MobileX Lexington Highlights from Karim
By Karim Varela
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Last week, I had the honor of attending, and speaking at, the Mobilex conference in Lexington, KY. This 1 day conference brought together mobile enthusiasts of all types: entrepreneurs, investors, developers, and other related industry professionals. Being a technologist, and since my talk was a technical one, I spent most of my time in the developer track, but I did manage to breach the entrepreneur track a little bit as well. Some of the highlights of the event included:
Overall, the conference was a huge success, and a sellout. It's great to see this kind of innovation going on in mobile in this part of the country, no offense to my southern compatriots! |
MobileX Speaker Profile #3: Krista Neher
By Katharine Sagan
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Krista Neher is an author, educator, international speaker and consultant, and apparently very efficient at time management. She is the CEO of Boot Camp Digital, which trains companies to use social media for digital marketing. She wrote a bestselling book, Social Media Field Guide, and is the Managing Director of the Institute for Social Media at Cincinnati State. And in her spare time, she managed to teach her father to use text messaging. Neher started off her career working at both Procter & Gamble and an internet start-up company, Photrade. After transitioning to solely being the VP of Marketing at Photrade, she had to get creative about how to market with almost no budget. By using Twitter and corporate blogging, they were able to compete with the larger companies with bigger marketing budgets. After the start up was acquired in 2008, Neher started teaching others how to use social media successfully, which was the start of her company Boot Camp Digital. She developed a social media program with Procter & Gamble that is now being modeled across the country and has consulted for companies like ad:tech. Neher will be attending the MobileX conference to speak on Mobile Marketing 101. Twitter: @kristaneher |
MobileX Speaker Profile #2: Robert Babcock
By Jessica Powers
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If you’re one of the many who ardently follow apps and recent app news, you are probably familiar with Robert Babcock. Babcock is a co-host of Appcast, which is a weekly podcast that updates listeners on new app releases and the current functionality of specific apps. Along with Kevin Chiou, the duo have created over 100 episodes in their podcasts in Appcast. Each weekly podcast is available for free. The most recent podcast was about alternate web browsers rather than the standard Safari. Babcock will be attending MobileX to discuss the iOS store and its applications. Twitter: @theappcast |
MobileX Speaker Profile #1: Sam Soffes
By Jessica Powers
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What other 21 year-old transplanted San Franciscan is a developer for Scribd, a musician, a burger enthusiast, and an iOS/Rails software engineer? Sam Soffes, originally from Louisville, is all of the above and working towards more. Soffes did not attend college and says that it was the “best decision ever.” Curiously, Steve Jobs said the same thing about college and has obviously found success in a multitude of diverse of areas. Soffes seems to be heading in the same direction with the success of a few start-up businesses and an iPhone app (“Bible”) that currently has over 8 million downloads. As far as inspiration, he’s a regular guy: Twitter and other well-crafted apps are what give him inspiration for creativity and development. He claims that great ideas usually find him in the shower or while he is biking to work. Soffes has produced music that is definitely worth checking out. He is part of the band Finding Chesterfield which released an EP “A Three Day Walk” in October 2010. He also has a few independent works available for free listening pleasure on his blog. As far as music influences and favorites go, his last.fm radio station ranges from Owl City and The Dangerous Summer to Ben Folds and Blink 182. In a year or two, he plans on starting another company. One can only guess what magnificent results his next endeavor will foster, but with his previous work being of such quality, success is imminent. Soffes will be attending the MobileX conference on April 15, 2011 to present on iOS development and Native Apps. |
MobileX 2011
By Jessica Powers
WHAT:
After several successful MobileX events, Awesome Inc is pleased to host the sixth MobileX conference in Lexington. MobileX is a one-day conference where attendees will engage with a multitude of prominent presenters, examine mobile solutions and learn technical concepts in mobile and related industries. Current and potential entrepreneurs, investors, developers, industry professionals and other mobile followers are invited to attend.
MobileX will begin after breakfast with an opening keynote presentation followed by multi-track sessions. A few examples of the specific breakout sessions are: Android beginners, mobile marketing, social media and advanced technical tracks.
One of the most compelling parts of MobileX is the start up pitch contest. This is an exceptional chance for contestants to concisely advocate any start-up idea or business they may have created related to the mobile sector.
Competitors are allotted five minutes to pitch their idea to a panel of judges. Afterwards, a three-minute session of Q&A is held with the judges and if time allows, with the audience. Those competing are allowed to use slides or present a demo, but it is not deemed necessary. The judging panel will offer feedback and then the audience will vote via their mobile devices. A combination of judges and audience vote will determine the winner.
The winner will receive a 500 USD prize in PayPal cash. The competition is beneficial to all whom compete because of the constructive feedback and networking opportunities available through the experts convened at MobileX.
WHY:
The mobile market is skyrocketing at momentous speed. Demand for smart devices such as the Android, iPhone and Blackberry reflect a thriving market. Developers have collectively been able to cash in on this new software delivery platform to the tune of several billion dollars in sales. At the last Apple keynote event on March 2, Steve Jobs announced a payout of two billion dollars to developers for apps sold through the iTunes app store. RIM Blackberry and Google Android devices are used by millions, as well, providing competition and an innovative pace mobile users are enjoying.
MobileX seeks to present information that will enhance overall understanding of the mobile industry. The conference will thoroughly aid in this endeavor by exploring the changes within the mobile industry itself. MobileX will also address the industries that the changes may affect directly.
WHO AND HOW:
MobileX will feature speakers from San Francisco, Boston, NYC, Chicago and Seattle. Among the talented queue of speakers you will hear are Lai Lau of AT&T, Brian Wong of kiip.me, Nihal Mehta of buzzd, Sam Soffes of Scribd, and Praveen Alavilli from PayPalX, plus leaders in mobile marketing, social media, and entrepreneurship. Topics that will be discussed include: how to make money in the mobile arena with special emphasis on apps, advertising, SMS and video. Attending MobileX will give your company invaluable insight on trends in the mobile market as well as upcoming opportunities. Information will be presented on how to integrate mobile technology into a business or launch an application. Developmental tools will also be addressed for platforms such as the iPhone, Android, and Blackberry.
Those interested in attending may register here.
Companies or Speakers interested in presenting may apply here.
Those interested in applying to compete in the start up pitch contest may apply here.
WHEN AND WHERE:
Awesome Inc.
348 East Main St.
Lexington, KY 40507
Friday, April 15, 2011
9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
http://mobilexconference.com/lexington2011
twitter.com/mxnation
facebook.com/mobilexconference
Pictures from MobileX 2010
We hope you all enjoyed the conference. Here are some pictures that we had sent in by Ed Crockett, Enjoy! You can view them all here
Funding a Startup, what are your options?
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Mobile Marketing-Connecting with Consumers-Krista Neher
Mobile marketing apps can target customers in ways that print and other media never could. Mobile devices are almost always with the consumer who owns them and give a better,more focused interface by which to target and track activity. Integrating mobile into the overall marketing strategy can boost business and create buzz among mobile device users, which also migrates to other platforms. One estimate is that within two years, 40% of internet access will happen from mobile devices. Effective advertising on mobile devices is constantly changing, just as the mobile devices are. Opportunities for marketing include display ads and apps, which offer click through links and app utility. Mobile commerce is still developing and is dependent on the evolution of smartphone technology. Apps are not always for actual sales online, but also for coming up with something creative that drives brand awareness.
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