Being first is nice, but being right is essential. This is the lesson learned by many who have first-mover advantage, when a late-comer arrives and ruins their party! For example, the first automotive assembly line may have been established by Ransom Olds of Oldsmobile, but it was Henry Ford who became famous for it when he improved the process and brought down the cost of production. Think tablet computing, and you don’t immediately think of HP Compaq’s tablet from 2003. It took Apple’s rethinking the category for it to take off with the iPad.

When we launched BlueVia, we hoped we might be able to rethink the business of telco APIs, basing it on the idea that telcos thrive when they support developers to exploit their networks. We had a new model and we needed a passionate advocate. And the guy who has done an amazing job in launching BlueVia and selling the concept to the developer community is James Parton. For the many of you who have met James at the countless events he has attended in the past few years, you’ll share my view that he’s played a pivotal role in getting us to where we are today. So it’s a bittersweet moment today, as we bid James goodbye, and begin the search for his successor.

James is moving on to a face a new challenge. He has helped breathe life into BlueVia in a way few could. He’s told our story so well that everyone, from industry analysts to the 10,000 developers who’ve signed up to the BlueVia platform, believes in it. And he’s created a smooth-running, creative machine that is beginning to turn out fantastic apps by the dozen. Thanks James for all your effort. You have been a star within BlueVia and also as a supporter of the wider app developer community. We all wish you good luck in your new challenge!

The beginning of Act 2

Today, we’re looking for someone with the drive and ambition to take BlueVia, that smooth-running machine, and our community of developers to the next level. We want to find the person who can help BlueVia become a mature API platform that is built for developers and helps to deliver commercial success to those inventing the apps that appeal to Telefonica’s 260m customers worldwide. We think it’s the best job in the world – could it be the perfect role for you?

If you love APIs, are passionate about marketing and have the ability to tell a story so well people can’t help but want to share it, you could be the perfect person to take the baton from James and find a way to drive value from the huge assests of Telefonica for the developer community.

We want:

- More than 5 years experience in marketing mobile apps and web services

- An English speaker or bilingual in English and Spanish

- Someone with great connections in the developer community

- The ability to see the developer opportunities in all platforms: mobile or web, native or html5, proprietary or open

- Demonstrable knowledge or experience working in the mobile industry (or a good argument why this is irrelevant)

- Well-connected in the applications and mobile market

- Experience leading international teams in a results-oriented environment

- Someone who can explain to a six year old why native vs web apps is a non-issue

We do not want:

- Someone who gets a little breathless about Siri

We offer:

- A fast-paced environment

- The opportunity of International travel

- An awesome team who may challenge you (sometimes publicly, but never without a good reason)

- Once in a while being rewarded in the traditional way for simply doing a great job

If you or someone you know wants more details about (probably) the best job in the world, you can apply here.

José Valles, Head of BlueVia

We know that operator APIs can be used on more than just mobile phones and offer some exciting ways to engage with users. That’s why we’re sponsoring GameHack at Pinewood Studios this weekend, a great event focused on development for the gaming industry. We knew it was an event that we just had to take part in.

We are running an open challenge category called ‘Best use of Mobile’ where we simply want people to try and make something amazing that challenges what we think is possible on mobile devices. This could mean using location, messaging (we’d love for developers to use our APIs), sensors or even combining devices together. The possibilities are endless.

But if you’re not attending GameHack then we don’t want you to miss out on the fun, so to celebrate the event we’re giving away a brand new PS Vita to BlueVia developers.

To enter is simple; all you have to do is follow these steps:

Step 1: Register as a BlueVia developer (if you are already registered just skip to step 2)

Step 2: Enter your BlueVia registered email address into the field below before 28 April 2012, tick the terms and conditions and press “Participate”.

We’re not going to spam you; we just need to check you are a BlueVia developer, so make sure you use the address you have connected to your account.

We’ll pick a winner at random on 30 April 2012 and be in touch with the lucky person via email. Otherwise, good luck and we’ll let you know how GameHack goes.

En nuestro último viaje a Argentina, hemos compartido una jornada con desarrolladores tan interesante como entretenida gracias al gran equipo de SMI Latam. Queremos agradecerles que nos hayan permitido participar en el evento SMI Developer Day que organizó la institución educativa el 19 de abril en Mar del Plata.

Y como nos encanta la filosofía del SMI Latam, queremos contaros que ofrecen un amplio catálogo de formación dirigido a nuevos empresarios que se adapta a los cambios culturales de la nueva sociedad digital, transcultural, e hiperconectada. Aportan a los profesionales la capacidad de reinventarse y ponerse al día de la demanda laboral que existe en la actualidad. Para ayudarles a conseguir su objetivo, nosotros ponemos a disposición de SMI Latam y a su comunidad de desarrolladores de software y profesionales del marketing digital, una colección imprescindible de informes gratuitos sobre Internet y el mundo móvil en los principales países de Latinoamérica y Europa.

Además, Andrés Martínez @davilagrau, responsable de la comunidad de desarrolladores de BlueVia, tuvo la oportunidad de hacer una presentación en el evento junto con Google, sobre la plataforma BlueVia de pagos móviles y cómo ésta puede ayudar a los desarrolladores de aplicaciones móviles.

Desde aquí queremos dar las gracias a esos grandes amigos y profesionales  que lo han hecho posible: a su CEO y fundador Daniel Dron, que además preside la Red Valleys y La Red Argentina de Emprendedores Tecnológicos, y al Director Académico del SMI, Jonathan Baldovino, Chief Ideation Officer en la empresa Making Sense.

Para contactarnos, puedes hacerlo en @bluevia_es.

Para registrate en BlueVia: https://bluevia.com/en/user/register

Y no te olvides, si estás interesado en SMILatam, les puedes contactar aquí : @smilatam

¡Gracias Dani y Jonathan!

As you know we are constantly evolving BlueVia to make it the best we possibly can. Sometimes this means we add new stuff, and sometimes we take things out to help simplify things.

Therefore we are giving you advanced notice that between 24th – 30th April Telefonica will be closing its App Stores in Germany, Spain and Argentina, therefore we removing the feature to publish apps to those stores from BlueVia.

What does this mean to you? Below is a quick FAQ:

Q: What will happen between the 24th – 30th April?
A: BlueVia.com will be updated to remove the option to publish apps to the O2 App Store in Germany and Movistar App Stores in Spain and Argentina.

Q: Do I have to do anything?
A: No, these changes will happen automatically and your account will be unaffected.

Q: What happens if I have a mobile app I want to sell after the 24th April?
A: You can continue to integrate the BlueVia’s APIs into your mobile apps. You are free to publish them via any App Store you want.

Q: Do you still provide marketing support for apps published in other people’s Apps Stores?
A: Yes, as long as your app is using one or more of the BlueVia APIs we would love to help out. Contact us via support@bluevia.com to discuss how we can help promote your app.

Q: I have uploaded apps into one or more of the App Stores that are being removed from the 24th April. What happens to my software?
A: Your software will be deleted as part of the closure process. If for any reason you require us to return your binaries to you, please email support@bluevia.com.

Q: What happens to the earnings I have made from the App Stores that are being removed from the 24th April. What happens to my money?
A: You will receive any money due to you as part of the closure process. This will be sent to your preferred payment method. Your payment destination can be configured by visiting the ‘My Account’ section of Bluevia.com before the 24th April.

If you have any questions that are not answered here, please email support@bluevia.com.

Thank you for continuing to use BlueVia.

Esta semana comenzamos el tour para desarrolladores latinoamericanos junto con nuestros amigos de Mozilla. Por lo que nos unimos a este fantástico equipo y a sus eventos Hack Day que recorren prácticamente toda la geografía del continente sur.

Durante más de una semana, visitaremos 4 países: Argentina, Uruguay, Brasil y Chile para charlar junto a Mozilla sobre cómo BlueVia puede ayudar a los desarrolladores a crear aplicaciones, pero sobre todo, cómo pueden monetizarlas.

Andrés Martínez Ortiz (@davilagrau) será el encargado de tomar la carretera y acompañar al equipo Mozilla en estas jornadas en las que todo el mundo está invitado, comenzando el día 20 en Buenos Aires. Como participantes de los distintos eventos, allí ofreceremos una charla a las 10:45 sobre BlueVia HTML5 Apps y las APIs de pago. También habrá lugar para que los asistentes puedan charlar y trabajar en proyectos.

Esta será nuestra agenda:

• 20 de abril -Buenos Aires, en el hotel NH City and Tower Hotel, Bolívar 160. (Durará todo el día). http://bit.ly/HpdqZC

• 24 de abril -Montevideo, en el Café la Diaria, Soriano 770. (Por la tarde). http://bit.ly/IowuxZ

• 26 de abril- Sao Paolo, en el IT Training Facility, R. Vergueiro, 3185, piso 8, Vila Mariana. (Por la tarde). http://bit.ly/In1GN6

• 28 de abril- Santiago, Chile en la Escuela de Economía y Negocios – Universidad de Chile, Diagonal Paraguay 205. (Por la tarde). http://bit.ly/HF0Euq

Aquí podéis ver información de los eventos a los que asistiremos dentro del programa de Mozilla en Latinoamérica:

http://hacks.mozilla.org/2012/04/mozilla-hack-day-on-tour-heading-south/

¡Únete a nuestro tour latinoamericano y regístrate para asistir al MDN Hack Day en tu país! Si tienes dudas o cualquier asunto contáctanos vía twitter: @bluevia_es

Understanding how the developer community is evolving in the face of market and financial pressures is incredibly valuable for any developer operating in this competitive and growing market.  That’s why we’re sponsoring, for the third year, the Developer Economics research programme.

This report will investigate key themes, such as emerging developer segments, trends in app monetization and marketing, as well as regional app economics.

Please find the time to take the survey for the next report now.  If you want to know more about the report, read on for a taster of what will be covered.

Developer Mindshare

The previous two Developer Economics reports have shown clear trends in terms of the migration of developer mind share away from traditional platforms, such as Java, Flash Lite and BlackBerry to newer platforms, mainly Android and iOS. One of the biggest surprises in last year’s report was the emergence of mobile web as the third most widely used platform in mobile – with the increasing usage of cross-platform tools reducing the barriers to entry and allows developers of all inklings to create apps that have the potential to be downloaded thousands, if not millions, of times.

App Store Fragmentation

New app stores are appearing left and right. There are currently over 70 app stores just for Android. Traditional players, like Telcos and handset manufacturers, have also created app stores and are allowing access behind their proverbial walled gardens, leaving developers lost in a sea of app stores. Since the choice of app stores is largely dependent on the platform used to create their apps, developers need to carefully target the stores they will use.

Revenues vs. Cost

An app that has taken time and money to be developed might be lost amidst the crowd of similar apps, providing very low revenues to the developer who created it. This creates a long tail of developers who don’t manage to break even.

There are many parameters that govern monetization. Choosing a revenue model is extremely important, as the trend is moving away from the traditional pay-per-download model and into in-app purchases and premium features. Choice of platform seems to be equally important, since not all platforms are created equal, at least in terms of monetization.

App marketing

There are numerous of ways of marketing an app – through the usual suspects; social media, own website/blog etc – to paying for Google AdWords, Facebook ads or even premium app placement.  As with everything marketing-related it not just a matter of throwing money at your problem, but of tailoring your message to the right audience and selecting the best channel to reach them. It’s imperative that developers know whom they’re making their apps for, how large their audience is and what is the best way to reach them.

Regional vs. Global demand

Gone are the days when the entire mobile industry revolved around North America, Europe and East Asia. Countries like China, India or Brazil have huge developer communities, of increasing importance. In previous Developer Economics reports it was found that platform use varies with region – for example, there’s a large concentration of iOS developers in North America, while Java developers are predominantly in Asia. At the same time, users are looking for more localized content – local apps in their own language.

Developer Economics 2012 Survey

If you’re interested in the questions and the themes presented above – take the online survey for the next report now.

… ¿y que 5 millones de personas ya hacen uso de ellas en nuestro país?

¿Cuáles son los dispositivos más utilizados y las aplicaciones que generan mayor interés en nuestro mercado? Toda esta información la puedes encontrar en el Informe de Apps del Primer Trimestre de 2012, que elabora The App Date, bajo el patrocinio de Movistar y con la colaboración de BlueVia. Como sabéis, participamos todos los meses en una Mesa de Desarrolladores junto con The App Date, donde se llevan a cabo entrevistas y grupos de trabajo que ayudan a obtener y confirmar estos datos.

No te entretenemos con más literatura, y echa un vistazo tú mismo a este infográfico para conocer más a fondo el mercado de las apps en España. Si estás interesado en participar en alguna de estas mesas o participar en The App Date contáctanos vía twitter en @bluevia_es o vía email a ana@bluevia.com