“Meet the Team” is a new series to help you get to know your webOS Developer Relations team. It’s a friendly and fun behind-the-scenes look at the people whose main mission is to serve and champion webOS developers everywhere.
This week, we chat with someone many of you are probably familiar with – someone you might know as @adora if you’re on the Twitters… Without further ado, meet Lisa Brewster.
Q: First off, what’s your title? And what does that really mean?
I’m an App Review Manager on the Developer Relations team. I manage our app review process and support developers through the submission and publication of their apps. App review is such a critical step for developers and my goal is to use it as a touch point to add value and not just act like a gatekeeper. I keep an open line of communication with developers through all stages of the development process, which results in fewer surprises come submission time. And since I’m one of the first people to see these apps, it puts me in a great position to start generating buzz for them as soon as they launch. You could say I’m at the intersection of HP, developers, and users.
Q: I know you’ve got an interesting background in how you arrived at Palm GBU. Can you say more about that?
I was very active in the community as one of the lead organizers of preDevCamp, a one day global hackathon to kick start webOS development. I developed a great relationship with Chuq (another member of our Developer Relations team) and others at Palm (as it was known at the time), and consider myself lucky that I was able to use my community involvement as a gateway into the mobile industry.
Q: You’re obviously passionate about webOS – what do you love most about the platform and the experience?
I love the freedom. Because webOS was created on a familiar Linux stack with no barriers to entry – we have no concept of jailbreaking, we call that “logging in” – webOS is a fantastic platform for users who want to fully explore and enhance the devices they own. And because we don’t lock them out and force them to start over with every update, our homebrew community has been able to architect an ecosystem for all sorts of clever apps we could never distribute officially.
Q: Now, going back to your work with developers, what are some of the most gratifying moments or experiences you’ve had in this role?
I’m really blown away by some of the wacky gifts I’ve gotten along the way – a crocheted phone case by Alice Carback, a Bad Kitty poster from Jeremy Thomas, Angry Birds plushie from Rovio for Christmas, and more chocolate than I know what to do with!
But really, the most gratifying moments for me are when I’m able to use my connection to webOS to improve people’s lives…to help someone through a hard time or give them an opportunity they wouldn’t have otherwise had. I won’t call out anyone and embarrass them, but these people know who they are. =]
Q: Since you’ve worked with so many developers and have been involved so much in the webOS community, what do developers love about webOS? What makes them so invested in webOS?
I tell people that I don’t know how to build marketing programs, I build relationships. And because of that genuine connection, our developers have visibility and a sense of belonging they don’t get anywhere else.
Q: I don’t mean to make you blush, but you recently received a very cool honor. Care to share?
Yeah, LAPTOP Magazine named me as one of the most important women in mobile tech. I’m still pretty stunned about it.
Fun fact: A few of you may remember the developer portraits I took at the first Dev Day in Sunnyvale. The picture used in that article is the one Dieter Bohn took of me. =]
Q: What do you like to do when you’re not geeking out on webOS?
I love photography. I started out with film while I was in college, spent a few years with a Nikon DSLR, and now shoot almost exclusively with mobile devices. The best camera is the one you have with you, especially when it’s connected to the Internet and infinitely adjustable via software. One of my internal “passion projects” is to improve the camera experience on webOS.
Q: Anything else you’d like to say?
Spaz sucks, eat more butter and follow @adora on Twitter.
Why does Spaz suck?
Please, for the love of god, get a better camera app to webOS. I know us Pre- users are a lost cause, but jumpstart the Pre3!!!!
Great story. Palm has a really talented team, and Lisa is a rock star.
Once the Pre3 hits and we aren’t locked in to fixed focus, there will be reason and motivation to release better camera stuff. I know my employers will be monitoring the camera API progress.