Recap Time: Chatbot Meetups 2016
We held our first Bots Hamburg Meetup in June this year. Around 25 people came and chose the “nerdy” theme of chatbots instead of the outdoor pool. We discussed the young topic in general in the big group. In the following months, the meetup took place outside the beta house — at Tallence AG for the first time. We were able to attract speakers from San Francisco, Vancouver, Berlin, Hamburg and Vienna to talk about chatbots in Hamburg. Here is a brief summary of what we've learned this year.
Meetup #1 (June 15)
The general discussion on the topic has shown that there is interest. But it is unclear what can chatbots be used for and do they even make sense? The options offered at that time by Facebook, for example, were also very limited. What was least clear was why chatbots could be of great use, especially for companies. More detailed recap here.
Meetup #2 (July 20th)
As a follow-up to the previous meetup, there was an insight into chatbots that already exist for tools such as Slack or HipChat. Companies can save time and money with little helpers in these tools. Be it by simplifying Scheduling with customers or team members.
Meetup #3 (September 21)
How do you measure the success or failure of a chatbot? Dennis Yang from Dashbot.io in San Francisco presented the dashbot.io platform with which you can analyze exactly that. The continuous evaluation of data, readjustment and measurement of new features is one of the most important processes for chatbots, similar to apps. In addition, it is important to continuously collect feedback from users. After Dashbot.io has Leif presented. Leif is an event chatbot developed jointly by Ogata and us. Leif has events in its pocket for over 300 German cities and can share them with the user at any time. Since Leif was just launched at the Dockville Festival, interesting insights were to be expected. For example: How is a chatbot accepted at festivals? Really good! Usage over the weekend was extremely high, mainly due to the fact that most had already installed a messenger and did not have to download an extra app. Leif was able to pass on the feedback collected in this way to the Dockville crew.
Meetup #4 (October 19)
For the first time, the meetup did not take place at Betahaus but was a guest at Tallence. The first talk was by Alex Bunardzic. Alex works in research and development at Staples Inc. The focus of his talk was entirely on Bots for Business. The problem with chatbots for private users is currently the lack of language comprehension. Bots already understand a lot, but it is easier to implement a chatbot in the corporate sector. Bots that collaborate can make the working world easier, whether as a concierge or as a kind of butler. A concierge helps the company achieve specific goals and find new business opportunities. The Butler Bot, on the other hand, focuses more on individual users and helps them in their daily life. Be it through reports or faster access to specific resources. If you want to get into the topic in more detail, you will find here Alex slides about the presentationSince we were at Chatbotconf in Vienna a week before the meetup and learned a lot, Sebastian presented a brief summary of the conference.
Meetup #5 (December 14)
The fifth round took place again in Betahaus and in the new Betasalon in Haus73. Over 100 people had signed up — a sharp increase compared to previous meetups. The topic seems to be becoming established in the online world and in Hamburg. The first talk was given by Peter Buchroithner from Swell held. Swell is a chatbot that allows you to make simple A/B decisions. Users can either vote themselves or present the community with decisions they have made themselves. Peter has provided insights into Swell's growth strategy, both organic and paid. A look ahead to next year from Swell shows where chatbots are heading and why we'll be hearing more about chatbots next year.
Following Peter, came the Jaem Bot Which we together with LA RED have developed. The Jäm Bot is a chatbot for fans of Jaegermeister that makes it possible to create individual rap videos. Marco and Andreas explained how many users were reached, what obstacles there were and why chatbots are still “new territory.”
Meetups are worthwhile
We have now hosted five meetups with interesting talks and good discussion rounds. We were always happy that so many people came and also took something with them. Be it a first glimpse into the new world of bots, new contacts, information about chatbots or simply a beer at the end of a meeting evening. We'll be hosting more meetups over the next year as well. If you would like to learn more about chatbots or would like to present something yourself, feel free to contact me (robert.weber@moin.ai) or on our Bots Hamburg Meetup Sign up page for a next meeting.
