Google I/O 2018 Day 1
by Juvar Abrera
I want to share my experience how my Google I/O 2018 Day 1 went at the Amphitheater Shoreline, Mountain View. I’m not gonna be talking about what’s new in Google technologies since you’ve might have already watched the keynote on Youtube.
Moving on, we waited for like an hour in line just to get a great seat for us to watch the keynote.
While in line, I get to meet new people and learn from them. One from Germany and one from Iraq. Google I/O has given me an opportunity to meet people across the world and it’s great to see diversity during the event.
Right after that, we watched this little animation countdown before the keynote starts. This year’s tag line was “Make great things together” and from what Google has shared during the event, it made sense.
One of my favorite parts during the keynote is almost anything that has to do with Google Assistant. I’m excited they are integrating Google Assistant in some Google apps such as Google Maps. I’m also thrilled about the new features that are coming to the Google Assistant such as: Action Links, Action Notifications, Routine Suggestions, and Built-in Intents. Here, they really improved on how us developers can create Actions for Android and Web and create rich experiences.
After the keynote, we get to go to different sessions about different Google technologies. I, first, visited the session called “The web: state of the union.” Here, they announced some of the new tools and new updates for current tools that are relevant for us web developers to create web apps easily. Tools like Speedometer 2, Web Assembly, new in Chrome Dev Tools, Lighthouse 3.0, Puppeteer, Workbox, One-tap sign-up & Auto sign-in Library, web packaging and the list goes on and on.
Next, I visited the Google Assistant booth and it is jam-packed of devices and cool stuff such as the new Smart Display, Google Home Max, and some Pixels for demo.
What really caught my attentions was this hardware that has Google Assistant built in where you can ask for an art, use different colors and shapes, and it’ll start to draw stuff. You may view a demo in the link below.
I, then, visited “12 tips for building better Actions” session. As you can see on the photo, it’s 10 but they changed it to 12 since there were feedback about giving more tips and so they added 2. Though, I already know some of the tips, I still listened since I didn’t really know everything and still learned a lot! While the session was on going, I was updating my Google Assistant slides so that I can share more information to developers back in the Philippines.
I went to the Community Lounge after that to meet a Googler for Actions on Google, asked a few questions and took a selfie.
While waiting for dinner, there’s this band playing in front of the I/O logo and they are really fun to watch and to listen to their music.
My day at I/O went really great: met new friends, gained new information, and had really fun. Although, I missed some of the happenings around I/O and I hope I get to experience it tomorrow. Stay tuned for day 2!