Vote Mutual Mobile for SXSW 2016!

It’s 100+ degrees in Austin, which means it’s PanelPicker season! Boy, do we have a crop of submissions for you this year. We’re covering everything from the connected home, to smartwatches, to reactive programming, and so much more. If you want to see them, go to the SXSW PanelPicker website and type “Mutual Mobile” into the search bar. Better yet, just scroll down, read the descriptions we’ve provided, and click the link to give each topic a big thumbs up. You only have until September 4th, so don’t dilly-dally. Show your support and then share it with your friends and family. Without further adieu, here are the panels, presentations, and workshops we would like to share with you (in no particular order):

Dumbing Down the Smart Home

Speakers

Ron Lisle, Mutual Mobile
Thaddeus Ternes, Mutual Mobile

Questions Answered

1. What is the current state of the connected home, and which technologies and systems are being used?
2. What are some alternatives to building devices that require the user to learn how to program them?
3. What does a truly “smart” home look like, and what do we need to get there?

Pitch

Smart Home technology promises to make our lives easier, but does it? The first wave of connected devices seem to be designed with programmers in mind, leaving most homeowners scratching their heads. If we really want the connected home to take off, developers are going to have to stop assuming their users have a computer science degree, and start making hardware and software that’s as easy to operate as a light switch. This talk will discuss ways to make the Smart Home smarter, and thus more accessible to the average consumer, through user research, a strong focus on streamlined UI design, and a new paradigm for managing the growing number of Smart Home devices, so the user doesn’t have to.

Reactive Programming: Wake Up & Smell the Bacon.js

Speakers

Braden O’Guinn, Mutual Mobile
Mehdi Avdi, AGCO

Questions Answered

1. What is Reactive Programming?
2. What technologies are available for developers today?
3. How do I set up a basic reactive program?

Pitch

With apps relying on so many real-time events these days, reactive programming offers a more concise and efficient means of responding to these events, while being a ton of fun to write. Unfortunately, the foreign nature of the programming style and the lack of good beginner resources can make developing front-end applications via reactive programming a daunting task. This workshop starts with the smallest building blocks of reactive programming, before diving into complex issues like server-sent events, and your very own React app built with Bacon.js baked right in. You’ll leave with the skills you need to write reactively with confidence.

Improv Techniques in Digital Design

Speakers

Philip Wilhelm, Mutual Mobile
Mikal Reich, Dead As We Know It

Questions Answered

1. How are improv and digital design related?
2. What improv exercises are best for digital designers?
3. How do I start training my digital designers in improv?

Pitch

The adaptive and frenetic process of digital design requires quick-on-your-feet thinking, intense team collaboration and large doses of creative juice. The same can be said for improv, which is why it’s no surprise how well these disciplines go together. Like improv, great design happens when diverse teams explore what’s new and possible. This session examines many of the techniques, games, and exercises used in improv and how they apply to digital design. People attending this panel will learn exercises and be able to incorporate them into their own design teams. The digital creative, expert improvisers will demonstrate the techniques in real time with real improv.

The Future of the Non-Flying Auto Industry

Speakers

Jose Puente, Flexdrive
Tarun Nimmagadda, Mutual Mobile
Sam Zaid, Getaround
Mark Haidar, Vin.li

Questions Answered

1. How will changing demographics and technology disrupt the auto industry?
2. How do auto manufacturers and insurance policies play in this new world?
3. What is the new consumer experience?

Pitch

A car in every garage will soon seem as quaint as delivered milk and full-service gas stations. The automobile created one of the oldest and largest industries in the world, but this quintessential American product will be completely upended in the next 10 years. As more and more people move to urban cores, armed with smartphones and constant connectivity, the notion of car ownership will shift from one car per person to fractional, on-demand, and shared models. Car manufacturers, city officials, lenders, and insurance companies will have to evolve their business models, products, and services to meet the new demands.

Clock Watchers: Should Businesses Go Apple Watch?

Speakers

Conrad Stoll, Mutual Mobile
Tarun Nimmagadda, Mutual Mobile

Questions Answered

1. Is supporting Apple Watch right for my business?
2. What does it cost to support Apple Watch, and what are the business cases for industries to invest in this technology?
3. What is the future of the smartwatch industry as a whole, and is right now the time to invest?

Pitch

Apple Watch has been a hot topic for almost a year now, but only a small percentage of the population actually owns one. While consumers decide whether or not they want to buy into the hype, businesses must also decide when, why, how, and if the Apple Watch is a smart investment. Should businesses play it safe and wait for v2 like most consumers, or should they dive in before the app pool gets overcrowded? What is the ROI for an Apple Watch early adopter? Will some unforeseen device come along and render the Apple Watch obsolete? Time will ultimately tell, but it’s never too early to start thinking about the future of smartwatches.

Size Matters: Designing iOS Apps for All Screens

Speakers

Kevin Harwood, Mutual Mobile
Martin Davis, Mutual Mobile

Questions Answered

1. What does it mean for an iOS app to have a responsive design?
2. How does responsive design on the Web differ from iOS?
3. What tools and terms do I need to know in this new layout landscape?

Pitch

Responsive design has been around the Web for several years, but now, thanks to multiple-sized iPhones and the ability to multitask on your iPad, responsive design has a place in native iOS apps. In this talk, you’ll learn about the challenges of creating native applications that look great on any screen, and what you need to do to tailor an existing app for iOS devices of all shapes and sizes. In addition to these tips and tricks, you’ll learn about what hurdles to look out for during the design process, as well as an overview of the technology that makes this feature possible. By the time you leave, you’ll be ready to design for everything from an iPhone 4 to the iPad Air 2.

Wearables: The Future Isn’t in Measuring the Past

Speakers

Dustin Freckleton, BSXAthletics
Mickey Ristroph, Mutual Mobile
Josh Gunkel, Garmin International
Abhi Bhatt, Under Armour

Questions Answered

1. Why are users collecting data, and are our user experiences facilitating these needs?
2. What prevents athletes or people from getting the intended effect of wearables?
3. What information should wearables be collecting, and how do companies provide the most optimal experience for users?

Pitch

Fitness watches and activity trackers have seen tremendous growth over the last few years, but we’re already starting to see consumers abandoning their devices. Why? Because, we have fallen short as an industry. For wearables to succeed we must do three things: 1) determine what data is actually important and measure it accurately; 2) Develop smarter, real-time techniques to process the data in an understandable way; 3) create experiences that facilitate and reward users for acting on their data. In this session, we will dive deeper into these steps and discuss how companies can provide the most optimal experience for users.

Bringing Design Culture to Tech-Focused Companies

Speakers

Martin Davis, Mutual Mobile
Andrew Campbell, Mutual Mobile

Questions Answered

1. How can I leverage the tools design brings to a client project and apply them to my own organization?
2. How can I better socialize design’s value proposition within my company?
3. How can I facilitate a shift from being focused on executing plans and delivery, to a more vision and realization-based approach?

Pitch

More and more, business is recognizing that design is an important differentiator for companies of every sector, but there’s a difference between discussing the merits of design and actually implementing it within your organization. In this talk, we’ll describe our company’s journey and the challenges of incorporating insight-driven, user-centered design into a software delivery environment. We’ll share how we are bringing our experience from other fields such as hardware, agencies and exhibition design to software delivery. We’re using these perspectives on communication, insights and planning to work towards making a shift from software-oriented thinking, to product-oriented thinking.

Open Relationships Make Great Software Development

Speakers

Kevin Harwood Mutual Mobile
Conrad Stoll Mutual Mobile

Questions Answered

1. What are our favorite open-source components on the market?
2. How do you decipher different types of open source licenses, and what do they mean to your product?
3. How is Apple managing open source Swift, and what does that mean for the future of the language?

Pitch

Managing a large code base while providing your users with the latest mobile OS advancements can be a challenge. Open source components from companies like Facebook, Square, and Mutual Mobile can speed up your development process, allowing your team to focus on user-facing features. In this talk, we’ll touch on how to best manage third-party dependencies, teach you some best practices around open sourcing your own components, and extol the virtues of giving back to the development community. We’ll also take a look at how Apple is managing its open source Swift project.

Bonus Panels!

In addition to our submissions, some of the fine employees within our walls have been asked to participate in other people’s panels. Be sure to vote for these as well:

The Web Wants You to Build an App

Speakers

Dan Wilson, Mutual Mobile Chase Moody, Localeur

Questions Answered

1. What native functionality can I achieve with web-based tools?
2. How do I deploy and release my app to the app stores when I have no iOS/Android/Windows/etc. experience?
3. How do I make my app feel like it belongs and fits on each platform?

Pitch

It’s a complex world for developers (especially JavaScript ones), and web developers can be forgiven for assuming the learning curve for building native apps is too steep. However, there’s never been a better time to jump out of the browser and into the app stores. In this workshop we will discuss everything you need to get up and running and build your next big idea, using the tools you are familiar with developing for the web. We’ll introduce you to a few extra options to help you along the way. Join Chase Moody (SXSW 15: The More You Node) and Dan Wilson (SXSW 14: Taking the Responsive Web to Windows 8) as they take you through building a real app from end to end with HTML, CSS, & JS. Additional Supporting Materials https://thewebwantsyou.herokuapp.com

Wrist UX: What Works in Smartwatch Apps?

Speakers

Christian Nam, Rithmio
Amanda Khlomann, Mutual Mobile
Denny Phillips, T3

Questions Answered

1. What are the biggest design hurdles for AndroidWear and Apple Watch? How did you overcome them?
2. How do you prioritize what content is appropriate for the wrist vs. smartphone?
3. What methods or tools did you utilize for user research and user acceptance testing?

Pitch

It’s not just a smaller screen — it’s fundamentally a new user experience. Join design and user experience leads from startups, product companies and agencies at SXSW 2016 to enjoy a healthy discussion about designing smartwatch applications. Our talk will provide practical tips, project examples and lessons learned the hard way designing smartwatch applications. Presenters’ perspective will represent user experience, visual design, and user research disciplines. All speakers have hands-on experience designing smartwatch applications. Examples will be cited across AndroidWear and Apple Watch. Additional Supporting Materials http://www.slideshare.net/rithmio/preso-sxsw-2016-wrist-ux-2

Getting ROI on the IOT: How to Make a Business

Speakers

Errett Kroeter, Bluetooth Special Interest Group
Bill Morelli, IHS Technology
Stacey Higginbotham, Fortune
Kevin Harwood, Mutual Mobile

Questions Answered

1. How does a company develop business strategy to incorporate the IoT, create market success, and deliver real consumer value?
2. What are the common blunders companies make and challenges to overcome when bringing an IoT product and service to market?
3. How can for profit and non-profit organizations leverage IoT technology responsibly to meet consumer demand for convenience, security, and control?

Pitch

Companies across industries are adding wireless technology to their products to customize and extend the value of their services. Smart wireless connectivity is a critical component to businesses looking to deliver on the promise of convenience, control and efficiency in our daily lives. The Internet of Things is a projected multi-billion dollar industry, and everybody wants a share. However, with new smart gadgets coming out every hour of every day, how do we distinguish the real disruptors against all the noise? The panel will discuss the IoT business strategy, bringing real value, challenges to market success, and what consumers are demanding and how companies can meet those expectations. Additional Supporting Materials http://www.slideshare.net/StaceyHigginbotham/io-t-consumerlogo

Originally published at www.mutualmobile.com on August 13, 2015.