We understand that if you’re not in the city you’re probably not going to fly out for this, especially since you’re already coming out here November 4-6 for the Appsterdam 2 Launch Party Weekend. Still, you’d like to get your questions answered, and you’d like them to be answered when you’re awake. Have no fear. We’ve considered the best way for everyone to get their questions answered, while preserving anonymity.
Just send us your questions. We’ll coalesce the things people want to know into one big anonymous blob. Then we’ll use that blob to produce content during the summit that will be available online at 10 a.m. California time, two hours per day, both days. We will make sure your questions are addressed.
At the Appsterdam Foundation, we ask ourselves, what do App Makers need? In the same way, your delegates at the legal summit are going to be asking themselves, what do App Makers need to defend themselves against patent extortion? If you have some thoughts on that, by all means, send them along.
You can use the signup form to get your question across. If you’ve already signed up, that’s OK. Or, you can email us. You can also tweet @optanthill or use the hashtag #anthill.
We’ve been mum since announcing the Appsterdam Legal Defense Initiative, busy organizing things behind the scenes. We’re now ready to start signing people up and accepting donations, which you can help us with by visiting the official Operation Anthill web site. You can connect to Operation Anthill on Facebook and Twitter, hashtag #anthill.
We’re organizing a legal summit in Appsterdam somewhere between October 3-15. We’re thinking 2 days, with a day of presentations and a day of workshops. I’m letting you know now so you can start clearing your schedule. I’ll give you the exact dates as soon as possible, so you can book travel.
Whether you’re being extorted with patents now, or are afraid for the future, this will be your chance to get the legal advice you need to protect your business.
With all that’s happening in Appsterdam, I know it’s hard to keep track of everything going on, let alone what’s already happened. To review from a few weeks ago, we expanded to South Holland with Appsterdam Delft.
Since the launch, App Makers from Delft, Den Haag, and Rotterdam have been getting together at Cafe Belvedere at the same time App Makers from Amsterdam, Haarlem, and Utrect have been getting together at Cafe Bax. They’ve been working together at the Appsterdam Approved Hangout at Grand Cafe Sping, as we’ve been working together at Appsterdam Noord at NDSM.
We’ve been busy in Amsterdam as well. We launched Meet the Makers, powered by IceMobile, the last piece of our Summer of Appsterdam infrastructure initiatives. Meet the Makers is how App Makers share their latest and greatest, connecting directly with users.
The event was a blast. IceMobile did a tremendous job with both hosting and presenting. We had a huge turnout, with around 80 people showing up to learn about the new ABN AMRO banking app. Check out IceMobile’s sweet dual beamer action!
Appsterdam Delft is preparing their own Meet the Makers, powered by Sping. Come see the newest apps by App Makers of South Holland: Noodlewerk, Innovattic, ii studio, Share Square, and more.
If you’re an App Maker in South Holland who’d like a free place to work among friends, this is the perfect excuse to check out the Appsterdam Approved Hangout at Grand Cafe Sping. It’s exactly the dream: a private cafe with coffee and wifi, but no live music or screaming babies. It’s a little slice of heaven right next to a tram stop.
Meet the Makers, powered by Sping
August 30th, 14:30 – 17:30
Grand Cafe Sping, Nieuwe Plantage 58, Delft RSVP
This week in Appsterdam, the first ever convening of Apps For The Planet, a two-day sustainability event where people design and build apps for the benefit of the health and future of our planet.
Three months ago at an early Appsterdam Meeten en Drinken, Casper Koomen asked the question: What if a dream team of developers, designers, conceptual thinkers, sustainability experts and charities came together for a 48-hour hackathon to save the planet?
From that conversation sprang Apps For The Planet. An amazing lineup of partners stepped up to support the idea, including Greenpeace, Pachube, 1%club, and, yes, Appsterdam. I have the very great honor of delivering the opening keynote that kicks off a fun, but intense, program packed with lectures and workshops.
And work! Apps need to be built! Experienced and newly-minted App Makers will form teams of four to design, build, and pitch their ultimate planet-saving app to a jury. The theme this time around is “The Home.” Winners take home cool prizes like Wacom tablets.
Why do we do this? We want to stimulate the creation of great planet-saving apps and build awareness about how apps can help solve sustainability issues. And, we want new startups to emerge from all of this. More than a few hackathon teams have gone on to start companies.
Bring your talent, skills, and ideas on Wednesday and Thursday, August 17th and 18th, from 9:00 to 20:00, to the headquarters of BNO, the Association of Dutch Designers, at Danzigerkade 8a, in Appsterdam.
Appsterdam is the best place in the world to be an App Maker. One of the things that makes that is true is the number of coding contests held here. We’re getting to the point where it’s not such a crazy idea to actually live on the free money circuit, each demo propelling your company toward launch.
Apps for Noord Holland is the latest in a series of government-sponsored hackathons that award cash prizes for apps using open data.
Sanoma App Challenge is an open call for ideas, with an awesome prize for best entry. This year’s contest will involve a hackathon in the Appsterdam tent at Picnic.
Google is hosting a competition for Chrome apps for its Dutch Web Store. The best apps will win free Chromebooks and prominent placement.
Shipping a product takes months, but most contests only require a proof of concept, which takes hours. When you’re trying to get started, or are interested in exploring new ideas, contests are a good way to go.
In addition to cash and prizes, winning contests is a great way to make a name for yourself, and the events around them often bring introductions to connections and opportunities. Sometimes the people you meet even losing a contest are worth more than the prize!
Coding contests are also the perfect opportunity to check out a new platform. What better motivator to learn a new skill than the chance to win something in the process?
