Developers come together at Developer Day in Sydney

Posted by Ben Appleton, Software Engineer

Yesterday's Developer Day was a fantastic time for all involved, especially those who came with their geek caps on. From chats about how developers can use OpenSocial to build social apps across networks, to discussions of the Google App Engine, which provides free storage for anyone to build and scale apps on the internet, it was a day full of lively conversations and exciting possibilities.

Developers from all over Australia had the chance to mingle with one another, and talk with Googlers about how Google products can help to power their applications and online content. Lars Rasmussen, one of the creators of Google Maps, gave an introduction to our Google Web Toolkit, which helps developers to write applications more quickly and easily, while Google Australia's own Dmitri Abramov shared a few tips and tricks for the recently announced Flash Maps API. Developers also got a chance to play with the Google Earth API, announced at Google I/O a couple weeks back, and to hear about the new Android SDK, Google's open mobile platform (and see a few new Android apps demos).

Lastly, to spice things up, Google also held a speedgeeking competition to recognise some of the most creative Australian mashups of Google products and APIs. Yesterday we were proud to announce that http://www.cleancruising.com.au/ were the winners, thanks to their innovative use of multiple Google APIs, creating useful apps involving products such as Google Maps and Google Earth.

With ideas bouncing back and forth, lots of APIs and developer tools to mull over, and Googlers and developers immersed in thoughts for the future, it was great to step back and see what is possible when developers come together as a community.

An open web on which developers can build new and innovative apps is truly a beautiful thing.