GDG DevFest Davao 2014

We're all set for the city's 2nd GDG DevFest this Saturday! If this is your first time to attend a DevFest, check out last year's highlights for an idea of what to expect.

Our DevFest this year will be a little different, as we will have one track of talks as opposed to last year's two tracks. Nevertheless, our list of esteemed speakers have a ton of knowledge to share with you. Here's our program:

0800 - 0900 - Registration
0900 - 0915 - Opening Remarks (Silas Reyes, Senior Webmaster, Google)
0915 - 1000 - Starting Android Development the Right Way (BJ Basanes, CTO, Lifebit)
1000 - 1045 - Polymer (Nap Calub, Developer, Ingenuity)
1045 - 1115 - Morning Snack
1115 - 1200 - Building Text, Stickers, Filters and Maps into Android Camera (Inaki Narciso, Developer, Lifebit)
1200 - 1300 - Lunch
1300 - 1345 - Material Design (Silas Reyes, Senior Webmaster, Google)
1345 - 1430 - Building Minecraft in Python (John Naranjo, CEO, Ingenuity)
1430 - 1500 - Afternoon Snack
1500 - 1530 - Startup Launch Program (Chelle Gray, GDG Program Manager, Google)
1530 - 1615 - Demo: Cardboard, Chromecast, Android Lollipop, Material Design (Josan Astrid Dometita, Manager, GDG CDO)

Excited? Us, too! Here are a few reminders to make our event as hitch-free as possible:

+ Bring an ID. Any valid form of identification will do.
+ Bring a pen and a notebook for taking notes.
+ Do you have unfinished code that you want looked at by seasoned devs? Bring it, too.
+ Registration starts at 8AM so be sure to arrive early to get the best seats.

See you there!

AngelHack Davao

This Fall, AngelHack announced their new hackathon series, AppHACK, which takes place in 35 cities around the world. On 23rd and 24th November, AppHACK is coming to Davao in an effort help developers educate and collaborate in a 24 hour mobile app competition with the goal of building stronger developer ecosystems, and thus stronger startup communities. Each event will have 1 winner, which will win acceptance into our HACKcelerator pre-accelerator program and have the opportunity to come to San Francisco for our 2 week SF experience.

AppHACK will be judged predominantly by CTO’s and you will have to actually demo what you built. PowerPoints and slide shows will not be allowed. Judging will be based on how creative, simple, and impactful your hack might be.

WHAT: AppHACK
A mobile hackathon competition focusing on building applications and teaching developers Android and iOS development, as well as education on new platforms and technologies. Participants will learn developer tools, meet new friends, and win prizes and mentorship for their startup ideas.

Participants will work for 24 hours on the next big play experience in an “all-inclusive” environment with gourmet food, energy drinks, massages and NERF blasters!

WHO: All UX / IX developers, designers, entrepreneurs over invited to participate
Judges include:
- Keith Hong, Application Ecosystem Lead for Qualcomm in APAC
- Lonel Labit, Regional Map & Content Manager @ HERE
- Ivan Kovalyov, Integration Manager @ Paymentwall
- Earl Valencia, President @ IdeaSpace Foundation

WHEN: Saturday, November 23rd and Sunday, November 24th
•       Doors open to all participants at 9:00 am on Saturday, November 23rd
•       The Hackathon concludes at 1:00 pm on Sunday, November 24th
•       Winners are announced at 5:00 pm with celebrations to follow
                               
WHERE: 
SMART Developer Network
Davao City, Davao Region
Philippines

Have you got the skills? Now put them to the test!

GDG Davao is a proud supporter of AngelHack Davao.  With that, members may avail of a 50% discount by entering the code "GDGDavao50" when purchasing their tickets.  Head over to https://apphack13davao.eventbrite.com/ to purchase yours now!  See you there!

GDG DevFest Davao was a Blast!

And... it's a wrap!

Having organized large events in the past, GDG DevFest Davao is definitely way up there on my list of favorite events.  GDG DevFest Davao was held last October 27, 2013 at the Apo View Hotel, Davao City.

  

It also helped that I'm supported by my two super awesome co-organizers Anne Olvido and Arjay dela Cruz, and my equally fantastic group of volunteers, namely Ria Jose, Lyle Santos, Brendel Balaga, Chattee Lara, Madie Sahid, Chamee Pecson, Sarah Dayrit, Mark Cabrera, Fra Jamir and Franz Sarmiento.  Last but not the least, thank you to all the participants who made it!  Our success would not have been possible without you!  Having you guys around made the experience totally worth it, and only shows that the developer community in Davao City is growing.

Here are a few highlights of the day:

Brendel, Chattee and Chamee busy manning the registration booth

Early registrants having fun at the photo wall with our volunteer photog Sarah

The place is packed!

The event was emceed by my lovely cousin, Ria Jose

Aileen Apolo, Head of Outreach for Southeast Asia, keynoted the event

Lucky to have Chelle Gray, GDG Program Associate, and Avel Manansala of GBG Gensan around to support us!

Jerome Locson, Program Manager for Google Access Programs for Edu, speaking during the Plenary

Lifebit Founder Eric Clark Su, "Startups the Marvel Comics Way"

Ingenuity CEO John Naranjo, "Career Hacks: Applying the principles of Agile and Lean to Career Building"

Dulce Lada introducing the Google Business Group (GBG) Davao to the community

Franz Sarmiento, GSA from Bacolod, talks about the Google Student Ambassador Program

Lifebit's Inaki Narciso, "How We Hacked Android Development with Lifebit"

Viktor Calonia, finishing the "How We Hacked Android Development with Lifebit" talk

Franz Sarmiento, "Google+ Sign In"

Rolly Rulete, "Google Maps API for Mobile"

Jan Chua, "Angular JS"

Mancio Basoc, "Python, Django, and Deployment in Google App Engine"

With fellow organizers Madie, Arjay and Anne

With fellow GDG folks. Jerome, at the end, having a bit of spelling trouble :)

Everyone doing the Google Wave!

Once again, in behalf of the entire organizing team, thank you so much!

To know more about our future events, follow GDG Davao on Google+, Facebook and Twitter.  See you soon!

Thanks to Lyle Santos and Madie Sahid for the excellent pics!

We're Full. *Burp*

Slots are filled, registration is closed... What now?

View our Full Program here to know what to expect during DevFest, and while you're at it, decide which stream of breakout sessions suits you best.  Talks during the breakout sessions tend be more technical and it really helps if you brought along a laptop or a pad of paper to take down notes.   DevFests also offer a great opportunity to meet smart, like-minded people.  Ideas will be flying around the session halls on prospective startups, partnerships and job opportunities, so don't forget to bring your business cards if you have some.  Print a few if you don't! Moreover, don't be shy!  Be sure to ask questions during the Q&A portions of each talk.  We usually give away schwag to those who do (hint, hint).  That being said, just be yourself (but only less shy) and enjoy the ride!

See you at DevFest Davao!

Registration and Speaker Updates

Just a friendly reminder to those who haven't registered yet: Better act soon because seats are running out!

With only a few weeks of preparation, our team is overwhelmed by amount of support we've received, judging by the number of registrations we've had in the past few days.  Anne Olvido of GDG Bacolod, Arjay dela Cruz of GDG Davao and myself would like to thank everyone who've liked and shared our promotional posters both on Google+ and Facebook.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  

You might also be wondering who some of our speakers will be.  We're excited to announce that we've booked Eric Su of Lifebit, John Naranjo of Ingenuity and Rolly Rulete of Pagesnapp to speak during the event.  These three are way up there in the local developer community of Davao City and can't wait to share their knowledge to our attendees. We also got Googlers Aileen Apolo and Jerome Locson to come over and grace our DevFest, with Aileen keynoting and Jerome talking about Google Apps for Education.  I'm leaving out a few more speakers on purpose, and you will know who they are once our full program of activities is published by Monday.

If you want to meet all these awesome people and rub elbows with fellow devs, sign up now if you haven't already done so.  Thank you!

GDG DevFest Davao 2013

Davao City's first DevFest is happening this October 27th at the Apo View Hotel! Preparations are in full swing and our team of organizers and volunteers can't wait to see you all there.

What is a Devfest?

DevFests are large, community-run events that can offer speaker sessions across product areas, all-day hack-a-thons, code labs, and more. Each GDG DevFest will be inspired by, and uniquely tailored to, the needs of the hosting developer community.

While no two events are exactly alike, each GDG DevFest will, at its core, be powered by a shared belief that when developers come together to exchange ideas, amazing things can happen.

What should you expect from this year's DevFest? 

Expect to be engaged in technical talks by local experts all the way from Manila, Zamboanga, Bacolod as well as from Davao City.  Topics range from Technopreneurship, JavaScript, App Engine, Android Development and much, much more.  Individual profiles will be up soon to let you know more about our distinguished speakers.

What do you have to bring to a DevFest?

A laptop, pen, a pad of paper and the eagerness to learn.

How much does it cost to join GDG DevFest Davao?

Absolutely nothing.  It's free!

Where do I sign up?

Simply fill out this form here: http://dvo.gdgdevfest.net/

Event Details:

Event Name: GDG DevFest Davao 2013
Date: 9AM-5PM, Sunday, October 27, 2013
Venue: Ballroom A, Apo View Hotel, Camus Street, Davao City

See ya there!