With the end of the International Exhibition, the nine-day tribute to technology and the innovation offered by the community of Google Developers in Thessaloniki.
Nine days, 25 speakers from around the world and everything about the latest developments in technology and innovation: These are just some of the elements that describe Google Developers' "Playground" held during the Thessaloniki International Fair.
International speakers shared their experiences and tried to introduce us to new technologies, teach us with workshops and codelabs, and welcome this initiative, aimed at becoming the "Center for All Innovative Things". This is the annual meeting that gives the opportunity to leading technology developers and visionaries, visionaries and technology enthusiasts, but also innovators, startup companies and established entrepreneurs, to discuss and share radical ideas that can change their daily routines.
"It was the first time, after 12 months of operation of GDG Thessaloniki in the city, where the public 'became one with the technology and its protagonists', embraced the Playground as if it were a daily habit, showed a special interest in the developments of the technology and he supported the overall event, suggesting new things to us, sharing his thoughts, offering his help and actively participating in what we aim for: to create a point of reference in Thessaloniki and especially in TIF-HELEXPO for all things technology and innovation . It was a certain milestone that made the Google Developers community here in Thessaloniki feel part of the society" said Panagiotis Tzinis, founder of the Google Developers community in Thessaloniki and added: "We are very proud and excited that finally, after a year of hard work work, we were able to see a response and willingness to participate not only from people coming from the technology sector, but also "regular" people who are interested in learning more and getting familiar with technology. It's a big step forward! Thank you for the trust you have shown us."
What did we learn at the GDG Playground?
We got to know the new technologies that will be officially released on the market in the coming months, we "touched" the realm of virtual reality (augmented reality) and augmented reality, through the presentation of Google Cardboard for the first time in Greece. Google Cardboard is a cheap, fun tool that launched at Google I / O in San Francisco last June and aims to make Virtual Reality (VR) accessible to more people. Virtual Reality has progressed amazingly in recent years, however, the enjoyment or development of VR still requires expensive, specialized equipment. Cardboard is the result of an experiment conducted by a group of VR enthusiasts at Google. The team used a smartphone to "guide" VR experiences and built a luxury case that turns a phone into a basic VR headset. While the "open source software" toolbox that accompanies it, makes writing VR software as simple as creating a web or mobile application!
"We had the opportunity to present the Google Cardboard to various businessmen and government representatives, who visited our stand -the Playground- at the Thessaloniki International Fair. Their reactions were extremely positive. In fact, some ideas were heard so interesting that our community has already started working on them ", said Mr. Tzinis.
"We mainly focus on an idea that is worth advertising and is relevant to the promotion of Greek tourism. About how we can highlight some of the beauties of Greece, through Cardboard. Created specifically for this purpose, the Cardboard team is implementing a software that will be able to create a few minutes of virtual reality promo-videos with the best sights of Greece. As a community we would like this to be promoted to major tourist offices abroad. This will also be a tool for promoting our country for them. A particularly interesting feature of Google Cardboard is that because it is made from a simple piece of cardboard you can customize and personalize it. At the moment we are talking to some key people in the tourism sector in Greece, in order to officially present the project immediately", added Mr. Tzinis'.
At the same time, during the first days of the Playground, the Lady Geek Day event, inspired by the initiative of Google's Women Techmakers, took place for the first time in Thessaloniki. In the panels 4 leading women in the field attended: Olga Stavropoulou, Marika Lambrou, Sandra Zafirakopoulou and Liana Gouta, while her greeting messages were sent via hangouts by Ms. Eva Fabry, president of the European Center for Women and Technology (ECWT). The 4 women shared their experiences with the audience and focused on the need to break down the stereotypes that prevent women from engaging in science, technology and entrepreneurship. According to them, the solution to the problem comes through the changes of the basic social structures, such as that of the family, but also through the connection of the educational community with the labor market. A pleasant surprise was the presence of two young girls, who announced their intention to create a women's tech outreach group in our city, in an effort to bring the fairer sex closer to creating code and beyond.
Η εκδήλωση μετά την ολοκλήρωση του διαλείμματος, μεταφέρθηκε στο περίπτερο 14, στο χώρο του Playground των Google Developers. Εκεί ο εκπρόσωπος της Media Hackers κος Γιάννης Κοτσιφός, παρουσίασε τις δράσεις της ομάδας. Ο κύριος στόχος του Media Hackers είναι να αναπτύξει ένα ευέλικτο πρόγραμμα βασικής educationς για δημοσιογράφους, ώστε να είναι καλύτερα εξοπλισμένοι για να αντιμετωπίσουν τις νέες τεχνολογίες.
Playground this year focused on wearable technology and hosted some Q&A sessions for the Google Glass project, while for the first time, the GDG community got into the process of helping startups and creating the right entrepreneurial ecosystem with everyone's support. of players in the city.
During the seminar, GDG Launchpad community members and professors “showcased” 10 selected start-ups on how to better use Google tools and helped them better understand business development, strategy marketing, brand strategy and product scalability in order to better develop and promote them products them and their services in the market. Launchpad is a global Google initiative that aims to give start-up companies the impetus to "take off", leveraging Google's free tools and platforms and of course understanding the basic rules of the market.
Playground "extended"
"Playground was so successful that we were invited to extend our presence, in cooperation with the CERN Technology Museum in the city, at the 14 Pavilion of the Thessaloniki International Fair. We are genuinely excited about the opportunity that has been given to promote the use of technology in our daily lives and with the support and confidence of the HELEXPO, to create the right environment for the development of innovation culture. So if you want to come and visit us, you will find us at the famous kiosk # 14! "Said Mr. Tzinis.
The Playground "extended" will focus on children, aiming to bring them closer to the world of technology by presenting three thematic sections: Touchless technology (LEAP Motion), Automation and games, Virtual reality and Google cardboard.
From 11 to 17 October 2014, the Playground will officially host the European Week Code with hundreds of events, workshops and codelabs for "youngsters".
The aim of the initiative is to promote the concept of programming to children, giving them the opportunity to attend classes and workshops throughout the week. Millions of children, parents, educators, entrepreneurs will participate in mass events and acquire the relevant skills.
The aim of this special week is to introduce millions of children to programming by, for example, holding demonstration workshops, developing tools learningand contributing to teacher training. It is worth highlighting that companies such as Rovio (Angry Birds), Microsoft, Google, Telefonica, Liberty Global and Facebook support the European Code Week by participating with events.
This year's DevFest is also aimed at adults, presenting three main thematic units, Design - Develop - Distribute, and their application on different platforms and technologies. During these days, you will have the opportunity to see for the first time wearable technology, with devices that will be brought exclusively to the public by the Google Developers team, here in Thessaloniki. Wearable devices - which, in addition to Google Glass, can be either smart watches or smart bracelets - open new frontiers in applied technology, offering new opportunities in new markets. Many leading companies have embraced this innovation, accelerating the testing and production processes of the devices. w. DevFest will give you the chance to see them and try them out.
If you need more information about the Playground, or if you want to get in touch with the Google Developers community here in Thessaloniki, call 2310-291141 or send an email to gdg.thessaloniki@gmail.com
