--- title: 'Guest Editorial: Scott Kveton' date: '2008-03-03T10:49:57-08:00' type: post word_count: 950 char_count: 5454 tokens: 1235 categories: - '97204' - Editorial - Guest - Kveton - Oregon - Portland - SiliconForest - Startups tags: - '97204' - forest - Kveton - Oregon - Portland - silicon - 'silicon forest' - Startup --- # Guest Editorial: Scott Kveton *\[Editor’s note: Continuing the Silicon Florist’s guest editorial series, we welcome [Scott Kveton](http://twitter.com/kveton "Scott Kveton"), a well-known force-of-nature in the Portland technology community. And, as you’ll see, the de facto Chamber of Commerce for the Portland startup scene.\]* ![Made in Oregon](https://i0.wp.com/siliconflorist.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/imgmadeinoregon_crop.jpg?w=925) Image courtesy [Modified Enzyme](http://www.flickr.com/photos/modifiedenzyme/) under Creative Commons Falling in love with Portland again and again --------------------------------------------- Last week was amazing. I spent most of it with [Luke Sontag](http://luke.myvidoop.com) here in Portland, meeting with folks, spreading the good word about [Vidoop](http://vidoop.com) and generally [being](http://www.lunch20.com/2008/02/28/portland-lunch-20-launches/) in the city. Having grown up in-and-around Portland, it’s always fun to see the reaction to everything-that-is-Portland from someone who doesn’t live here. (Oh, and the weather we had last week didn’t hurt either.) I got a chance to talk a little bit about this at [Ignite Portland 2](http://youtube.com/watch?v=7QuBdD7mzts), but I’ll say it again: **This is the beginning of a fantastic renaissance period for Portland**. It’s such a vibrant, eclectic, talented and diverse city with so many things going on, that it inspires the mind and spirit around every corner you turn. Even more, I think Chris Logan had it right: it’s time for [Portland to step up and take its place](http://youtube.com/watch?v=pSNsfPUuyJQ "Time for Portland to take its place"). There has been some talk about how “if you don’t live in the Bay Area and you’re in tech, [you’re basically a wuss](http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/02/15/an-outsiders-flawed-view-of-silicon-valley/ "Outsiders' flawed view of Silicon Valley").” So be it. The very *last* thing I want is for Portland to turn into the Bay Area or Seattle. I want it to be Portland. I want other cities to be saying “wouldn’t it be great if we were more like Portland?” I simply want Portland to come into its own in tech, in the arts, sustainability, green, etc. But, how do we get to that point? Well, it takes a bunch of us, it takes some time and, ironically, the city does most of the work for you. For the past couple of years, I’ve made it a point to try to help people who are considering a move to Portland. I’ve spent countless days taking people around the city, introducing them to others in the city, and generally trying to give them a “locals’ view” of the city. Now, the tour I take folks on covers a bit of ground and I’m seeking some input on the route. A couple of places I go to: - Tour of SW waterfront area with gondola love - Sellwood district (possibly for lunch, definitely for dinner at [Saburo’s](http://www.saburos.com/) if it’s a weekday night) - SE towards 78th or so … [Marshall](http://marshallk.com "Marshall Kirkpatrick") has been kind enough to meet me more than once at the [Bipartisan Cafe](http://www.bipartisancafe.com/)… soooo PDX - Alberta or Killingsworth… I used to live at [Billy Reed’s](http://www.barflymag.com/bar/billy-reeds.html) at the turn of the century and I can’t believe how much it’s all changed since then - Pearl District for coffee ([Caffe Umbria](http://www.yelp.com/biz/caffe-umbria-portland) is amazing) or drinks (the [Vault](http://www.vault-martini.com/) or even the [Clyde Commons](http://www.acehotel.com/portland/)) - NW on 21st or 23rd… just too much to do, to eat, to see Where would you take a touring visitor to get a taste of Portland from a local’s point-of-view? Bear in mind, I’m not looking for just a tech-person view on this. I’m all about diversity here. The key to all of this, and the thing that I keep in mind at all times, is serendipity. Yeah, yeah, I know. Hard to quantify, huh? Well, I’m not the cheerleader type unless I really, really believe in it. Portland I *can* believe in. This city, the people, the places. It’s easy. If you’re not predisposed to drink the PDX Kool-aid, then you’re probably not the type of person I’d want here anyway. And, if you’ve ended up in my Inbox or with my phone number, odds are, there’s a reason. I’ll put this out there; if you have a friend or colleague that is thinking about making the move to Portland **I’ll offer up my time for coffee or even the full-fledged tour to introduce them to the city and the people I know**. It’s just the right thing to do. **And, I’d challenge you to do the same.** Again, it’s not about trying to make Portland something it’s not… it’s about embracing serendipity and helping Portland realize its potential. P.S. – first round is always on me … 🙂 *[Scott Kveton](http://kveton.com/blog/ "Scott Kveton") is a digital identity promoter, open source advocate, and Chairman of the [OpenID Foundation](http://openid.net/foundation/ "OpenID Foundation"). He has worked at Amazon, RuleSpace.com, JanRain, and MyStrands, and founded the Open Source Lab at Oregon State University. He is a regular speaker on the topic of identity and open source. Kveton currently serves as the Vice President of Open Platforms for [Vidoop](http://vidoop.com "Vidoop"), a company [he recently wooed to the Silicon Forest](http://siliconflorist.com/2008/02/05/kveton-joins-vidoop-opens-portland-office/ "Kveton joins Vidoop and opens Portland office").*