Come learn about Apps Script in Washington, DC

By Jan Kleinert, Developer Relations Team

Google Apps Script is a JavaScript cloud scripting language that provides easy ways to automate tasks across Google products and third party services. If you want to learn more about Google Apps Script, collaborate with other developers, and meet the Apps Script team, here’s your chance! We will be holding an Apps Script hackathon in Washington, DC on Wednesday, March 7 from 2pm - 8pm.

After we cover the basics of Apps Script, you can code along with us as we build a complete script, or you can bring your own ideas and get some help and guidance from the team. There will be food, power, and Apps Script experts available to help throughout the day. Just bring your laptop, ideas, enthusiasm, and basic knowledge of JavaScript. Check out out the details of the event and be sure to RSVP to let us know you’re coming.


Jan Kleinert is a Developer Programs Engineer based in NYC, focusing on helping developers get the most out of Google Apps Script. Prior to Apps Script, she worked on Commerce, helping merchants integrate with Google Checkout and on Chrome, helping developers build great web apps.

Posted by Scott Knaster, Editor

Falling in love with the Google+ API

By Melina Mattos, Program Manager for Google Africa and Bob Aman, Program Manager for Developer Relations

Cross-posted from the Google Africa Blog

Attention developers! Of the 90+ Google APIs, which is your favorite? We know that we fell in love with the Google+ API after we saw the amazing applications built from the Hackathons in South Africa and Kenya. We want to continue spreading the love!

This Valentine’s Day we’re thrilled to announce that we are holding three more Google+ Hackathons with the support of the Google Technology User Groups (GTUGs) in Accra, Kampala, and Lagos.

If you are ready to wow us with your application, please apply for the event using these forms: Kampala on March 10 at the 4th floor of Solis House, Lagos on March 17 at the CCHub Nigeria, and Accra on March 21 at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology.

Remember to start today on getting those creative juices flowing! Familiarize yourself with the API and review these resources. Begin gathering ideas and coding a little. Take advantage of the Google+ Platform Office Hours on the 15th of February. If you have any questions, please address them to us in our Google+ Hangout on February 23. Use the Hackathon to perfect your application and win one of the multiple prizes we will be awarding - including a ticket for the overall winning application to Google’s premiere developer event, Google I/O!

Any updates relating to these Hackathons and the Hangout will be posted on Google+ (of course!) using the hashtag #hackgplus. Stay tuned!


Posted by Scott Knaster, Editor

Google Apps EMEA Developer Tour (continued)

By Nicolas Garnier, Developer Relations Team

Cross-posted from the Google Apps Developer Blog

Two months ago we announced that a few of us from the Google Apps Developer Relations team would be going around EMEA to meet with developers and talk about Google Apps technologies. We have met great developers from Germany, France, Russia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Switzerland, Israel, and Spain during Google Developer Days, hackathons, developer conferences and GTUG meetings.

This year we are continuing the tour with a series of Google Apps Script hackathons taking place in Vienna, Milan, Madrid, Munich and Dublin over the next few months. These hackathons provide a fun and hands-on way to learn about Google Apps Script and a good opportunity to give us your feedback on this technology.

For more information about the tour and to register for these events, please visit the Google Apps EMEA Developer Tour website.



We plan to organize many other Google Apps events close to you in the near future. Look for updates on the Google Apps EMEA Developer Tour website or keep an eye out for further announcements on the Google Apps Developer Blog.


Nicolas Garnier joined Google’s Developer Relations team in 2008 and lives in Zurich. He is a Developer Advocate focusing on Google Apps and Web APIs. Before joining Google, Nicolas worked at Airbus and at the French Space Agency where he built web applications for scientific researchers.

Posted by Scott Knaster, Editor

Hacking for Humanity around the world

By Christiaan Adams, Google.org Crisis Response Team

Every year, coders and designers have been gathering to meet with experts in disaster response and international development, to spend a weekend designing tools and hacking code for the public good. This weekend, December 3-4, 2011, the next Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) hackathons will be taking place in cities around the world, with the simple idea that technology can and should be used for good.

Led by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Hewlett-Packard, NASA, and the World Bank, RHoK brings together hackers of all stripes to create open source software solutions that address issues of global interest and assist the organizations working on those issues. The fourth round of global RHoK events will be taking place in more than 30 cities on December 3-4, 2011, and you are invited and encouraged to attend.

Some of the interesting solutions that have been developed at past events include I’mOK, a mobile app that was used after the Haiti and Chile earthquakes, CHASM, a visualization tool for mapping landslide risk which is being used by the World Bank around the Caribbean, and Bushfire Connect, an online service for real-time information on fires in Australia. Hackers have also helped develop features for Person Finder, a tool created by the Google.org Crisis Response Team to help people find friends and loved ones after disasters.

We’re inviting all developers, designers, and anyone else who wants to help “hack for humanity” to attend one of the local events this weekend, December 3-4. You’ll have a chance to meet other open source developers, work with experts in disasters and international development, and contribute code to exciting projects that make a difference. Googlers will be attending several events, including those in San Francisco, New York, London, and others. We look forward to meeting you there!

And if you’re part of an organization that works in the fields of crisis response, climate change, or international development, you can submit a problem definition online, so that developers and volunteers can work on technology to address the challenge.

Visit http://www.rhok.org/ for more information and to sign up for your local event, and get set to put your hacking skills to good use.


Christiaan Adams is a developer advocate with the Google Earth Outreach Team and Google.org’s Crisis Response Team, where he helps nonprofits and disaster response organizations to use online mapping tools. When he’s not at work, he likes to go hiking or mountain biking, using Google Maps, of course.

Posted by Scott Knaster, Editor

Google Apps EMEA developer tour

By Nicolas Garnier, Developer Relations Team

A few of us from Developer Relations will be going around EMEA in the next few months to meet with developers and talk about some Google Apps technologies for developers.

This tour will start with Ryan Boyd and Michael Manoochehri speaking about different Google Apps topics at Google Developer Days in Tel-Aviv and Berlin, and a GTUG meeting in Munich.

Then I will be giving an Apps Script talk at the Barcelona Developers Conference followed by a series of Apps Script Hackathons in France (multiple locations), Zurich, Munich and Dublin.

For more information about the tour and to register for these events, please visit the Google Apps EMEA Developer Tour website.



We plan to organize many other Google Apps events close to you in the near future. Look for updates on the Google Apps EMEA Developer Tour website or keep an eye out for further announcements on this blog.


Nicolas Garnier joined Google’s Developer Relations in 2008 and lives in Zurich. He is a Developer Advocate focusing on Google Apps and Web APIs. Before joining Google, Nicolas worked at Airbus and at the French Space Agency where he built web applications for scientific researchers.

Posted by Scott Knaster, Editor

Fridaygram: EU Hackathon, electron Pong, sounds from space

By Scott Knaster, Google Code Blog Editor

Hackathons are a blast. There are few experiences better than writing code all night with dozens or hundreds of others, consuming free food, and converting that sweet sleep deprivation into creativity as you hack. As hackathons go, this one is spectacular: Hack4Transparency takes place in Brussels at the European Parliament. The goal of this event is to make data more accessible and intelligible to consumers and to government.

You expect food and WiFi at a hackathon. But this is really cool: if you’re selected to attend, the hackathon pays your travel and accommodation expenses, and a couple of the best hacks will win a prize of €3.000. If that got your attention, read the full story on our Open Source Blog, and then apply to attend.

When I was a wee hacker, I would sometimes break up my coding sessions with a primitive videogame called Pong. Physicists at Cambridge University are still playing this game, sort of, except now they’re knocking a single electron back and forth. As if that Pong ball wasn’t small and easy to miss enough already.

Finally, if you have some time this weekend and you’re not coding or playing video games, you can check out this excellent collection of sounds from spaceflights posted by NASA. You can even make them into ringtones, so if you want to hear a 50-year-old Sputnik beep when your friends call, go for it.

Learn about Google Apps Script in NYC

By Saurabh Gupta, Developer Relations

Cross-posted from the Google Enterprise Blog

Google Apps Script lets you automate and extend Google Apps. Using Apps Script, businesses can build efficient solutions to meet their requirements such as:

• Content Approval Workflow
• Vacation calendar management system
• Helpdesk Workflow
• Time Booking system

Join us on August 18th for the Google Apps Script Hackathon. If your organization uses Google Apps and you want to explore how you can use Google Apps Script to create custom functions or automate repetitive tasks, then this hackathon is a perfect opportunity to learn. Google engineers will be available to answer your questions and help you learn Apps Script throughout the day’s agenda. We’ll provide food, refreshments, and experts to help you learn to use Apps Script and write your own scripts. Just bring your laptop, ideas, and enthusiasm to complete the mix. We hope to see you there!

What: Apps Script Hackathon
Date: Thursday, August 18th, 2011
Time: 2pm to 7pm EST
Where: 76 9th Avenue, New York, NY
Register: Space is limited, register here.

For those who cannot attend in person, we invite you to try out a number of self-paced tutorials on the Apps Script documentation site.

Posted by Scott Knaster, Editor

Mark your calendars: HTML5 hackathons

By Mihai Ionescu, Developer Advocate

Cross-posted with the Google Commerce Blog

Over the past year, the web application ecosystem has been growing at an accelerating pace. Faster browsers and powerful web platforms like HTML5 have enabled developers to switch from native code to web based apps.

That’s why the Google Chrome and Commerce teams are holding several HTML5 Web App hackathons around the United States in early August. This is a great opportunity for developers to socialize, network, and play with the latest web APIs. During the hackathons, we'll cover the end-to-end process of developing an HTML5 application, publicizing with Chrome Web Store, and finally monetizing with In-App Payments.

In true hackathon style, participants will have the opportunity to create teams and work on a project together. At the end of the day, participants will present what they have created, and vote on the best apps or games. And of course we’ll have some awesome prizes for the winners.

The event is free of charge but space is limited. For more information and to register, please visit the location-specific links below:

August 1, 2011: New York
August 3, 2011: Chicago
August 8, 2011: Seattle
August 11, 2011: Mountain View

We’re looking forward to seeing the applications and games you build!

Mihai Ionescu is a Developer Advocate at Google helping developers build compelling applications using open web technologies. In his free time, when not skiing in the Sierras, Mihai enjoys traveling and exploring the great outdoors with his family.

Posted by Scott Knaster, Editor

Get your HTML5 game on

This has been an exciting year for web developers, with all the new features being made possible by HTML5 and browsers getting faster by the day. One of the big surprises has been the rise of HTML5 gaming, with the open technology stack of HTML, CSS, and Javascript becoming a viable platform for games on the web. That’s why, next month, SPIL Games and Google will be running an HTML5 Game Jam event on both sides of the Atlantic, and you’re invited!

In the Netherlands, we’ll be hosting a sleepover event at the Hilversum headquarters of SPIL Games. SPIL recently converted their 47 mobile portals to work on mobile HTML5, and is running a $50,000 HTML5 games contest. Hilversum is a quick train journey from Amsterdam and the spacious premises are the perfect setting for hardcore games hacking, which means we’ll be coding HTML5 games all weekend. Participants will be able to sleep over on-site. In which case, please bring a sleeping bag, change of clothes, and don’t forget your toothbrush! We’ll also mail out a list of hotels in the Hilversum area for those who’d rather book a room instead (at your own cost).

Meanwhile, we’ll be running a parallel event at Google’s office in downtown San Francisco. We won’t quite be pulling an all-nighter like our friends in the Netherlands, but we will keep our doors open till midnight.

This will primarily be a hands-on hackathon in both locations, which runs from Saturday October 9th, 10am to Sunday October 10th, 6pm. We’ll kick off with short talks on the technology, followed by pitches from anyone with ideas on a great game. Then it will be hacking all day. We’ll pick up again on Sunday at 10am, and wrap up at 6pm with presentations and judging. There will also be chillout areas with games and diversions, and food and drinks to fuel your frenetic hacking.

The event is free of charge and places are limited. Sign Up here, and we’ll mail back with confirmations soon. We’re looking forward to see what games you can build using HTML5!

By Michael Mahemoff, Chrome Developer Relations

Apps Script Hackathon in Mountain View, CA

Google Apps Script is a JavaScript cloud scripting language that provides easy ways to automate tasks across Google products and third party services. If you want to learn more about Google Apps Script and meet the Apps Script team, here’s your chance! We will be holding an Apps Script hackathon in Mountain View, CA on Thursday, September 23 from 2pm - 8pm.

After we cover the basics of Apps Script, you can code along with us as we build a complete script, or you can bring your own ideas and get some help and guidance from the team. There will be food, power, and Apps Script experts available to help throughout the day. Just bring your laptop, ideas, enthusiasm, and basic knowledge of JavaScript. Check out out the details of the event and be sure to RSVP to let us know you’re coming!

By Jan Kleinert, Google Developer Programs

GTUG Campout - 3 Day Hackstravaganza

The Silicon Valley Google Technology User Group (GTUG) held the first GTUG Campout, a 46 hour hackathon, over the weekend of August 7-9. Nearly 200 developers, designers, and business people came to build working applications using Google Technology, focusing largely on the Google Wave API.

The event was intense, spanning 3 days. In that time, attendees had to pitch ideas, form teams, and code like heck to have a working prototype to demo by Sunday evening.

Friday evening, we had over 50 pitches. Afterwards, people had a chance to mingle and find teams that they wanted to work with. Groups whiteboarded and discussed their ideas, then started working hard. Over 30 coders were still working past 2:00 am Saturday morning.


Sunday night we had 32 presentations of working applications followed by wooden nickel style voting to determine the winner. The crowd chose Videowave, a Wave gadget that allows synchronized viewing of videos from YouTube. They were awarded 1 pass to Google I/O '10, 2 G1 phones, and lunch with members of the Wave team.

Screenshot of Videowave in action

The list of winners:

• 1st place: Videowave, by Solomon Wu, Aaron Tong, Nelson To. (their blog)
  
• Gadget URL, Open Source ActionScript Wave library
• 2nd place: H3LP, by Jen McCabe, Steve Okay, Stig Hackvan, Andrey Petrov
• Android app and mobile web app for emergency medical situations. If launched, app locates you and notify authorities and emergency contacts.
• Mobile web vers: al3rter.appspot.com
• 3rd place (3 way tie)
• PoppyWave, by Hitesh Parashar, Van Riper, Kewaljit, David Elliston, Dave Lyman, Prathap Nimal, Dave Neubaur, Toby Morning, Perrine Crampton
• Wave-Email Gateway that lets non-Wave users to participate in Wave.
• Robot: poppywave@appspot.com
• BeerTime Bot, by Jason Katzer, Aaditiya Bhatia, Joe Mulvaney
• Measures hostility level in a Wave. If too high, hijacks thread and geolocates participants and suggests nearby drinking establishment. Robot and gadget components.
• Robot: bartimebot@appspot.com, Gadget XML
• Open sourced code: beertime, meetuptime
• Cutebox, by Audrey Roy
• A Wave gadget - JS toy for drawing and editing cute boxes with your Wave friends.
• Gadget URL, GitHub repo

Congratulations to all the winners and other attendees who worked so hard! Thanks also to the Googlers who helped out and answered questions, and our volunteers, especially those that helped with videos and photos.

A fun slideshow of the event:



The Silicon Valley Google Technology User Group is one of the first GTUGs around the world. Today around 70 GTUGs exist worldwide. Information about starting a GTUG in your area can be found at http://www.gtugs.org. The first GTUG Campout was a great success and we are looking forward to doing the event next year, and hope other GTUGs will host GTUG Campouts in their neighborhoods.

Update: Video and some images courtesy of Shirley Lin of WooMeOver.

By Kevin Nilson, co-leader of the Silicon Valley Google Technology User Group

This Sunday (6th April): OpenSocial Hackathon in London

By Dan Peterson, Product Manager

On the heels of hi5's OpenSocial launch, this Sunday, the 6th of April, BT is hosting an OpenSocial Hackathon at BT Centre in London. This is an ideal opportunity to get started building apps with OpenSocial, or come and get a hand with an app you've already built. In addition, you'll be able to talk with engineers from Hyves, MySpace, Netlog, studiVZ, XING, and Google.

The event will kick off at 11:00am, though doors will open at 10:00am with a light breakfast. Full details are available here, or you can directly RSVP here.

Calling all JavaScript developers: Hack the Day Away with Google

By Ben Lisbakken, Google Developer Programs

On Friday, February 29th, Google will be holding a developer hackathon to get you started on our JavaScript APIs. We will be doing short introductions of the APIs and then breaking up into groups for coding and camaraderie. There will be plenty of Google engineers present to ask questions and get help from. Food will be provided and there will be prizes.

The event is open to anyone in the community that wants to learn about some Google API's, do some coding, or ask some questions. So please bring your laptops and come hang out at Google.

We'll be covering the following APIs:

• Google Gears
• Google AJAX Search/Feeds
• Google Gadgets
• Google Maps
• Google Calendar
• Blogger

The event will be held in two sessions, the first from 2:00PM - 5:30PM and another from 6:00PM - 10:00PM. You are welcome to stay for both.

Seville Tech Talk
Google Campus
1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy
Mountain View, CA94043

Friday, February 29th
2:00PM - 5:30PM
6:00PM - 10:00PM

To attend, all you need to do is RSVP and let us know you can make it, and be sure to add the event to your calendar.

Hope to see you there!