Demo party mania: what we made at MozFest

What did you make at MozFest 2012?

(cross-posted from the Mozilla Festival site)

Here’s some of the inspired webmaking on display at the closing Mozilla Festival demo party. Our intrepid team of reporters worked at lightning speed to record as much of the awesomeness as possible. But we know we missed some! Please add it to the demo party pad and let us know so we can include it on this virtual demo party page. Think of it as a mini MozFest to share with friends.

Mozfest_11Nov_112

New Thimble Project: Poster Making

@TheRealArty

  • “I asked the question: ‘what new Thimble project would be useful?’ Someone mentioned students and I thought of school posters, so I hacked together a potential template project for Thimble. I focused on adding class levels to make it as simple and flexible as possible.”
  • “I would like to ensure that anyone with very little web knowledge can do this project.”
  • I was inspired by… Mark Surman’s narrative: the story of webmaking.
  • Secret superpower: I squeak when I’m poked.

Mozfest_11Nov_105

Seriously.js

@bchirls

  • “I made a real-time video effects compositor. You can use it to apply very complex video effects to any video image or canvas.”
  • “I’d love to create a graphical interface for it. As a standalone application, and also integrated right into Popcorn Maker.
  • I was inspired by… Dave Humphrey has a new addition to Popcorn where you can mimic an HTML5 video element. That’s amazing because it will help us solve problems like using Popcorn Maker to rea full-on video editing with multiple source videos…. It opens up the tool to actual professional video editing. Imagine Popcorn Maker as Final Cut Pro. And Seriously.js as AfterEffects.
  • Secret superpower: It’s a secret.

Mozfest_11Nov_111

MakeyMakey Tap Shoes with Meemoo

@forresto

  • “I used MakeyMakey to make tap shoes with switches that send signals to Meemoo to make visuals.”
  • I’d love to build an audio module for Meemoo.
  • I was inspired by… seeing kids making stop motion animation. They really got into it.
  • Secret superpower: Feedback Loops

Mozfest_11Nov_088

Interaction Cam

@codepo8

  • “I made an HTML5 photo uploader using MakeyMakey as an interface and a camera app.”
  • “I’d love to bring it to MozCamp Asia and set it up and collect images.”
  • I was inspired by… seeing how big it has grown and how Popcorn Maker has evolved.
  • Secret superpower: being able to explain very technical things simply.

Mozfest_11Nov_103

Our Block

@AdamJMartin

  • “I made a community-powered radio tool. Re-imagining community and radio online, using Source Fabric’s Air Time. New workflows for community content producers.”
  • I’d love to… “unify the social experience around audio and radio. Redefine what community means in online, transitioning from geography-based community to shared experiences and affinities. And workflow. Building on top of AirCloud and Sound Cloud API to create a simple service for people to create new audio content and push it into the AirTime environment.”
  • I was inspired by… “the amount of energy and ideas that people brought to sessions here.”
  • Secret superpower: The Power Cosmic

Mozfest_11Nov_104

Creative Visualizations with Linked Data and VisualBox

@alvarograves

  • “We made visualizations based on linked data, without requiring programming experience.”
  • “Some people want to use it to start adding more features. Mostly journalists and researchers.”
  • I was inspired by… the spirit of making and creating. Not being a mental couch potato. We are all creators and we can all do great stuff!
  • Secret superpower: Data Obsession

Mozfest_11Nov_109

Webmaker Badges

@CarlaCasilli

  • “We did user testing to advance the state of the new Webmaker badges we just shipped.”
  • “I’d love to see us create new Webmaker badges that we find useful and meaningful, and that the community would like to see.”
  • I was inspired by… when people were willing to create the Webmaker badges they wanted to see added next. It shows they’re thinking about and already building the future of Webmaker badges.”
  • Secret superpower: Excitement!!!!!!!

Mozfest_11Nov_107

Badge Bingo

@GoCodery

  • “We built a platform to play bingo with all the badges available at MozFest.”
  • “Badge Bingo could be used for any event. But really it was about interacting and learning more about how badges are being used, and what issuing platforms are in use.”
  • I was inspired by… “the livestreaming blimp. The personality and intelligence of the Mozilla team. This community. There’s something powerful about this community. It’s fun, real, authentic, and there’s a unique texture to it.”
  • Secret superpower: Flying

Mozfest_11Nov_092

Linklib.org

@linklib & @simonklose

  • “I made a second screen implementation for YouTube — and eventually for all video media — using QR codes, to broaden storytelling for video media online.”
  • “I will be releasing my documentary on the Pirate Bay, called, ‘The Pirate Bay: Away From Keyboard’ early next year.”
  • I was inspired by… MozFest is a unique situation for non-techie non-coders to meet brilliant technicians.
  • Secret superpower: Social Engineer

Mozfest_11Nov_093

Building Cardboard Arcades

@ssyed & @kahodesu

  • “I made the cardboard arcade with my partner Kaho Abe.”
  • “I would like to see these [arcade games made out of large cardboard boxes] live in Ravensbourne forever.”
  • I was inspired by… the volunteers.
  • Secret superpower: Begging

Mozilla Festival Demos

Popcorn Madlibs

@FutureSoup

  • “We made a MadLib under the form: ‘I would do _____ for _____, but I wouldn’t do ____.'”
  • “I would love to see people being able to remix video like they treat the rest of the web.”
  • I was inspired by… how quickly and easily people picked up Popcorn. I didn’t have to talk as much as I thought I would.
  • Secret superpower: to be able to get anyone to break into song without knowing they’re a musician!

Mozfest_11Nov_106

Think Big

@helsmbels

  • “We created internationalised templates in Thimble that German, Slovak, Czech, and Spanish young people can use to make their ideas come to life on the web.”
  • “I’d love to see a way for us to collect all of the pages and share their idea pages on a platform across Europe.”
  • I was inspired by… Makie Dolls!
  • Secret superpower: To know things about people

Mozilla Festival Demos

Superheroes of MozFest Documentary

@hello_rev

  • “We made a documentary of the superheroes of MozFest using Popcorn.”
  • “I would like to see people remix this video, access the links, and pop the interviews in Popcorn!”
  • I was inspired by… so many other youth and adults who came up with amazing inventions and learned how they work inside at the Hive sessions.
  • Secret superpower: Editing and engaging others!

Mozilla Festival Demos

HTML5 Hackable Pong

@TheRealPomax

  • “Schoolkids without any HTML knowledge hacked Pong games into new versions!”
  • “I’d love to see a lot more kids play with this so we can come up with the best way for them to figure out and learn HTML/CSS.”
  • I was inspired by… Badges!
  • Secret superpower: I can hear really really well.

Mozfest_11Nov_097

CubicVR.js

@ccliffe

  • “I demoed CubicVR.js which is a lightweight, versatile WebGL engine with tons of features.”
  • “I would like to continue expanding CubicVR.js and creating simple tools to help individuals who might not think they could develop a 3D application to do so.”
  • I was inspired by… the ‘open source flavour.’ I’ve been a developer for over 15 years and Mozilla has the best opportunities around to implement your ideas.
  • Secret superpower: GLNinja

Mozilla Festival Demos

Popcorn.js Sentiment Tracker

@bertez

  • “We chart positivity and negativity of the words used in political speech videos.”
  • “Tonight, I’m going to upload it to Github!”
  • I was inspired by… the amazing network of cooperation, knowledge, and education.
  • Secret superpower: Flying

Mozfest_11Nov_091

LiveCodeLab

@sketchpatch

  • “I made a tool for live coding on the web.”
  • “I’d like to use it for fun and education.”
  • I was inspired by… Popcorn.js, Thimble, and all of the game making sessions.
  • Secret superpower: Flashyness

Mozilla Festival Demos

Be Your Own Jon Stewart

@k88hudson, @tracey_pooh

  • “We remixed TV archives with Popcorn Maker to make a Jon Stewart commentary.”
  • “We’d love to see a version of Popcorn Maker that imports TV archive videos.”
  • I was inspired by… The Popcorn Maker team!
  • Secret superpower: Flying! Ultimate Loudness!

Mozilla Festival Demos

Media History Timeline

@gapyouthmedia

  • “We’re a youth social justice media organization, and we made an interactive timeline for sharing the media that impacted them, as well as policy and organising.”
  • “I would love to create an opportunity for audiences to add their own stories to the timeline.”
  • I was inspired by… the spirit of DIY and taking back the power to create.
  • Secret superpower: Clowning With Education!

Mozfest_11Nov_089

Unicorn Super Blaster

@adambrewer & @stugoo & @tweetsofmo

  • “We made a game using crafty.js, my little pony and some unicorns, plus some Comic Sans. (But don’t hold that against us.)”
  • “We’d like to add levels, sounds, boss levels, power-ups … there’s so much that we could do.”
  • I was inspired by… the ease of accessibility to simply walk right into projects, start making right away, and meeting new people to collaborate with — it really is encouraging.
  • Secret superpower: Shipping it Unicorn Style

Mozilla Festival Demos

CodeBender

@Codebender_cc

  • “We made an LED lighting button, programming Arduino software from the Web.”
  • “We would love to see more devices supported.”
  • I was inspired by… people who don’t think they can do things, who achieved them and had fun at the Festival!
  • Secret superpower: Make people hack their environment

Mozfest_11Nov_086

The Webmaker Book Project

@pressbooks

  • “I made a book about the ethos of MozFest.”
  • “I’d love to find contributors to make a webfirst book.”
  • I was inspired by… the way that the concept of webmaking has been enlarged to encompass more than just code.
  • Secret superpower: It’s a secret

Mozilla Festival Demos

Designing Creative Technology Playgrounds for Families

@ricarose

  • “We’re thinking about how we can design hackerspaces or creative technology spaces for families.”
  • “I would love to see a network of people come together who want to build family-friendly technology spaces.”
  • I was inspired by… the kids!
  • Secret superpower: Dropping Lovebombs

Mozilla Festival Demos

Scratch Meets Firefox

@Champika_Ft

  • “I made a Scratch project placed inside a Thimble site. We experimented with having Scratch projects control the Thimble page.”
  • “I would love to find other ways that Scratch Projects and Thimble can interact.”
  • I was inspired by… everyone’s excitement for creating and making!
  • Secret superpower: making waffles

Mozilla Festival Demos

Teaching Javascript in Thimble

@CHMcavoy

  • “We made paper prototypes to figure out existing models of teaching Javascript and adapting it to Thimble.”
  • “I’d like to see an actual working prototype.”
  • I was inspired by… seeing everybody working on stuff and drawing and doing rather than just thinking.
  • Secret superpower: the power to control men’s minds

Mozilla Festival Demos

Kuda

@Addictartst

  • “I made an interactive 3D simulation tool with WebGL.”
  • “We built an extensible editor, so I want to see it used for more visualisations and have more plugins.”
  • I was inspired by… PopcornMaker, because it’s a tool akin to what we’re doing.
  • Secret superpower: Aquaman

Mozfest_11Nov_087

Wiktionary: guess the wikipedia article

@firesock & Last to the Boat

  • “We made a game like Pictionary, a party game for a web browser and no drawing.”
  • “I’d love to try this out with friends.”
  • I was inspired by… hackable games — taking what you love and making it changeable. And the games without graphics session.
  • Secret superpower: making technology interesting

Contributor Garage

@MozillaReps

  • @Regnard: “I ran sessions about contributing to Mozilla, and demoed Firefox OS devices.”
  • I’d love to… “drive even more interest in Firefox OS and how to contribute. A lot of people asked about how to get started. You can get started on a really small scale! With your friends and family, on Webmaker projects, code parties, or Firefox OS devices and learning more about them.”
  • I was inspired by… “the whole Webmaker thing. People were really enthusiastic about creating stuff on the web. Web professionals, journalists, teenagers. It’s great to see that they can come up with their own stuff and make it happen!”
  • Secret superpower: Black Hole Time Travel

Thimble Magazine

@Chris_Appleton

  • “I made a customizable template for people to make their own magazine layouts using Thimble. Including embedding Popcorn videos.”
  • I’d love to… “make these kinds of publishing experiences easier with basic webmaking skills, with more of an integrated experience between the tools.”
  • I was inspired by… seeing the diversity of people coming together to work on similar but diverse things.
  • Secret superpower: “Chris’s superpower is Freakin’ Awesomeness.” — Kate Hudson

Paper Based Prototypes of Mozilla Zeega, a storytelling platform

@Lewy76 & Lee

  • “We ran a session on making Mobile Webmaker, working on the problems of connectivity in the developing world.”
  • “I would like to make it really easy for a citizen journalist to capture an audio and image file, and be able to batch upload when they reach a connectivity point. Ultimately, Zeega gives us the opportunity to tell the story in a more complete way.”
  • I was inspired by… the sheer damn enthusiasm for people and projects.
  • Secret superpower: Front end developer + NGO runner

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