Countdown to Google I/O: Youthful inspiration
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| Katie |
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| Will |
By Will Smidlein, with Katie Miller, Google I/O Team
Google I/O 2012 is fast approaching, and to help energize you for three packed days of demos,
announcements and developer fun, we chatted with a few attendees to see what excites them
about this year’s agenda, and to get some tips on how to make the most of the event.
Today’s conversation is with 15-year-old Will Smidlein, one of the youngest I/O attendees.
Will began developing at the age of 10, after checking out
Teach
Yourself Visually Html and Css from the local library to find out how websites work.
By 13 he was teaching himself PHP to make his websites functional, as well as convincing his
parents to take their next vacation in San Francisco so he could attend Google I/O. Will has
developed everything from a web-based podcast client, to a JQuery script that uses the HTML5
Audio tag to run a function at a certain timecode, to creating an alarm clock that uses data
from the web, such as Google Calendar, traffic, and weather information, to wake you up. This
will be Will's third I/O, and he's most excited to meet with and get advice from other
developers. Here’s what Will had to say:
Why is it important to you to attend Google I/O?
Google I/O always has been, and will be, a must attend for me. While flying both my father and
myself from Cleveland and staying in a hotel for the length of the conference isn't exactly
cheap, I wouldn't have it any other way. The people attending I/O are some of the most skilled
developers in every field, and just being in the same room improves your knowledge. After
almost every session I attend, I think to myself "wow, a side of a programming language was
just explained to me by the person who created that language".
On a technical level, I've always been a web guy, so HTML5 is a big thing for me. I love the
demos that Google puts together and the sessions from the experts about new web technologies
and how to integrate them in actual applications. Having the Chrome team there is huge because
you can talk with the developers of one of the most popular browsers in the world about new
specs and ideas.
What do you hope to experience at Google I/O 2012? What themes or technologies will
you be watching for?
One of the biggest reasons for me to attend I/O is to meet other developers, see what they're
up to, and get advice. I love connecting actual faces to the IRC, GitHub, and Twitter
usernames I interact with every day. I also love going to sessions that don't necessarily
apply to what I do in case I need what I learn later. Just because I don't program for Android
professionally now doesn't mean I won't at some point, or it won't be useful to me. Every I/O
track is like its own conference, so by attending I/O, you don’t just interact with people or
topics in your line of work, you're able to explore and diversify.
For people coming to Google I/O, what are your tips for making the most of the
event?
Take the time to meet people. Everyone is extremely friendly, and even if they don't program
in the same language as you, you'll have a blast talking to them. Go to the Sandbox presenters
and see what they're showing off. Ask the session speakers any questions you have.
Also, use it as a chance to try new things. For example, before my first I/O, I had never
seriously programmed with Java, but on the plane ride home from that event, I wrote my first
Android app and have fallen in love with the language since. After last year's Chromebook
giveaway, I challenged myself to write a web-based media center that could be controlled by my
phone.
If you could send a message out to other young developers, what would you tell
them?
Take this time to learn all that you can about programming. Don't pressure yourself with
building a portfolio, or working for a startup, or getting to the top of Hacker News. Learn
from open source, and make connections in the tech world so that when you do need to make
money, you've got a 5 year head start on the competition.
Not coming to Google I/O 2012 in person? Not a problem. Watch the keynote
and dozens of other sessions streamed live at developers.google.com/io.
Will Smidlein is a 15-year-old web fanatic who jumps from project to project
learning new things and technologies along the way. You can follow Will during Google I/O at
@WS.
Edited and posted by Katie Miller and Scott Knaster, Google
I/O Team
