HomeSpain-StartupsSpanish developers network Betabeers ventures into London

Spanish developers network Betabeers ventures into London

Earlier this month, the Spanish social network for web and app developers, Betabeers, met for the first time in London. We not only attended, but also came away with some new conclusions about this kind of networking meeting.

First up to present was Pau Gay (@paugay on Twitter), who spoke about his project Doonish, which he’s developing in his free time with other colleagues (you can find their presentation slides here ). The project is a social online trivia game loosely based on the board game Trivial Pursuits. Pau went over what was going well in development, and also what was causing difficulties, mainly in marketing and monetization ideas. He helped to keep the audience engaged by asking questions at set intervals (with cookie prizes!) and gave updates on how the team coped with technical challenges. This was a lively presentation that covered the technical elements, whilst still being entertaining.

The other person to present was Bruce Lawson (@brucel on Twitter) who spoke on responsive web design. Another engaging speaker, with a strong following in the audience, Bruce taught us about creating responsive websites for various mobile devices, and went over some of the issues and difficulties involved. His overview of media queries on CSS 3 was lapped up by web designers and programmers alike, yet he made sure to keep the talk entertaining. He also covered videos and adaptive image techniques on the web, and made the important point that the people setting the web standards (at w3.org) need feedback and guidance as well as us lesser mortals. This was a great presentation from Bruce, and anyone interested in responsive web design could do worse than to study his presentation notes.

All in all, this was a great event with two fascinating presentations, and many thanks are due to Tizon (@Tizonsoft on Twitter) for organising the event. So, what did we learn from this meetup (apart from the technical information stuff, which was fascinating in itself)? Firstly, although I already knew that the audience (made up of other developers) learns a lot from these types of presentation, it’s also the case that the presenters can learn a lot. They get exposure to their project, and also possibly get feedback on issues from their audience. Secondly, I learnt that developers actually need feedback from the rest of us, more than we perhaps realise. Thirdly, the slides and YouTube videos are creating a useful learning resource, built up for the community at BetaBeers. No wonder that BetaBeers are now giving links to learning networks on their site. Lastly, it seems that prospective employers and investors on the look out for talent and ideas in the developer and startup world, would strike gold if they attended this type of event. Maybe though, we should keep that little secret to ourselves? 😉

Speaking of events, do you have your ticket yet for the upcoming EU-Startups Summit?

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Mark Nessfield
Mark Nessfield
Mark Nessfield is a Data Analyst/Miner out of the UK. He is also the creator of SpainUpNews.com - which is a directory of Spanish startups.
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2 COMMENTS

  1. Thanks a lot for your nice words Mark,

    I do agree with you that this is a really useful for people to present and get a valuable feedback from the audience.

    • Thank you Pau. I think all of us benefit when people like yourselves are prepared to give presentations – I enjoy looking at the videos on Betabeers as I can learn a lot.

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