Comoyo joins forces with Norway’s largest computer party

The Gathering (abbreviated “TG”) is one of the largest computer meet-ups in the world and this Easter, no less than 5,000 computer enthusiasts will gather in Vikingskipet (the Viking Ship) in Hamar (27-31 March). Comoyo will be present at the event to scout for new talent to develop the company’s cutting-edge services for the future, and to receive feedback on current products. “We want to be at the epicenter of creativity. The Gathering brings together young tech-savvy talent, and gives them the opportunity to explore their potential. We wish to support and learn as much as possible from this hub of creative minds. The next internet service could just as easily come from a teenagers room, as from a big company”, says Sven Størmer Thaulow, CEO Comoyo.

Make app, win “geek phone”

During the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona earlier this week, Telenor announced its partnership with Mozilla and its move towards bringing an open mobile ecosystem to its global business units. The partnership was negotiated by Telenor Digital Services, of which Comoyo is a part. The result of this is that Telenor will launch Firefox OS smartphones, in select markets, during the coming year. The development team at Comoyo, who works closely with Mozilla, wishes to use “The Gathering” to teach young developers how to create apps with HTML5. The latter often cited as the “cornerstone of the open web platform”, compatible with Firefox OS and any other mobile with a browser. This is in contrast to some of the world’s largest mobile brands, where the apps are often “locked” to their mobile platform. Comoyo will invite participants at The Gathering, to join a competition that aims at developing the best HTML5-app for Firefox OS. Ten winners will receive a “Geeksphone”, a phone specially designed for developer-enthusiasts, by a start-up company where the founder himself is a 20-year-old. The competition is to be announced on gathering.org and Comoyo’s developer blog.

“Geek cred”

Today, 70 developers work at Comoyo, a company actively working to attract the brightest heads from different student environments. “We have students working part-time for us, as we are confident that the pulse and ideas they provide us with, are worth gold,” Thaulow adds. Ingrid Ødegaard works with recruiting and developing the Comoyo community. She believes “The Gathering”, is a key arena for Comoyo to generate buzz around products and to engage with next generation developers. “The audience is a mix of computer geek teenagers, students and even adults who are already working. This is a place where the more geek you are, the more you are respected, and this is just the target group we want to interact with. Getting geek cred will help us in convincing these users to try our services and recommend them to peers,” she adds and smiles. Ingrid is looking forward to building Comoyo’s presence at the event and engaging with the group, “We are discussing several cool and fun ideas that we think will be a good match with the audience at The Gathering,” she finishes off. “We look forward to cooperating with an important Norwegian technology company such as Comoyo. This gives the event the direction that we are looking for. Comoyo offers an array of innovative services that participants will be interested to learn more about, and might even help develop in the future,” says Simon Eriksen Valvik, PR-responsible for The Gathering.