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Month: December 2007

MyStrands hits Times Square for New Year’s Eve

Rick Turoczy on December 28, 2007

Corvallis-based MyStrands, makers of technology for tracking and sharing tastes, will be part of the big New Year’s Eve party in Times Square with a little network called MTV.

And, while that’s not in Oregon, I’m still covering it. Call me fickle. But that’s big news.

MyStrands partyStrands will power the event:

People in Times Square will be able to use their cell phones to send messages, vote to choose music videos and answer trivia questions on MTV’s 44 ½ giant HD screen in front of the MTV Studios.

Not planning to be in Times Square for the festivities? No worries. You can follow along at home, alone, in front of your computer, like me.

(Hat tip to Marshall Kirkpatrick) 

Meet: PDX Geek Holiday Extravaganza, December 29

Rick Turoczy on December 26, 2007

Feeling a little light on holiday cheer and can’t quite wait until New Year’s Eve? You’re in luck. Because, filled with the holiday spirit, some folks have thrown together a spur-of-the-moment holiday event for all Portland-area geeks.

Join the gathering December 29 at from 6:17 until 10:03 at the McMenamins Blue Moon in Northwest Portland.

What constitutes a “geek”?

By “geek” I mean you have an iPhone or you Twitter or you attended (or plan to attend) an Ignite Portland or have a Facebook account or you’ve heard of the “Richter Scales” or even if you’re a geek and just visiting family (you guys know who you are) then you’re invited.

Sound interesting? Well, head on over to Upcoming and RSVP for the event. Oh, and as always, please feel free to spread the word.

Ignite Portland 2, update 2

Rick Turoczy on December 19, 2007

The Ignite Portland folks have just announced the release of a custom application for Ignite Portland presentation proposals. At first blush, it appears that the application will allow public viewing of all proposed presentations, ala SXSW.

The deadline for submissions is less than a month away, closing January 15, 2008. So test drive your 5-minute presentation on the family over the holidays and then submit your proposal.

Ignite Portland sets the time and place for Ignite Portland 2

Rick Turoczy on December 19, 2007

Ignite Portland, the event that focuses on the sharing of burning ideas with a lickety-split presentation format, has announced the time and place for Ignite Portland 2, the sequel.

The event is scheduled to be held February 5, 2008, at the McMenamins Bagdad Theater over in Hawthorne. [Update] Here’s the official announcement from the Ignite Portland blog.

That’s quite a venue and a lot of space to fill (double the capacity of the fire-code flirting inaugural Ignite Portland), so I hope to see you there. Filling this one to over-capacity as well.

Mark your calendars! RSVP via Upcoming.

I Want Sandy on Twitter

Rick Turoczy on December 18, 2007

That’s a statement. Not a demand.

I Want Sandy, the anthropomorphic digital assistant (whom I always cover so I have the opportunity to use the word “anthropomorphic”) from Portland-based Values of n, has expanded her available inbound communications repertoire, as it were. She is now available to take your messages and requests as @s on Twitter.

Add her as a friend. She’ll add you. And the tweets will be flying in no time.

Sandy regularly polls Twitter asking for any new direct private messages meant for her eyes only. Each message you twitter is associated with your Twitter user name and account which Sandy checks against the Twitter user name she has on file for your iwantsandy.com account.

For more, see the I Want Sandy Twitter FAQ. Or see Rael Dornfest’s comment on the newest Twitter-based I Want Sandy features.

Super Friends launch “Legion of Tech”

Rick Turoczy on December 17, 2007

While you may not realize it, a number of the exemplary Portland-based technology events—Ignite Portland, BarCamp Portland, Startupalooza, and others—have the same, very active cast of characters behind them. And now, to help facilitate the hosting and management of said events, they have opted to form an Oregon non-profit: the Legion of Tech.

This organization has two primary functions: first, we organize key community events like BarCampPortland and Ignite Portland; second, we provide resources and help to organizers of other community technology events. Specifically, the purpose of this organization is to

  • Grow and nurture the local Portland technology community through educational, not-for-profit, community-run events.
  • Make it easier for community members to organize technology events.
  • Provide resources and assistance for technology community events.

Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing these folks make this venture as successful as the events they have managed, and am eager to learn more about lending a hand in their efforts.

If you’re feeling the same way, please visit the Legion of Tech (which, as far as I know, does NOT look like a giant floating Darth Vader head. But if, by chance, it does? I’m totally going for the Bizarro role, but I would also settle for Solomon Grundy or Grodd.)

What’s that smell? Oh, Ignite Portland has started to smolder again

Rick Turoczy on December 14, 2007

Did the last one out forget to douse Ignite Portland? Because it’s starting to smolder again. And, if we’re lucky, it will be a rolling blaze in the coming months.

While details are still very slim on the where and when, I’m happy to report that planning for Ignite Portland 2 is well underway.

We won’t publish the details until we have them locked down (date, venue, how to submit presentation ideas, etc.), but we wanted to let you all know that there WILL be another Ignite soon in P-Town!

For those of us lucky enough to attend the first Ignite Portland, this is welcome news.

More details as they become available.

Ignite Portland is an event designed to facilitate the sharing of burning ideas in the Portland community—via extremely quick and compelling presentations. For more information on the concept and the recaps of the first event, visit Ignite Portland. To stay up-to-date on the latest news, subscribe to the Ignite Portland feed.

OEN says every time a bell rings an Angel looks to fund a startup

Rick Turoczy on December 12, 2007

It’s that time of year again. Yes, the time of year when I start trying to write headlines based on obscure references to classic holiday movies.

But, it’s also time for the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN) to open submissions for Angel Oregon, the annual competition that lands one lucky startup a chunk of Angel funding.

Angel Oregon 2008 is coming and it’s bigger than ever! Applications are being accepted now through Jan. 11, 2008. We invite companies to compete for $300K in investment prizes, awarded in three distinct investment tracks. A Grand Prize Winner will walk away with $150K, with two runners-up receiving $75K each [contingent on Angel Oregon hitting its recruitment goals].

Angel Oregon is a program of Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN) and is the nation’s premier matchmaking event. Angel Oregon focuses on bringing together Oregon and SW Washington’s brightest entrepreneurial talent with qualified Angel investors. Last years Angel Oregon event was perhaps the most successful ever with the top company, M-Six, walking away with $230k. For more information or to apply, visit Angel Oregon.

Cooking Up A Story goes Dutch with Ecotrust

Rick Turoczy on December 11, 2007

Portland-based Cooking Up A Story, an online show about people, food, and sustainability, has established a partnership with Ecotrust, the Portland-based nonprofit organization focusing on rebuilding the Salmon Nation along the West coast.

“Our association with Cooking Up A Story will allow us to broadcast the vital issues facing the sustainable food and agriculture community to a broader, global audience through the internet,” said Deborah Kane, vice president of Ecotrust’s Food and Farms program. “We want to engage viewers regionally and around the world in these issues by allowing them to see the faces and hear the unscripted voices of everyday people and their connections to food and sustainable living.”

Cooking Up A Story features no on-air talent, no scripted programming, and no studio environments, just authentic stories filmed in native surroundings. For more information, visit Cooking Up A Story.

(Hat tip Marshall Kirkpatrick)

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