Wireless technology has transformed how we interact with the world around us. But what does the future with 5G look like? It can be hard to fathom. Luckily, ACT | The App Association aims to elucidate this with a special public webinar featuring FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr. And Marc Fischer, Dogtown Media’s very own Co-Founder and CEO, has been invited to join in on the conversation!

Scheduled to be held this Thursday, May 28th, at 1 PM ET, “A Conversation with FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr on Commission Priorities for 5G and the New 5G Upgrade Order” is an event you won’t want to miss. In this virtual seminar, we’ll get the chance to learn more about the FCC’s views and priorities for 5G.

Valued at $1.7 trillion and employing almost 6 million Americans, the mobile app economy has grown to be an invaluable pillar of the tech industry. And the current COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted just how valuable this sector really is; remote work, distance learning, and telemedicine have all experienced a rapid increase in usage during this pandemic.

For the webinar, Commissioner Brendan Carr will be representing the FCC. He’s committed to rapidly advancing 5G in order to enable more innovation in mobile app development. Carr has supported various FCC policy changes to promote the development of 5G networks.

Most recently, he announced a new 5G Upgrade Order. This multi-year endeavor would simplify and expedite equipment upgrades for existing cellular towers. Scheduled for a June vote by Congress, the 5G Upgrade Order will be a central discussion point of ACT’s event.

ACT | The App Association is a Washington, D.C.-based public policy organization that represents more than 5,000 app companies and information technology firms leading the mobile economy. While we’re located on the other side of the continent in Los Angeles, ACT has been a dear friend throughout the years. Its advocation for an environment that drives smart innovation and regulation in the tech industry has been invaluable.

The live event will begin with a conversation between Carr and ACT President Morgan Reed. Following this, a live panel discussion featuring Carr, Marc, Andrew Savitz of Canned Spinach, and Vishal Singh of Quantified Ag will take place. It will delve into the 5G Upgrade Order and examine potential use cases that the new generation of wireless connectivity will enable.

“A Conversation with FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr on Commission Priorities for 5G and the New 5G Upgrade Order” has an all-star panel lined up and a number of hot topics to touch upon. If you want to see the future of mobile technology, don’t miss this event! For more information, visit here.

COVID-19 has transformed healthcare systems around the world in unprecedented ways. Several people have put off doctors’ visits for fear of exposure to the virus. As a result, many medical facilities are in critical condition.

To put things in perspective, New York City hospitals experienced a 50% reduction in emergency room visits last month. People aren’t only postponing minor medical procedures; operations dealing with severe illnesses such as cancer have also been delayed.

What does this mean for the future of hospitals? And what will be the long-term consequences for public health? How will patients and providers re-engage with one another in a way that feels safe and secure?

To find out, Daniel Zahler, Founder and CEO of Los Angeles-based Picasso Health, interviewed six doctors about how COVID-19 has impacted their medical practices. He also delved into how these physicians are re-engaging patients by adopting new safety protocols and transitioning to improve healthcare delivery models.

One such promising delivery model is telemedicine. Recent months have seen the usage of telehealth and remote patient monitoring skyrocket. But the pandemic has also shined a light on the technology’s current limitations in dealing with specific health conditions. To understand this better, Zahler tapped into the medical app development expertise of none other than Marc Fischer, Dogtown’s very own Co-Founder and CEO.

All of this information gathered elucidates one extremely pertinent insight: The healthcare systems of tomorrow may look very different from what we have today as a result of the coronavirus. Learn more in Zahler’s full article.

If you can dream it, we can build it. Since Dogtown Media first opened its doors in 2011, we’ve striven every day to hold true to that motto. We’ve poured our blood, sweat, and code into over 200 projects in an effort to turn our clients’ dreams into beautiful, unforgettable mobile products. It looks like our hard work is paying off — TopDevelopers.co recently recognized Dogtown Media as a top U.S. mobile app developer!

At Dogtown Media, we take a collaborative approach to working with our clients. We guide them from ideation to post-launch to ensure their final product is functional, durable, and solves real-world problems. Having a solid foundation of the basics is a necessity to accomplish this. But so is staying on top of the latest advancements.

Mobile apps have exploded in popularity over the past few years. Simultaneously, the art and process of mobile app development and design have evolved. To survive and thrive in this industry, it’s imperative for firms to stay on the cutting-edge of innovation. To effectively deliver solutions for business hurdles across various industries, Dogtown Media has expanded our expertise over the years to offer services in artificial intelligence (AI) app development, the Internet of Things, medical app development, and more.

We’ve come a long way since our humble beginnings, but we always try to remember one key principle: Top-quality mobile apps are the result of innovation, passion, and hard work. This award from TopDevelopers.co lets us know that we haven’t forgotten that! Have a look at our portfolio in order to get an idea of our work process.

Thanks so much to TopDevelopers.co for recognizing us! We’d also like to thank our clients, team, and community — we couldn’t have done it without you.

Who is TopDevelopers.co?

TopDevelopers.co is a widely respected directory and review platform for B2B IT service providers. They take a neutral approach in analyzing the companies. The team of analysts at TopDevelopers.co vets the companies through stringent parameters which ensure that only the most competitive firms, businesses, enterprises, and entrepreneurs are filtered through their process. This helps the service seekers in getting a ready to use pool of companies from which they can choose the appropriate firm according to their need.

Since 1982, Inc. Magazine has set out to recognize the fastest-growing private companies in America with its Inc. 5000 list. The prestigious annual guide honors the extraordinary journeys of these organizations and is a testament to their hard work. We’re excited to announce that Dogtown Media has returned to the Inc. 5000 for the third year in a row!

The Inc. 5000 has a knack for recognizing companies which go on to achieve even more meteoric success — Microsoft, Apple, Dell, and Facebook are just a few of the list’s notable alumni. To stand among their ranks is an absolute honor. When Dogtown Media first started out, it was just two guys (Marc and Rob) trying to code their app dreams into reality. Today, our mobile technology studio has been fortunate enough to innovate in revolutionary fields like mHealth and Machine Learning with leading organizations like the United Nations, Google, and Citi.

Repeatedly making the Inc. 5000 is an endeavor that’s much easier said than done. “Of the tens of thousands of companies that have applied to the Inc. 5000 over the years, only a fraction have made the list more than once,” explained James Ledbetter, Inc.’s Editor in Chief. “A mere one in eight have made the list 3 times.”

We believe our sustained success can be chalked up to a few key ingredients. The passion and dedication of our app development and design team allow us to operate at the intersection of art and cutting-edge innovation. We love coming into work every day knowing that what we do is helping organizations solve their most difficult business challenges and make a positive difference in the world.

Last but not least, we also wanted to thank our clients and community for believing in us — none of this would be possible without you.

2019 is shaping up to be another hallmark year for us. We performed a live cryptocurrency hacking demonstration at SXSW. We talked with US political leaders about leveraging mobile technology to improve healthcare at AppCon 2019. We were recognized by Clutch for being a top mobile app developer in New York and California. And we joined the Cybersecurity Tech Accord to help make cyberspace a safer place.

This year so far has been busy, to say the least! Being featured on the Inc. 5000 again is certainly a crowning achievement for us. Once again, we’d like to thank our team, clients, and community for your support. We can’t wait to turn more app dreams into reality. Remember, if you can dream it, then we can build it!

Want to skip the article and go straight to the polls to support us? Vote here!

We’re excited and honored to announce that Dogtown Media & Worldwide Breast Cancer have been nominated for the “Best Apps, Mobile, and Voice: Health & Fitness” category at The 23rd Annual Webby Awards!

The Internet’s Highest Honor

The Webby Awards is an annual ceremony that recognizes superb Internet excellence. In fact, it’s hailed as the “Interner’s highest honor” by the New York Times! Established in 1996 by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), The Webbys cover the latest and greatest in websites, video, advertising, apps, mobile, social, podcasts, and games.

IADAS nominates the candidates. From there, two winners are selected in each category: The Webby Award is selected by IADAS, and The Webby People’s Voice Award is selected by the public.

The judging body of IADAS is composed of over 2,000 technology innovators and industry experts. This includes Vint Cerf, Instagram’s Head of Fashion Partnerships; Eva Chen, Director of Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society; GE CMO Linda Boff, Cathy Pearl, Google’s Head of Conversation Design; Eric Williamson, Fortnite Designer; Diane Tryneski, HBO’s Digital Chief; and many more.

This year, The Webby Awards received almost 13,000 entries from 70 countries. We’re extremely elated and grateful that we made the cut!

When Life Gives You Lemons

Dogtown Media has been nominated for Know Your Lemons, a breast health education app we built for Worldwide Breast Cancer (WBC). Since 2014, WBC’s Know Your Lemons campaign has educated over half a billion people in 20 languages across 90 countries.

We wanted to expand on this monumental success and make these education efforts more accessible through an easy-to-use digital product that people could use to learn how to self-exam, learn about risk factors of breast cancer, book a mammogram, and feel confident in knowing what to do if something suspicious is found.

“Nominees like Dogtown Media are setting the standard for innovation and creativity on the Internet,” says Claire Graves, Executive Director of The Webby Awards. “It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the 13,000 entries we received this year.”

Vote For Us!

Because we’re in the top 5 in our category, Dogtown Media & Worldwide Breast Cancer are eligible to win a Webby People’s Voice Award. Winners will be announced on April 23rd and get to attend the star-studded ceremony on May 13th in New York City.

Besides this, they’ll also get an opportunity to participate in a Webby tradition: The famous 5-Word Acceptance Speech. Previous Webby speeches include Steve Wilhite’s educational “It’s Pronounced ‘Jif’ not ‘Gif'” and Stephen Colbert’s self-celebratory “Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.”

But to get there, we’ll need your support. Help us reach The Webby Awards and show the world that when life gives you lemons, you can make magic happen!

From now until April 18th, you can vote for us here.

Guest post courtesy of our FinTech partner, Hydrogen

Introduction

This past summer, we released our blockchain-based Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Hydro App for iOS and Android! From the project’s inception, we had several important product, design, and API decisions to make during our 4-month agile development process. The mobile team worked as a “bridge” and coordinated between our product, design, and blockchain teams, whose efforts together resulted in a successful app launch.

Using React & React Native

With an in-house team with React experience, we naturally chose the React Native solution for building a hybrid, shared platform that is written in JavaScript and builds code for both iOS and Android.

At Hydrogen, we are big fans of React because of its unidirectional, modular, and component-oriented nature that allows us to work with data in a more efficient, organized manner.

We found it helpful to make a distinction between regular components (i.e. “presentational” or “pure” components) and navigational screens (i.e. “container” or “stateful” components) when building the application piece-by-piece.

Our team separated out tasks and built individual React components, eventually bringing them together at the end of each iteration of the development cycle.

Some thoughts on React Native:

• React Native’s hot reloading feature (listens for changes in code and updates a running application without restarting) saved us much time recompiling during development.
• Developing on a shared platform helped us investigate if changes worked on iOS and not on Android, for example, and thus also helped us efficiently deploy post-release hotfixes (changes pushed to an application in production outside normal development/testing processes).
• The open source community empowered us with tools such as react-native-svg (SVG or vector-based graphics library for React Native) to enhance our development process.
• We were able to add platform-, device-, and OS-specific code to make the app look good and function well across the board.
• At times, we had to dive into native code to make build configurations and external third-party libraries work.

Thinking For Mobile

From the very beginning, we focused on the mobile nature of our 2FA, blockchain-based app. We decided to save the wallet (i.e. the keystore) and the HydroID locally on the device so that users can generate and restore their wallets via the device (using device-specific unique IDs as passwords for the lightwallet library) and their 12 seed words. We were even able to significantly reduce the loading time of the wallet creation (by ~58% on iOS and ~67% on Android) after modifying the original lightwallet.

Moreover, we honed in on smaller details to improve the user experience:

• We disabled the hardware “back” buttons on Android devices during essential steps such as wallet creation and the storing of HydroID on the blockchain.
• We dropped the keyboard when the user touches outside of the content area when entering a 2FA code.
• We added auto-scroll when displaying error messages for smaller phone screens.

Testing and Analytics

Testing on iOS and Android presented exciting challenges. We initially took advantage of the built-in simulators in Xcode and Android Studio, but soon came to realize that we needed to start testing on actual devices, especially on Android phones because of their varying screen sizes, physical availability and locations of “home” and “back” buttons, and OS versions.

As for analytics, we integrated Fabric Crashlytics (crash reporting solution with real-time analytics for iOS and Android) with react-native-fabric (React Native library for Fabric Crashlytics) to observe user growth, session time, and stability/crash rates on the app.

Continuous Improvement

While we are very excited about the official release of the app, there is still plenty of room to make the product better! So — what is the Hydrogen mobile team up to these days?

• Adding more security to the app with PIN, Touch ID/Fingerprint scanner, and facial recognition.
• Enhancing the user experience with an in-app QR code scanner, which can be used to read codes from partner websites as an alternative to typing codes in manually.
• Incorporating haptic feedback when the user shakes the phone during wallet creation.
• A small peek into the Hydro app!
  

Thanks for reading! As always, we welcome all of your thoughts, comments and feedback!

This year I started attending Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management (OPM) program. On my first day there, I didn’t know what to expect. Little did I know, this life event wasn’t only an opportunity to innovate with talented business leaders from around the world — it was a chance to step back from my day-in-day-out role at Dogtown Media, a mobile app development company, and examine my situation from a holistic perspective.

About the Program

Running a company is an all-encompassing endeavor that often leaves you with little time for personal growth. Fortunately, the folks at Harvard knew this; that’s why they established the OPM program more than 40 years ago. The program is designed to help business leaders realize their true potential.

“Through a unique and intensive learning format, OPM enables you to assess your strengths and weaknesses, identify and exploit emerging opportunities, and transform your company and your career.” According to Harvard University..

My class consisted of 160 founders and entrepreneurs from 41 different countries. Industries ranged from finance and marketing to tech, healthcare, and manufacturing. But regardless of our differences, we had one objective uniting us: to improve ourselves so we could improve our respective businesses.

Here are my 5 top takeaways from the program:

1. Cultivating Company Culture Is Crucial

Company culture can feel like a subtle aspect of your organization. But it’s integral to how your team operates. The OPM program strongly stressed the importance of examining and investing in your company culture. After all, its effects cascade through every other facet of your business.

To start this process yourself, begin with “Why?” Why is your company doing what it’s doing? Why would anyone want to join your team? Why should they care about your vision? Why do you care about your mission?

Don’t underestimate the power of “Why?” Your team is everything. The most important investment any business makes is in its people. And if you can answer “Why?” succinctly, everything else about company culture falls into place.  

Your team will understand why you exist and why you do what you do. This insight produces a vision that everyone can share. It allows you to move forward toward that vision, together.

2. Get Back to the Basics of Business

At first glance, it may seem counter-intuitive to gather business pioneers together to discuss the basic of business. But in retrospect, it makes sense — your fundamentals are your foundation. They are the building blocks for a better business.

Ask yourself, what business are you in? Who are your clients? Who are your competitors? Do you know why your clients choose you over your competitors? What about the inverse: why do you lose business to your competitors?

Digging deep into these questions yield unparalleled insight into your overall strategy. And this is the first step to making a shift to win more business. You start realizing the nuances of how your company differentiates itself and what you’re doing better or worse than competitors.

In turn, this enables you to become more customer-centric by aligning your long-term vision with the people you want to do business with. Speaking of alignment…

3. Align Your Finances With Your Vision of the Future

Is your business growing how you thought it would? Are you planning to execute a growth strategy soon, or are you content with where you’re at? And if you are intent on expanding, how will this affect pricing, cost control, cash flow, and numerous other aspects of your operations?

At the end of the day, business really isn’t all about your bottom line — it’s about how you use it to catapult yourself toward the future you envision. Ensure your strategy going forward is financially aligned with your fundamentals.

It’s not as simple as always having more cash flowing in than out. When you’re getting ready for growth, you must pay special attention to how you’re utilizing your current finances; it’s the only way to retain a great return on investment.

4. Know When to Hold on and When to Let Go

Are your duties discretely defined? Or are the lines blurred? When you’re growing a business, delegation becomes of paramount importance. Unfortunately, it’s a fact that many entrepreneurs have trouble accepting.

If you’re in charge of guiding a team towards success, you can’t be held back by the day-to-day grind. You’ve already got a vision, culture, and strategy to worry about. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Make sure you’re not biting off more than you can chew. This not only impedes progress but could actually be detrimental as well.

You’ve spent an inordinate amount of time gathering together your team. You know you’ve got the right people in the right places to make something special happen. So trust them. Empower your team to execute upon the strategy you’ve planned together.

5. You Don’t Have All the Answers. And That’s Okay.

This was my favorite insight to learn (and the hardest one to stomach). When you’re leading your business, you want to believe in yourself. You want to have all the right answers. After all, you’re often dealing with an onslaught of obstacles. So it makes sense that you’d want to trust in your abilities to handle them.

I came into the OPM program seeking answers to a plethora of questions. I wanted to learn from brilliant minds like Larry Culp, who, less than a week after the program’s end, went on to become the next CEO of General Electric.

And sure enough, I got answers. But not the ones I anticipated. As in other areas of life, business success depends on adaptability. And true adaptability begins with acceptance of the fact that you don’t have all the answers.

That’s okay. You don’t need all the answers right now. In life, we’re often faced with less-than-ideal situations where we don’t have all the information we think we need. But that doesn’t need to stop you from moving forward. You can figure out a way to move past each obstacle, no matter how insurmountable it seems. Just take it one step at a time.

Always Stay a Student

While this was my first day back to school in a while, it certainly won’t be my last. The lessons I learned at Harvard’s OPM program have given me an exceptional outlook on my role at Dogtown Media and how I can improve as a leader.

But above all else, this remains the most important insight:

Never stop learning.

At Dogtown Media, we specialize in mobile app development, grounded with expert knowledge in the internet of things, fintech, medical tech and user interface design. We are determined to take on your next project and create an app that will help your business grow.

Clutch, a company that publishes unbiased reviews of B2B companies, has featured us once again in a recent press release of top California mobile app development companies.  We’re excited to share that we have been featured highly in their directory list of the top mobile app developers in California. This honor adds to our previous recognition as a top California Mobile App Development Company on DesignRush.

Clutch’s ranking algorithm takes many pieces of information into account when displaying companies on their directory pages; the most important part of Clutch’s ranking algorithm is client reviews. To date, we have received over 20 positive reviews. Our clients aren’t shy to share their successes with Clutch:

“Dogtown Media developed a solution for a project considered impossible to do in the tech world.”

“They were extremely responsive and supportive and I never felt like I was working on anything on my own.”

“Their work has made my life easier by automating features in the app that I was doing manually.”

In addition to our feature on Clutch, we were also mentioned on their sister-site, The Manifest.  We are pleased to announce that we were listed as one of the top mobile app development companies in the world on The Manifest.

Here at Dogtown Media, we are ready to improve your business by creating vital apps that will allow your business to access your consumers at all times.  Our team will work directly with your business to assess how to stand apart from competitors as well. We look forward to taking on your next project!

Each year, Clutch publishes a press release naming the top service providers within certain industries. We’re proud to announce that Clutch has named Dogtown Media among the world’s leading mobile app developers this year.

We’ve also been listed on Clutch’s sister website, The Manifest, a B2B news website that helps buyers through the process of selecting a vendor. Manifest also ranked Dogtown as one of the top app development companies in the world.

Founded in 2011, Clutch is a Washington, D.C.-based research firm that leverages unparalleled market insight to determine the leaders across numerous industries. With unbiased case studies, industry trend analysis, and business market comparisons, Clutch’s data-driven platform allows clients to find and connect with top-tier companies who can solve difficult challenges.

Clutch’s directories adhere to this meticulous, data-centric approach; it’s organized to list the most credible firms first. Credibility is gained by attaining client testimonials and market presence. Essentially, the directories allow potential buyers and clients in need of partnerships to visualize their different options with a holistic perspective of each company.

Check out some of the reviews we’ve received so far below!

Webdam is a digital asset management software company. We re-developed their platform from the ground up. Here’s what they had to say:

“Dogtown Media’s work was a massive improvement from the previous app version and received high praise from customers… They were extremely responsive and supportive, and I never felt like I was working on anything on my own.”

We also got the opportunity to help the University of Oklahoma improve its app with more student-centric functionalities and geolocation capabilities. Here’s their feedback:

Another client required an app for the University of Oklahoma. Here’s what they had to say:

“Dogtown Media’s expert team inspires confidence throughout the project by communicating clearly from the start. They bring creative ideas to the table at a reasonable value… Their work has made my life easier by automating features in the app that I was doing manually.”

The past few weeks have been surreal for Dogtown Media. Recently, we made the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing companies in the United States for the second year in a row. Not long after, we were honored again by being included on Clutch’s list!

Both are incredible awards we couldn’t have imagined attaining when we first started developing in L.A. in 2011. We’d like to give a big thanks to Clutch, Inc., our team, clients, and community — none of this would be possible without you.

From humble beginnings as a mobile app developer in Los Angeles, we’re extremely proud of the work we’ve accomplished so far and we’re also very excited to see where the future takes us. We can’t wait to create more amazing mobile experiences for the world to enjoy.

If you have an idea but don’t know where to begin, reach out anytime — if you can dream it, we can build it!

Started in 1982, the prestigious Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing companies in the United States has become the hallmark of entrepreneurial success. The illustrious Inc. 5000 ranks privately held and independent American companies based on their percentage revenue growth over a three-year period. To many of the nation’s top entrepreneurs, inclusion on the list is a milestone, a sign that they have made it. It is the kind of recognition that can push a thriving business even further ahead.

This year, Dogtown Media is honored to return to the Inc. 5000. Ranked at #547, it is a testament to the continued commitment and dedication of our team of app developers and designers with inclusion on a list that in the past has included such tech giants as Oracle and Microsoft. Our continued growth has been fueled by our passion and dedication to the art of app development. Innovation is the bedrock of our mission as we operate at the intersection of art and code to advance technological solutions for global problems. Our agile process brings bespoke app development with diligence from concept to design, coding to launch to service the complex problems of our Enterprise and VC-backed startup clients. Our reputation continues to flourish as we deliver precise and unique technological solutions that solve some our clients’ most difficult business challenges.

2018 has been another big year for us so far. We expanded our team across two continents. We visited Berlin to present our wearable solution to NATO. We performed a live IoT device hack at SXSW. We advocated for tech-friendly policies at AppCon, engaging with the D.C. power players. We continue to rank as one of the top app developers in Los Angeles by Clutch. We launched our first in-house Healthcare product, SwiftHealth, that is actively saving lives in the field. Returning to the Inc. 5000 is a honor that demonstrates we are going in the right direction. It shows our team produces ground-breaking work that leads both the tech industry and the future of innovation for this nation.