Grace Lau
We did it! We made it through three days of Google Next. But what that also means is... this is your final recap. It's been a pleasure, readers. Onward!
8:49am - “Just Dance” by the inimitable Lady Gaga blares over the speakers, welcoming everyone to Day 3, Developer Day.
8:58am - Bit of a late start all around. Attendees are still filing in, rather leisurely. (Was it because of last night’s Next-sponsored Chainsmokers show + festival? Probably.)
9:33am - Sitting in on the NCAA session (March Madness predictions, anyone?). Pretty interesting stuff.
10:05am - Catching snippets of the Developer’s keynote in the Equality Lounge.
10:20am - Made it to the “Develop Your Data-driven Storytelling Chops with 4 Simple Principles” session! What are the four principles?
- Use a narrative to tell your story. (Hint: stories have beginnings, middles, and ends.)
- The data should dictate the visuals.
- Make the data interactive! It’s more fun when people can click around and explore.
- Be purposeful with design. Make sure things look consistent and don’t distract from the understanding of the story.
11:48am - Lunch lines have formed early today. Lunch options include Cuban sandwiches, Buddha Bowls, and deconstructed spring rolls. The spring rolls were very deconstructed. Was it good? Still unsure...
12:25pm - Pretty interesting look at how AI is transforming customer care. Cisco, Twilio, and Vonage are pulling off live demos on-stage with varying degrees of success. Main takeaway: AI can make customer interactions (voice, video, chat) more dynamic, decrease $$ investment into call centers and support teams, and increase efficiency over all.
2:55pm - That’s it from us! In closing, we’ll leave you with a few questions to ponder as you say goodbye to Google Next 2018:
- What was the best dessert option? (We’re partial to the baklavas on Day 2.)
- Who came up with the name “Kubernetes?”
- What if a Golden State Warrior dropped by the NCAA basketball hoop in Moscone South?
- How many blue booths were there?
- What happens to all the lonely T-shirts and swag that don’t get picked up?
- Who is Google’s fave crm? (Maybe… this one…)
Hope you enjoyed your time at Google Next! See you next year. 🤙
P.S. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the crm that’s designed for (and recommended by) Google in the last three days, get on it! Do you have to talk to customers, partners, vendors, leads—and do you know how to use Gmail? If so, then you’re going to love Copper. Try it out for free!
