Join us in Chicago or online October 25th-28th, 2021!

  The world of events changed for everybody in 2020. Usually, every August would mark the time for our annual developers’ conference in Chicago, ClueCon, which has been around for 17 years. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, August 2020 instead brought about an experiment for the ClueCon team – we hosted ClueCon completely virtually, with almost everything that makes the conference what it is: our Coder Games hack-a-thon, networking opportunities, and the informative presentations and workshops that make the conference an educational opportunity for our community.

  ClueCon Deconstructed turned out to be a huge success, and served as a useful experience for launching SignalWire Events and the SignalWire Work platform. Since then we have greatly improved how we host virtual events. We now have an extremely skilled team that works specifically in the world of online events, and with the help of this team and a much more structured process, in February 2021 we held a mini-ClueCon to focus mainly on workshops and presentations.

  As the world slowly and hopefully changes for the better in 2021, we are looking forward to gathering together in Chicago this October at the beautiful Intercontinental Hotel on the Magnificent Mile. However, as everywhere in the world is on a different timeline in combatting the pandemic, for the first time we will be welcoming remote attendees to the party too! Using the improved platform and virtual events process we’ve built since ClueCon 2020, we’ll combine everything we know about hosting ClueCon virtually with the classic format of an in-person conference.

  The ClueCon team has already been fully vaccinated and we welcome anyone who is comfortable traveling during this time to join us on October 25-28, 2021. There will be plenty of masks and hand sanitizer available for all attendees to make sure everybody there feels comfortable and safe. The health of all the team members and attendees is our first priority, and we are only having the in-person conference as we feel it is safe to do so. That being said, we recognize it simply won’t be feasible for everyone to commit to coming to Chicago this year, and it’s difficult to know what the state of the world will look like over the next 5 months. Because of this, we’re doing everything we can to accommodate those who will be joining us virtually from anywhere in the world!

  Attendees joining us online will be able to partake in all parts of the conference – there will be screens all over the venue to allow those attending in-person to interact with those online, and you’ll even be able to join us for networking events like the classic Gigabit Reception. So grab some snacks and your favorite drink! Nothing will be off-limits to remote attendees; join us for each presentation, workshop, our Coder Games hack-a-thon, and all the networking events!

  Additionally, we will have some of our speakers with us in Chicago, and other speakers will be calling in virtually from other parts of the world. We’ll be integrating the virtual conference as best we can with the in-person conference, so you’ll still be able to interact with speakers, other guests, and the ClueCon team no matter how you choose to participate! This is our plan to slowly bring more people together during this uncertain time, and we hope you’ll join us either in Chicago or from the comfort of your own home. We’re confident that the tech we’ve built, along with the events team we’ve curated, will make this experimental hybrid event a success. 

If you want to explore Chicago and you feel comfortable doing so, we highly recommend joining us at the Intercontinental Hotel! Unfortunately, virtually we won’t be able to provide you with the tasty meals and experience of the city – so if that’s a priority for you, do consider joining us in-person!

  Over the next few months we will have more details available, including a list of speakers and a week-long schedule of the event. In the meantime, you can take advantage of early-bird pricing. Registration is open at cluecon.com/register.

  We can’t wait to see you there!

Join the FreeSWITCH team for A Very Pandemic Christmas and help raise money for Toys for Tots!

The holidays are looking a little bit different for everybody this year. Many of us are having virtual gatherings with friends and family to help keep ourselves and our loved ones safe and healthy this season. With this in mind, the FreeSWITCH team would like to cordially invite you to add our Christmas Cabaret to your holiday virtual events schedule!

You can come hang out with the team and enjoy a full-length virtual Christmas spectacle, complete with an entire lineup of performers local to Wisconsin. Singers will perform classic Christmas carols, a dance group will put on a holiday dance show, and it will all be topped off with skits and Christmas stories, all for free.

Even though the event is free of charge, we invite you to help us raise money for Toys for Tots during the show. If you have a little extra to spare this holiday season, consider attending and helping us raise funds to distribute gifts to children in need this Christmas! Donations can be made here.

This virtual event will take place on Wednesday, December 16, from 6:30PM to 8:00PM CST. We know everyone is missing live events this year, and the SignalWire live events series is as close as you can get to experiencing a live show from the comfort of your own home. Interact with the FreeSWITCH/SignalWire team, other guests, and performers, just like you would live! Skip the pre-recorded stage show for this holiday production and connect directly with the community.

You’ll be able to find the Christmas Cabaret at https://signalwire.sw.work/home. We hope to see you there!

Every year, the FreeSWITCH team hosts ClueCon, an awesome developers’ conference in Chicago. Things were a little bit different than usual in 2020, but we still had ClueCon entirely online: ClueCon Deconstructed, a free to attend, three-day-long event by developers, for developers.

ClueCon is all about community. And in August, the community showed up – ClueCon Deconstructed, our first virtual conference hosted in our own SignalWire virtual office space, was a huge success!

We are so excited to announce that on February 16th-17th, 2021, we will be hosting the first ever mini version of ClueCon online, ClueCon TGI2021! This two-day-long event will also be free and entirely online, and will include the highlights of a usual ClueCon: insightful presentations brought to you by industry experts, and educational workshops from the open source community.

Each year, the thought-provoking presentations and brilliant workshops are a major part of what make ClueCon so memorable. In the world of open source and telecom, there are so many passionate, knowledgeable professionals who have plenty to share, and we’re bringing them to you in this mini virtual version of ClueCon. From the comfort of your own home you’ll get to witness all kinds of conference-worthy presentations about telephony, WebRTC, VoIP, and more, with built-in breaks throughout the day.

ClueCon TGI2021 will NOT be replacing the usual August conference. Mark your calendars, because the full version of ClueCon, which will include other classic events like the Coder Games hack-a-thon and Dangerous Demos, will be taking place on August 2nd-5th, 2021.

Click here to register now. See you in February!

ClueCon Deconstructed will be taking place from August 4th-6th! That means now is your last chance to sign up for this unique online conference that will include free workshops, our Coder Games hack-a-thon, dangerous demos, raffles, networking, games, and insightful speaking sessions presented by industry experts.

Each year, the awesome presentations are a huge part of what make ClueCon so memorable. In the world of open source and telecom, there are so many passionate, knowledgeable professionals who have plenty to share, and we’re bringing them to you in this virtual version of ClueCon. During the afternoon on Wednesday and Thursday (August 5th-6th), you can catch a dozen half-hour long speaking sessions from brilliant, experienced developers. These speakers will also be around later to answer any questions, hang out and chat! From the comfort of your own home you’ll get to witness all kinds of conference-worthy presentations about telephony, WebRTC, VoIP, and more, with built-in breaks throughout the day.

If you’d like to see interactive demos, creative problem solving, predictions about the industry, cool tech passion projects, or you’d like to learn more about open source platforms and how to use them (such as FreeSWITCH, Janus, Kamailio, and OpenSIPS), you can read more about the 2020 speakers here. If you’re interested in the workshops that will take place during the day on Tuesday (August 4th), you can find out more about those here.

We look forward to seeing you online in August!

ClueCon Deconstructed isn’t just any online conference – not only will there be excellent speakers and workshops throughout the week, but we’re hosting networking events like no other – including our Gigabit Reception!

On Thursday afternoon, we carved out time for networking and fun. Join us August 6th starting at 4:30pm CST when we’ll be hosting a virtual version of the annual reception after a week full of presentations, demos, coder games, and raffles. The Gigabit Reception is a great way to meet your peers and get to know industry heads in a relaxed and fun atmosphere. Grab a drink or a snack and join us for games, an underground guitar jam session and the highly anticipated ClueCon Karaoke, all in a virtual format!

ClueCon Karaoke is a big event every year, and this year will be no exception. We’ve worked hard to move this part of the conference online and perfect a virtual karaoke room where you can jam out with your peers from any corner of the world. You’ll be able to sign up to sing your favorite songs and put on a show for everyone in the karaoke room! Enjoy performances by members of our team and the community. If you’re lucky, you might even witness a duet or two!

In other rooms during the reception, you’ll be able to participate in networking groups where you can chat and relax, play games with your peers, and show off your musical talent in an underground jam session where members of the community can hang out and rock out. SignalWire CEO Anthony Minessale will be there too, playing one of his guitars for the party. If you’re interested, you can have a look at the conference schedule here.

See you in August!

Even though ClueCon is looking a little different this year, 2020’s online event will include so much of what makes the conference special – including Dangerous Demos. 

Dangerous Demos are a fast paced show of hacking excellence. Everybody loves to watch demos at tech conferences, but few are brave enough to actually do them. Things can and do go wrong, and who wants to risk it?

Dangerous Demos were started in 2012 by renowned industry veteran James Body, to identify new and emerging technology that can eventually be deployed by carriers and mobile operators. This year’s Dangerous Demos will be a big part of ClueCon Deconstructed on Thursday, August 6th, from 10:00am-11:30am CST. Dangerous Demos came to ClueCon 8 years ago to have developers prove their experience and abilities by pushing the envelope of new ideas in a competitive environment, all based upon open source communications software, including FreeSWITCH. And this year will be no different – developers will still have the opportunity to do so virtually.

On Thursday morning attendees can watch the most dangerous demos, where the danger is part of the fun!  Those who demo have the chance to win one of the highly sought-after Dangerous Demos 3D laser etched trophies. Awards will be offered in several categories, and anyone who can take home a trophy can rightly class themselves as a pioneer of open source and an Original Geek. Even if you don’t want to demo yourself, we need audience members to vote, so you can kick back, relax, and watch some demos crash and burn! James Body himself will be hosting the show.

Developers interested in being part of this year’s Dangerous Demos should apply to be considered by submitting the entry form available here. If you haven’t already signed up for ClueCon Deconstructed and you’re interested in witnessing some demo disasters, register now!

Every year, the FreeSWITCH team hosts ClueCon, an awesome developers’ conference in Chicago. Things are looking a little bit different than usual, but 2020 will still have its own version of ClueCon online: ClueCon Deconstructed. It’s free to attend this three-day-long event, and many of the things that make ClueCon special will still happen in this new virtual format, which will be hosted in our very own virtual office space. Whether you’ve attended each year or this is the first time you’re hearing about it, we want to give you an idea of what to expect on August 4th-6th, because so much of what there is to love about ClueCon will still be happening, from insightful presentations and the Coder Games hack-a-thon, to Dangerous Demos and the Gigabit Reception. Not to mention we will still be offering amazing raffle prizes, like the custom engraved MacBook Pro!

The conference will officially be taking place from Tuesday-Thursday, however, on Monday, August 3rd, we will be hosting a pre-conference coffee chat from 10am-12pm CST where the team will be hanging out and answering questions. If you want to meet the team or ask us anything, you should grab a cup of coffee and join us! 

The conference will kick off on Tuesday with a day full of open source workshops you can attend for free. Pick one, a few, or all to attend: SignalWire, Janus, Kamailio, OpenSIPS, and FreeSWITCH. Each workshop will last for about an hour and will be led by industry experts. Of course, the day will include little breaks between each workshop, so if you do want to attend them all, you’ll have plenty of time to recharge. And something extra special will also be taking place overnight during our timezone – a FreeSWITCH workshop will be available at 5 am CST just for the convenience of our attendees on the other side of the world. We have both team members and attendees from all across the globe, and so we’re stepping outside of our timezone to make ClueCon Deconstructed accessible to everyone! You can check out the schedule here.

Then on Wednesday, get ready to game – we’re hosting an online version of our Coder Games hack-a-thon! There are two challenges this year, one more suited to our attendees who want to code and build their way to amazing prizes (like an Oculus Quest and a Nintendo Switch) and one for our puzzle-solvers and riddle-lovers! Our Game Theory Challenge requires you to start working now, so if you’re interested in competing for these prizes, you can read more about the challenge here. At 10am CST on Wednesday, these games will be demo’d for the enjoyment of all attendees. Then at 11am, everyone will break up into teams to participate in the Get a Clue challenge – a virtual version of the classic Clue board game. In this version, Dangerous Demos have been hacked, and you’ll have to figure out which FreeSWITCH team member committed the crime, in what room, and with what weapon! Get more details about Get a Clue here. 

ClueCon always has Dangerous Demos, and ClueCon Deconstructed is no exception. Dangerous Demos are a fast paced show of hacking excellence. Everybody loves to watch demos at tech conferences but few are brave enough to actually do them. Things can and do go wrong and who wants to risk it? On Thursday morning attendees can watch the most dangerous demos, where the danger is part of the fun!  If you’d like to participate, you can fill out a sign up form. Those who demo have the chance to win one of the highly sought-after Dangerous Demos 3D laser etched trophies. Awards will be offered in several categories, and anyone who can take home a trophy can rightly class themselves as a pioneer of open source and an Original Geek. Even if you don’t want to demo yourself, we need audience members to vote, so you can kick back, relax, and watch some demos crash and burn!

The insightful presentations are one of the biggest parts of what make ClueCon so memorable, and we haven’t left those out, either. During the afternoon on Wednesday and Thursday, you can catch a dozen half-hour long speaking sessions from brilliant industry professionals. These speakers will also be around later to answer any questions, hang out and chat! You can read about the 2020 speakers here. From the comfort of your own home you’ll get to witness all kinds of conference-worthy presentations about telephony, WebRTC, VoIP, and more, with built-in breaks throughout the day.

Exciting raffle prizes, including the custom engraved MacBook Pro, will be awarded throughout the week. That’s right – it’s free to attend, AND you’ll be entered to win all kinds of prizes and swag just for showing up. Then after a week full of presentations, demos, coder games, and raffles, we carved out time for networking and fun. The Gigabit Reception is a great way to meet your peers and get to know industry heads in a relaxed and fun atmosphere. On Thursday afternoon, grab a drink or a snack and join us for games, an underground guitar jam session and the highly anticipated ClueCon Karaoke, all in a virtual format! 

If you haven’t already, you should register now! 

Every year at ClueCon, we host the Coder Games – our hack-a-thon. The Coder Games is filled with games and fun for every attendee, included with your ClueCon admission, and ClueCon Deconstructed will be no different. Whether you like to code your way to the prize or are a builder at heart, there is something for everyone. You can work as a team or go solo as you utilize the provided materials to build your creation and win prizes!

Even as we go online for this year’s ClueCon, we are still hosting two Coder Games challenges that will suit any attendee. If you’d rather code and build, you can show off your skills with our Game Theory challenge, where all you have to do is build a simple game that uses SignalWire APIs or connects to SignalWire. Then on August 5th, get ready to demo! If you’re more into puzzles and riddles, you can join us for Get a Clue, which will be an online, ClueCon version of the classic Clue board game. You can work individually or as a team to collect up to 33 clues and figure out who hacked Dangerous Demos, with what weapon, and in what room. You can read more about these two challenges by clicking here.

If you have any questions before or during the Coder Games, the whole team will be around to help. Join the ClueCon team every Friday at 10:00 am CST in the SignalWire Lounge or you can join the Slack channel.  If you need some helpful examples of how to complete the Game Theory challenge, you can have a look here.

August 5th will be a fun, laid back morning where you can hang out, enjoy demos, and exercise your brain’s puzzle-solving abilities. Not to mention, there are some AWESOME prizes for the winners – winning teams of Get a Clue will get limited edition ClueCon Deconstructed swag, and winners of Game Theory will compete to win $500 in SignalWire credit, a Nintendo Switch, or an Oculus Quest! Don’t miss out and sign up by filling out this short survey here.

See you in August!