Get Digital

On Tuesday the 14th of April we had the last of our mini conferences of the year. That was the Get Digital conference, and like the other four, was held in  The Mahony Hall in The Helix. Unlike the other three conferences however, this one was only a duration of two hours. We had the pleasure of listening to talks from a variety of speakers. These were Mary Malone, Richard Garsthagen, John Massey, and finally, Shay Garvey.

The Get Digital mini conference was held in the Mahony Hall in The Helix on Tuesday 14th April.

First to make their presentation was Mary Malone, who is the Global CEO of CoderDojo. CoderDojo was an Irish movement, and is now operating in 58 countries worldwide. It’s a “global network of free, volunteer-led, independent, community based programming clubs” for kids between the ages of 7 and 17. The program encourages them to be creative with technology and to think outside the box. Mary explained to us that unlike when playing an Xbox or other gaming console, with CoderDojo the child thinks about technology, not just simply consumes it. It’s also a child centric programme, meaning they decide what they want to do. It’s volunteer-led and has almost 6,000 volunteers. Due to this its a free program, and they try to open Dojos in areas where children aren’t getting enough education. I believe this is a brilliant concept, as it means that even kids whose parents wouldn’t be able to afford such a program are given the opportunity to learn and develop important computer skills, and get involved. Mary also told us that the aim of CoderDojo isn’t just produce coders, although many of the children may decide to pursue that pathway in the future. Their aim is to give children some basic computer skills so that they can converse with those in the technology sector. I feel that because their aim isn’t only to perduce amazing coders, it puts the children under less pressure. They know they have the freedom to chose what projects interest them, with no predetermined goals already outlined for them.

The CoderDojo logo.

Here is a picture of one of the many Dojos in operation.

Next up was Richard Garsthagen. He is the EMEA Director for Cloud Business Development at Oracle. He discussed cloud computing, and how it “transforms the way we use technology“. He described how many businesses these days are almost like “museum pieces“. They are stuck in the past and slow to make change. He believes that in a few years the way we do everything will be changed. He also explained how a number of companies have already started to make this change, and this is called digital disruption. These firms “use technology to change how an industry functions“. A prime example of such a company is Netflix. They allow us to stream TV shows and movies anywhere once we have internet connection. This is something that only a few years ago we would have viewed as impossible. It just goes to show that we really don’t know what will be made reality in a few years thanks to advances in technology.

Netflix is a company that changed the way we watch TV shows and movies. They are now available at our fingertips anywhere once we have internet access.

Third to speak was John Massey, EMEA Business Development Lead for SAP. He described to us how SAP is at the center of the technology revolution.  They help organizations “fight the damaging effects of complexity, generate new opportunities for innovation and growth, and stay ahead of the competition.” The company invested a massive 20 million in the last while, purely towards cloud computing. SAP have around 100 sales people in Ireland, and had to re-educate many of these. This was to help their staff with the transition towards cloud computing. For most of their staff it was completely new territory, so “the change didn’t happen overnight”. John also spoke to us how websites such as LinkedIn changed the way they operate. Now they get around 50% of their new staff from LinkedIn. I believe this is an important point. Due to the fact that potential employers are looking at our online profiles, it’s important that we portray ourselves well on social media.

LinkedIn is now a vital recruitment tool used by many businesses.

Last to speak was Shay Garvey. He is both partner and co-founder at Frontline Venture. They are “Europe’s first community focused fund“. Frontline Ventures are based in London and Dublin, although they do make investments all across Europe. They describe themselves as “ a pioneering early-stage venture capital firm, believing in ideas and investing in passion.” As well as discussing Frontline Ventures, Shay also spoke to us about things he believes will happen in the future. He said that “technology is the way forward“, and although this is a good thing, it also puts numerous jobs at risk. He spoke to us of a friend that he has in America who is a surgeon but is currently underemployed due to a new machine that the hospital he works in just purchased. Shay said that “any routine jobs are at risk of being computerised“. This is an amazing but frightening thought. It’s certainly a good thing that we are able to create such advance technology, but if it leaves people underemployed and maybe even at some stage completely unemployed, is it really such a good thing?

Frontline Ventures, “a pioneering early-stage venture capital firm, believing in ideas and investing in passion”.

Like the other three conferences, this final  Get Digital mini conference was both enjoyable and informative, and we were extremely lucky to have the opportunity to hear talks from such successful individuals in the two hours. To conclude, here’s a Flipagram that I made from pictures that I took on the evening, give it a watch!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Videos

I took some photos while at the Get Started 2015 mini conference and made a short video using Flipagram. The photos include pictures of the guest speakers while presenting at the conference, and various different slides of their presentations.

I also stumbled across a playlist for the Get Social 2014 mini conference that I attended back in October. Although the conference was a while ago, the videos are definitely worth a watch, especially if you weren’t there on the night.

Here’s another Flipagram that I made. This time it’s from the Get Digital 2015 mini conference. I took all the photos myself on the evening of the speakers and some of the slides in their presentations. Give it a watch, it’s only a couple of seconds long!

Get Mobile 2014

On Tuesday the 11th of November we had the second of our mini conferences of the year. This was the Get Mobile 2014 mini conference. Like the Get Social one, it too was held in The Mahony Hall of The Helix, and was a duration of 4 hours long. We had numerous of important speakers. Those of which included Dr. Theo Lynn, Dr. Mark Hughes, Dr. Cathal Gurrin, Eoin Cruise, Paul Davey and last but not least, Alex Meisl.

Various different app icons and a smartphone to symbolize “getting mobile“.

Once again, Dr. Theo Lynn had the tough job of opening the conference. Due to the fact that he is both a Senior Lecturer at DCU Business School and the Principal Investigator of the Irish Centre for Cloud Computing and Commerce, this task didn’t phase him in the slightest, and he gave both an interesting and engaging presentation. He discussed the importance of mobile phones, and described them to be our “constant companions“. He also presented us with some amazing facts. For example, according to Dr. Lynn an amazing 96% of Irish people between the ages of 18-25 years old own a smartphone. What I found even more fascinating was the fact that 60% of those own an iPhone. I found this quite easy to believe actually, as I myself own an iPhone, as do that majority of my friends. One thing that Dr. Lynn said during his presentation stuck with me. This was that everyone knows their own mobile phone number, but not their PPS numbers. Therefore mobile numbers are in fact the number one form of identification. I found this funny due to the fact that people change their phones all the time.. but then I guess maybe they don’t change their mobile numbers? Also, when applying for a job you always provide your mobile number on the CV, but never your PPS number unless it is specified to do so. Maybe he is right and phone numbers are the number one identifier in the world?

Dr. Theo Lynn opening the Get Mobile 2014 mini conference in The Helix.

 

 

Next to speak was Mark Hughes, who is the Chief Technical Officer at Digifeye. They focuses on merging computer vision and machine learning technology to convert visual content into shoppable content. They do this by using extremely advanced software and specific algorithms to training computers to recognise where clothes usually are on the body, if a person is male or female, and also if an item of clothes is a coat, dress, trousers and so on. It essentially does this through “supervised learning“, like you would do with a child. This was something that was near to impossible to achieve before, but is a very powerful marketing tool. It enables people to find specific outfits or items of clothing by simply taking a picture and searching it. It is definitely a tool that I would use at home while shopping online!

Mark Hughes from Digifeye discussing their advanced software that could essentially change the way we shop. 

 

 

Dr. Cathal Gurrin was third to take the stage.  Dr Gurrin is a lecturer at DCU and an investigator in the Insight Centre for Data Analytics. Aswell as that, he is also a leading researcher in the field of Lifelogging. These personal lifelogs “create a complete and accurate picture of an individual“. They record everything that an individual sees, says and hears, so they will never forget anything ever again. They have in fact been around since the 1920’s, but only now do we have a commercial version. This is made possible due to advances in technologies such as sensing, storage and search. They are private archives, and no one else can access them. Not only that, but any pictures taken with people in the background their faces are blurred out to protect their privacy too. Although these Lifelogs are designed to be private, what would happen is somebody was able to hack into them? They would hear and see everything that has every happened to you, and this is an extremely frightening thought to know that you would have no secrets from this hacker. From a commercial point of view however, its an unbelievably clever idea. The thought that you would never have to worry about forgetting important information as it would all be conveniently stored for you is an amazing concept.

A picture of Cathal Gurrin during his talk on Lifelogs.

 

 

The fourth speaker at the Get Mobile mini conference was Eoin Cruise, who is now the head of Microsoft Mobile Devices in Ireland. He was with Nokia for the past 10 years prior to the brand becoming a part of Microsoft. He described to us how since the two companies have joined together and become one, they now “have the best platform to change the world“. He justified this statement by the fact that their company can put software onto smartphones that others can’t, such as Microsoft Office and Xbox Live. This gives them a new advantage over their competitors. Eoin was up front about how Nokia weren’t doing very well for the past while, and that’s why ultimately they had to make a drastic change or admit defeat. Through a lot of hard work however, last Christmas (2013), Nokia Lumia managed to gain 11.6% of smartphone sales. Now their focus is on creating an affordable smartphone that can do everything at a good price. They plan mastering this first before “wining in the high end“, and moving onto the more expensive ranges of smartphones. I believe this is a good way to go about things. Although Apple are already dominating the smartphone market, they are doing so at the more luxury price. Therefore they may have an advantage over Apple if they can keep their costs low. Also, the fact that they have software specific to Microsoft that can’t be used on Apple or Android devices, this may also help them in gaining the upper-hand in the market.

Eoin Cruise from Microsoft explaining how they are going to master affordable smartphones first before even attempting to “win in the high end“.

 

 

Second last to make their presentation was Paul Davey, who is the mobile leader for IBM in Ireland. IBM stands for International Business Machines and was founded 103 years ago. They were in fact that inventors of both ATM machines and swipe cards. Not only that, but they created the first ever smartphone. The smartphone cost $900 to buy at this time, and the first ever app cost a further $3000. The company decided to move away from creating products. Instead, they decided to provide the technology behind it. A prime example of this software is  Watson. This is extremely advanced technology, as it processes information almost like a human rather than a machine. It became very highly regarded and was the focal point of the news when it began to aid doctors in making cancer treatment choices. IBM also teamed up with Apple to create enterprise solutions for iOS and to provide AppleCare. This worked extremely well for them as they provided the technology for the Apple devices, and Apple is such a huge international company. They also came together with Twitter. I believe this was a very strategic relationship to set up, as now they are able to analyse data on this fast growing social media site, and develop their technologies even further.

A shot of Paul Davey discussing IBM’s and Twitter’s new “relationship”.

 

The last presenter of the night was Alex Meisl, chairperson of Sponge and WiForia Ltd. Alex co-founded Sponge, which is now the UK’s most successful and longest established mobile agency delivering mobile strategy, sites and applications for massive clients. These clients include huge brands such as Adidas, Coca Cola and McDonalds. As well as that, he also launched WiForia in 2014. This is a company that focuses on in-store WiFi engagement with customers to increase sales and create rewarding shopping experiences. Their aim is reflected in their clever motto, “putting WiFi to work“. He presented us with numerous facts. For example, did you know that more 5 years olds now of days know how to use a smartphone than tie their own shoes? I found this fact amazing, and it just shows that technology is literally taking over. Alex also spoke about how many companies don’t have mobile optimised sites or even apps, and how this is an “inexcusable” thing. Since Argos launched their mobile app in 2010, they have reached an amazing 6 million downloads! Not only that, but mobile devices now account for a huge 16% of their total sales! With this in mind, think of the massive missed opportunity for all of those who don’t have an app or mobile site. They could drastically increase their sales by simply doing this one little thing and making their company “mobile friendly“. He also spoke to us about the importance of mobile advertising, and how they will overtake newspapers in the near future. In my opinion, this is a huge thing because newspapers have been around for so long. It just goes to show the way in which the world is changing, and how more of an emphasis is being placed on technology and modern forms of advertising, as opposed to traditional forms.

Alex Meisl’s slide depicting the importance of advertising on mobile devices, and how mobile ads will overtake newspapers.

 

 

This second conference was extremely enjoyable and informative. I definitely learned a lot of useful information as well as various different facts, and I am really looking forward to the Get Started 2015 mini conference in February.