near you, or join San Francisco's meetup to be at the next event there!