Category

events

What to Expect at WWDC

Next week, thousands of developers will step away from the computer and converge on the mecca for Apple developers everywhere: Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. While everyone is whipping out their crystal balls, trying to forecast what Apple will reveal at the conference, let’s begin by looking back at WWDC’s history. The first conference was held in 1983, though it wasn’t anything like it is today–it was a small gathering held in Monterey, Calif.

Highlights from the History of WWDC:

  • 1997: Steve Jobs, in his keynote, explains his vision for cloud computing (14 years before iCloud would be launched)

  • 2003: The Power Mac G5 is announced, and Jobs gives attendees an advanced screening of “Finding Nemo.”

  • 2005: Apple announces it will start using Intel microprocessors in its Macs.

  • 2006: The very first Mac Pro is unveiled, boasting two dual core Intel Xeon processors, 1 GB of ram, and a 250 GB hard drive.

  • 2007: Jobs makes the official announcement of the release date of the first iPhone.

  • 2008: The App Store is introduced.

  • 2011: At his last WWDC, Jobs unveils Mac OS X Lion, iOS5, and iCloud.

WWDC 2013 tickets came with a $1,599 price tag and sold out in less than two minutes. I wish I would have moved faster as bought a ticket this year. The geekosphere has been abuzz with rumors of what to expect at this year’s WWDC. The main takeaway is this conference, not surprisingly, will be heavy on the software, light on the hardware–this is a conference for developers, after all. Don’t expect a new iPhone or iPad–Apple hasn’t even unveiled a new iPhone at a WWDC since 2010, and it’s unlikely to change this year.

What to expect at WWDC 2013, in order of most likely to least likely:

  1. iOS 7: A report by 9to5Mac says we should anticipate a UI refresh, more gestures, more sharing tools, and more Yahoo’s content and services.

  2. OS X updates: Also from the 9to5Mac report, there might be updates to OS X that include Siri and Apple Maps integration, improved full screen apps, and new multitasking features.

  3. MacBook updates: There’s talk of new Macs being unveiled, potentially an updated Retina MacBook Pro with Intel’s latest processor called “Haswell”

  4. iRadio: Just in time for WWDC, Apple has finally reached a deal with all three music record labels for its free Internet radio service. This makes it likely that Apple will unveil the service at the conference.

Wildcard

  1. iWatch? Apple CEO Tim Cook hinted at a game-changing wearable device at a conference last month, leading to rumors about a much-anticipated “iWatch.” Though it’s unlikely to be unveiled at this WWDC, some think Apple may at least make an official announcement about it.

In the days leading up to this huge technology conference, everyone likes to think they’ve got the inside scoop on the notoriously secretive Apple. There’s been so much steadfast opinion on exactly what to expect, developers may actually be hoping for a surprise.

Some notable stats about Apple:

  • 275,000 registered iOS developers in the U.S.

  • Nearly 6000 iOS developer jobs available now on job search aggregator Indeed.com

  • $9 billion paid to Apple developers from App Store sales

  • More than 50 billion apps downloaded from the App Store

Disclosure : I own Apple stock.

My SXSW Panel Picks

pp_voting_openIt’s that time of the year again. SXSW has released their panel picker and the selection is bigger than ever. Over 2000 people have sessions up for voting and it can be a bit overwhelming. Here is my short list. Most of these people are friends and I have seen them speak before. If I missed you be sure to let me know.

@jeremeyhilton @markkrupinkski  Metrics for Social Media: The Net Promoter Score
@lizstrauss @starbucker @caroljsroth Build, Buy, Partner: Time is Money

@ScottMonty @Schwen @ShannonPaul Socially Regulated: Social Media in Regulated Industries
@LucretiaPruitt Killing Clark Kent; When You Outgrow Your AlterEgo
@technosailor Shattering Secrets with Social Media
@db Game On: Can Game Theory transform your app?
@prsarahevans PR Best Practices for Social Media

Want to see me speak at SXSW? You can vote for my session here. I have not yet determined if I will be wearing pants for the session.

Voting ends at 11:59 CDT on Friday, August 27.

Are you In Control?

I am delighted to announce that I will be keynoting In Control Orlando this February. In Control is a web design workshop conference presented by AIGA Orlando. Speakers include internationally recognized educators and industry leaders such as Jared Spool, Stephanie Sullivan, Christopher Schmitt, Derek Featherstone and Ethan Marcotte. You will learn to harness creative inspiration, unlock your potential, amplify innovation, and broaden your reach.

Workshops

speaker-badgeIf you are a web developer or designer here is your chance to learn from and share with the best. The interactive workshops include:

  • Kelly Goto – Day 1 Keynote Address
  • Christopher Schmitt – HTML5 Workshop
  • Stephanie Sullican – CSS Workshop
  • David McFarland – jQuery Workshop
  • Ethan Marcotte – Adv. XHTML+CSS Workshop
  • Ted Murphy – Day 2 Keynote Address
  • Derek Featherstone – Accessibility
  • Greg Rewis – Web Workflow Workshop
  • Shari Thurow – Findability & SEO Workshop
  • User Research Workshop – Jared Spool

I love that the AIGA is bringing quality programming like this to Orlando. I plan on sending a posse from the IZEA team over participate.

In Control Orlando Discount Code

Want to save $50 on admission? Register here and use code “INCTEDM”. Reserve your spot now! Attendance is limited to 100, creating more opportunities to interact with speakers and other attendees.

SPECIAL BONUS : I will be wearing pants.

Join Me and Tony Hsieh

I will be speaking at the B.I.G. (Business Innovation & Growth) Summit on Thursday, November 19th at the Hilton Orlando. The summit is a big departure for the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce and I am happy to see some spunk coming out of our local business community. Instead of suits and ties thing jeans, t-shirts and flip flops. This is a business conference designed for today’s creative workforce.

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh will be keynoting the event. His session is titled “Building a $1 Billion Business”… hells yeah! Sign me up! I will lead a workshop on building better relationships using digital media. If you are an entrepreneur living in Central Florida you would be a donkey to miss this event. Sign up now!

big_summit

Why IZEAFest at SeaWorld will Rock

izea_festLast week I was chatting with my friend Aloha Arleen about IZEAFest at SeaWorld. She told me she was really excited to be speaking and asked me if there was anything she could do to help get the word out. I went down a list of all the things we had hookup up since we launched the site. She had no idea and told me I should do a blog post with an update about the event… so here goes….

The Best Value of any Social Media Event Period

If you can find an event that packs a bigger bang for the buck I want to go. We have done everything possible to make this affordable for everyone during these tough times.

Your $229 Ticket Includes

  • IZEAHuntA four night, three day social media event with speakers including Aaron Brazell, Chris Brogan, Chris Heuer, Brian Clark, Joseph Jaffe, Julia Roy, Sarah Austin, Sarah Evans and more. Mingle with the big dogs of social media and learn from the best and brightest.
  • Thursday Night: Trip to Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens. Includes front of the line VIP tickets and bus transportation to Tampa.
  • Friday Night: Party with free drinks at the ICEBAR Orlando
  • Saturday Night: Party with free drinks at Howl at the Moon
  • Sunday : Blogger takeover of SeaWorld, tickets included.
  • Lunch on Friday and Saturday
  • A free IZEAFest T-Shirt
  • A free pair of Crocs flip flops (if you registers prior to September)
  • IZEA Hunt

Save 20% with discount code “tedme”. What the heck are you waiting for? This is the best deal out there.

Ted’s Treasure

tedstreasureIf you follow me on Twitter you may have noticed the #tedstreasure hashtag on a number of posts. I am using this hashtag to identify tweets that are part of my Ted’s Treasure promotion. What is Ted’s Treasure? It’s pretty simple actually. As I travel the country I am randomly leaving a trail of prizes in my wake. I take a picture of the treasure, drop a pin on Google Maps and tweet out the hints. Whoever finds my treasure first gets to keep it. So far I have dropped cash and prizes from Pancheros and X-Shot.

If you have something of value that you would like to provide as a treasure please let me know and we can chat about it. I am not charging anything to participate, I do it because I like giving people free stuff. Here are a few picture from recent winners:

pic_a4l_l

@ElizabethB won a free burrito from Pancheros

Ted's Treasure

@Brittanylady won a brand new X-Shot

IZEAFest at SeaWorld!

I have been keeping a secret for nearly 3 months now… today I’m letting the cat out of the bag. IZEAFest 2009 will be at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. Not only do we have a great lineup of speakers including Robert Scoble, Aaron Brazell, Chris Brogan and Darren Rowse, but every single blogger in attendance gets a free ticket to SeaWorld.

What the heck are you waiting for? There are still early bird tickets available, your $179.00 ticket includes a day at SeaWorld, lunch on Friday and Saturday, parties, drinks and a free t-shirt. It is pretty much the best bang for the buck you will ever get at any blogger event. Book now!


IZEAFest at SeaWorld from Ted Murphy on Vimeo.

Blu Frog Energy Takes Me to Daytona for NASCAR Racing

IZEA has the best clients. Seriously. They are so good to us. One of our most recent clients is Blu Frog Energy Drink, a new product sold exclusively online. If you follow me on Twitter you have probably seen a few tweets about them. Our office has gone nuts over Blu Frog, so much so that I can’t seem to keep the stuff around. Our developers will pound down a few a day, they say it keeps them alert. Each can of Blu Frog only has 68 calories and they are fortified with a ton of vitamins, it’s good stuff. You won’t get the shakes like you can with Red Bull.

Ted Murphy and Larry Foyt

Ted and Larry Foyt

I have only been working with Blu Frog for a couple of weeks but they already treat me like family. This past weekend they invited Tara and I to Daytona for the big NASCAR race weekend. They sponsored three vehicles including the No. 56 Blu Frog Energy Chevrolet, driven by second generation driver Larry Foyt (son of A.J. Foyt). As official sponsors they had incredible access to the racetrack. Not only was I able to go into the pits, but I also had an magnificent seat to watch the Camping World 300 on Saturday. I felt like royalty… these guys know how to do it up. I want to thank everyone at Blu Frog for being so friendly and outgoing. I truly had a memorable experience this weekend.

I know I am not supposed to talk about it because Blu Frog is healthy….but I am going to anyway. The younger peeps at IZEA have started to mix Blu Frog with vodoka to kickoff the weekend. They call it a BluBomb and they say it gets the job done. You didn’t hear that from me and I did not have one at the race ; )

IZEAFest 2009 Registration is Open!

eventbrite-izeafest-2009Are you ready for the best blogging event this side of Tokyo? IZEAFest 2009 is now open for Super Early Bird Registration and the slots are filling up fast. The event space is limited to 500 people total, first come first serve (60 slots already full after one day). Act now if you want to guarantee a seat and score a sweet deal. It’s only $129.00 if you register now. Come mingle with a who’s who of social media including Robert Scoble, Aaron Brazell, Chris Brogan, Darren Rowse, Brian Clark, Michael Brito, Jim Kukral, Neil Patel, Wendy Piersall, Jeremy Schoemaker, Missy Ward and the IZEA Insiders!