The Flowroute team just returned from DeveloperWeek at the beautiful Pier 27 in San Francisco!
Hack and Flow(route)
The DeveloperWeek Hackathon is the nation’s largest challenge-driven hackathon and boasts over $100,000 in prizes from more than 20 different vendors. What was blatantly apparent is the high caliber of developer talent at the hackathon and the creativity applied to all the apps, especially from those who participated in our two challenges – which required developers to integrate our calling and messaging SDKs.
The Challenges
Our first challenge was for the most innovative use of calling or messaging in an application or service. The winning team, Centrd, created an app to monitor mental health and proactively reach out to friends if the app detects a change in the user’s well being. By tracking the user’s typical behavior patterns, the app can identify if the user begins to deviate from their normal routines. When the app notices a change in the pattern, it will send out SMS notifications to three individuals the user has identified at set up as a friend or family member, asking them to check in with the user.
A person who is struggling with mental health is least likely to reach out for help when they most need it. Integrating Floworute’s SMS capabilities enables messages to be sent to friends and family even if they had not downloaded the app, eliminating any barrier to them receiving and being able to respond to the message. Centrd gives those struggling with mental health a safety net that can be put in place preventatively. It also reminds us of the importance of reaching out, even just to say “hi, how are you?”, to those close to us in their times of need. We loved the thoughtfulness of this app and the way SMS allowed individuals with or without the app, to be a part of a support team for improved mental health.
The second challenge was for the most innovative use of number masking. Type.Me created a dating app that utilized Flowroute’s SDK to mask numbers enabling conversations to happen outside of the app without comprimising the users privacy. Co creator Nil Thacker tells us a bit more about their thought process, “We read that most dating apps fall apart when it comes to actually moving off the dating app platform and communicating directly with other users. Being able to privately speak to the other person on the phone without having to expose your personal information adds in the safety that users need.” They accomplished this by creatively utilizing the customizable features that Flowroute gives developers. Number masking has been embraced by a number of SaaS-based companies like Uber, Lyft and Airbnb, to anonymize phone numbers and preserve consumer privacy.
Get Energized with Flowroute
You might have seen our team at the conference riding around the convention hall on the Flowroute Delivery Trike. Throughout the two-day conference attendees could text in their booth location and we would swing by with a drink. With the recent release of our SMS beta, we were excited to have a little fun with the capabilities it brings. We also had a great time watching our fellow attendees show off their beer pong skills at the happy hour on Tuesday night. Two lucky winners got to take home the custom Flowroute beer pong tables.
Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by our booth to talk telecom or texted in to order a drink! Curious about how you can innovate with telecom? Check out our developer portal.
