We like to there there’s a lot you can do with SMS, so here’s an opportunity to prove us right - and make the services you use every day that much better. For the next few weeks, we’ll be offering a bounty for code, plug-ins, apps and add-ons that use Nexmo to add SMS capability to existing services.

The rules are pretty simple, and a bit flexible - we’ll announce a new service every week or so, each with its own unique twist - then award a related prize to the first few submissions that show how useful SMS can be. Judging will be based on uniqueness and usefulness - and we’ll evaluate as the roll in, so don’t drag your feet.

Current Featured Service - Meetup.com is use by many local user groups and tech meetups - as well as a host of non-technical related groups. Build something that uses Meetup and Nexmo’s API and we’ll cover your group’s Meetup dues for the next 6 months. Do a checkin with SMS? Remind your members to bring the food? Let us know what you’ve built. 

Still some open spots for Evernote - the popular platform for taking notes anywhere. Checkout the Evernote API, make something useful, creative, interesting, and we’ll upgrade you to a Pro plan. Once you’ve built your note taking, SMS blasting creation, give us all the details. If Evernote’s not your thing, keep an eye on this space for the next service, but if it is - we only have one more Pro plan left.

Next week we’ll be at php|tek, and figured that’s a great opportunity to run a PHP flavored contest. So here’s your opportunity to win a subscription to php|architect and a Kindle Fire (you know, so you can read it).

Rules are simple: build something using PHP and Nexmo. Bonus points if you throw the source code up on GitHub. 

If you need a place to start, here are two community provided client libraries: PHP Client Library, Codeigniter Client Library

And if you’re at Tek, make sure you find one of us and get your Nexmo badge. If you’re staying an extra day, join Nexmo and CloudMine for DeveloperWorkshop, a hands on session Saturday at 1871.

Submit your contest entries below, before the deadline:

When voting started for the CloudMine/Nexmo contest, some liked the simple auto-responder that uses CloudMine to store the keywords and responses. Others liked the SMS log, that stores the incoming messages on CloudMine’s platform. And the Chrome incoming SMS extension - which uses the new callback support from CloudMine - was a favorite as well. 

So it’s a good thing all of those features were found in the same submission. That’s right, InDash lets you setup a simple SMS auto-responder, forward incoming messages to your email address, reply to the messages, view message logs and stats, and have real-time notifications with a Chrome extension. 

But don’t take my word for it - there’s a full set of documentation, technical specs, as well as a demo account to play with - and if that’s not enough, you can connect it to your own account. 

InDash was created by Asim Imtiaz, and it’s no surprise that he’s cooking up some other interesting SMS products. If you want to stay in the loop, keep your eye on MeltedCube.com, or follow him on twitter. Of course it may take a bit more time now, as he’ll be beating Angry Birds on his new Galaxy Nexus for the next week or so. Too bad they don’t sync your score across all your devices using CloudMine.

And since we extended the contest an extra week, it just made sense to pick an extra winner. Nick Dima threw together Spot Seeker over the weekend to try out Nexmo and CloudMine. Adding Google and FourSquare into the mix, Spot Seeker finds a place to eat (as well as any other activity) with a simple SMS.

Now we just have to SMS ‘Where to send Nick Dima a package’ to the Spot Seeker number, and we’ll put something in the mail for him.

Congratulations Asim and Nick - and thanks to all those who participated, for the great contest submissions.

Flowers last a week or two - but a developer contest entry? Well that’s forever. At least it is for Sam Palmer, the dashing winner of our 160 Characters of Love Valentine’s Day contest. Sam - who was already familiar with Nexmo’s API - whipped up an SMS Matchmaker service for all those who just couldn’t work up the courage to ask that special someone to be their valentine.

“Welcome to the SMS matchmaker, a handy way to make a move on a secret crush without giving the game away. This form allows you to send a text message to your crush, but it won’t be delivered unless they also send you one. If that happens, both your messages are exchanged and the rest is up to you…”

Congratulations Sam, hope you enjoy your Roku XS Streaming Player (with some Amazon credit to use it) - and hope whomever you sent your SMS to sent one to you as well.

Once we started, we just couldn’t stop matching developers with prizes. William Cheung got our attention with his “Dear John” app - quite a creative combination with GitHub, and a little help from RapLeaf. While it didn’t capture our hearts, it certainly deserves a mention. Not only does it help you find the the GitHub man of your dreams, it also help you break the news to your former valentine.

Don’t take my word for it, watch the screencast. And William - even though it didn’t work out - we’re sending something your way to remember us by.

Update: Since CloudMine released some amazing stuff last week, we’re extending the contest another week to let you play with the new features. If you’ve already submitted, feel free to add/polish, if you wanted to but couldn’t make it in time - here’s your second chance.

CloudMine makes it easy for mobile developers to build a rich mobile application that syncs data across devices, communicates with external web services and transparently authenticates users - without having to build the server infrastructure or write a single line of backend code.

And you already know that Nexmo makes it easy for developers to send and receive SMS messages, and do it internationally, without having to interface with multiple aggregators, and all the while getting wholesale prices due to our direct to carrier model.

It really seems like it would be easy to build something that combines the two.

I’m sure the hardest part is going to be picking the best CloudMine/Nexmo application - it’s too bad we only have one Galaxy Nexus to give away.

So what are you waiting for - go hit up the CloudMine and Nexmo documentation, build an app, then show it off on your new Galaxy Nexus.

Contest rules follow, in JSON of course:

{
    "contest": "CloudMine Nexmo Developer Contest",
    "requirments": [
        "CloudMine API",
        "Nexmo API"
    ],
    "due": "2012-03-11T23:59:00+00:00",
    "prize": "http://www.google.com/nexus/",
    "winner": null
}

What’s more romantic than an SMS? That’s what we thought too - not much. Prove it by building something this Valentine’s Day that uses Nexmo. It can be a web site, a mobile application, or just a one time hack to express the love you have for your valentine in a most creative - okay, and a bit geeky - way. 

In addition to warm and fuzzy feelings, we’ll set one winner up with a ready-to-go date night. We’ll send a Roku 2 XS 1080p Streaming Player and an Amazon Digital Gift Card. Dinner? Well that’s up to you - but of course, you can handle dinner - right?

Want to enter? Just submit your Valentine no later than 1329696000 seconds since the epoch. Entries must be somewhat related to Valentine’s Day, and use the Nexmo API.