Google has continued its push to highlight Android developers with the start of yet another new series it’s calling #IMakeApps stories. Unlike some prior developer series’ shared by the company, however, any app developer who wants to take part can, barring a few obvious exceptions. All they need to do is post to any social network with the hashtag “#IMakeApps.” The post needs to include a share of the app or game that was worked on and what role was held by the sharer in its development or creation. The post should also include an image which Google describes as best depicting who the sharer is “outside of work.” The search giant will be following those hashtags and selecting which stories to share, choosing the ones that best show the wide diversity of app developers. More to the point, the company hopes to show that developers can come from a huge variety of backgrounds, whether that’s cultural, financial, or in terms of interests and aspirations.
To that end, the first story Google has chosen to share in the series centers its attention on a visually-impaired app developer and chair restoration hobbyist from Denmark named Hans Jørgen Wiberg. The man in question was a key part of an application called Be My Eyes, which is available for Android. Development on the application began when Wiberg started going blind himself at the age of 25 while working for the Danish Blind Association as a consultant. For those who may not be aware, Be My Eyes acts as a visual assistance service for the blind over a video call and was inspired by his role with the association. According to Wiberg, it spawned from consultations with blind clients asking for advice about their indecision regarding who to call for precisely that type of assistance. That was back in 2012 and after years of work on the project, it finally launched late last year. Since then the app has gained as many as a million volunteers to help provide the service and has been spread to as many as 150 countries across 180 languages.
Google hasn’t provided any information about any upcoming highlights in the series or whether or not those will all take a video format. With more than 3.6 million apps currently available in the Google Play Store, it wouldn’t necessarily be too surprising if the company was forced to take a wider variety of approaches to sharing their stories.