Those who braved the first inclement day of the season to make it to DEMOGala were treated to several keynote addresses from tech company leaders, a variety of panel discussions covering all topics IT, and a company showcase featuring several of Colorado’s innovative companies. Kicking of the morning at the Colorado Convention Center was Scott Heiferman, co-founder of Meetup.com, who spoke to the possibilities of technology when companies step outside a “centralized and controlled mentality” and create platforms that connect people to each other. The value of the customer – as not just a static end user but rather an active and essential participant – remained a key theme through many of the talks of the day.
Roy Rubin, the lunchtime keynote and CEO of Magento, a leading e-commerce platform, emphasized the value that the community of programmers which supports the open source product have brought in a variety of realms – including translating the program into over 65 languages in less than a year. A panel on crowd-sourcing discussed the value users can bring to a site’s content in a variety of realms. One of the better-attended panels of the day featured Anthony Franco of EffectiveUI discussing the value of creating a positive user experience (UX). Franco urged all involved in software development projects never to lose sight of the end user, as well designed interfaces can boast large ROIs.
Beyond the speakers, the conference featured several companies demoing new technology in exhibit booths open throughout the day to attendees. Among these companies was Intermap Technologies, a provider of detailed geospatial maps, showing off its new AccuTerra iPhone app, which allows users to access high resolution terrain maps via their phone. The app costs $1.99 and detailed map bundles of different geographies range from $2 to $5. The app is ideally suited to outdoor activities such as hiking and easily allows users to track and plan hikes both in distance and elevation as well as the ability to add location-tagged photos and share data with friends.
Three companies took the chance to use DEMOGala as a showcase to launch new products. ReadyTalk, a provider of audio and web conferencing services, announced the release of its media player, which allows customers to easily imbed video content onto websites and blogs. Among the features ideally suited to business presentations is the ability for those viewing playbacks to hover over a particular time and see a thumbnail of the slide being presented at that time.
SpyderLynk unveiled its partnership with mGive that will allow users to give $5 to a particular charity such that the amount is simply added to their mobile phone bill. SpyderLynk’s SnapTags are embedded into advertising and when a user takes a photo of this tag and sends it to the specified number the company can return a desired response (e.g. coupon, free song download, etc.). The new product will feature the same snap tags in advertisements allowing users to take a photo to give $5.
Also unveiled was a Pedelectric Hybrid vehicle from Denver Technology, Inc. The lightweight vehicle is capable of seating two adults and two small children and be human powered via pedals and can be powered by pedals and can be adapted to accommodate any other power source (battery, small engine).
DEMOgala was hosted by the Colorado Software and Internet Association (CSIA), the largest technology Association in Colorado. CSIA represents over 700 Colorado technology firms.
