Portland Oregon startups, tech, news, events, jobs, and community
Portland startup and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
Okay, okay. These are the only gigs on the Gig board, but that makes them interesting, doesn’t it? Sure it does.
Remember, if you’ve got a gig or 12 you’d like to post, feel free. Literally. Use the discount code freebie to post job openings, contract gigs, gigs you wish you had, internships, or whatever else.
If you’re like me, you’re a huge fan of the potential of OpenID. (Even though my current implementation continues to malfunction here on Silicon Florist. And that’s my fault, not OpenID.)
And while we get to chat with Scott Kveton, the Vidoop (and now ConfIdent) guys, and the JanRain folks on a regular basis, sometimes it’s nice to get to hear from some of the other leading voices in OpenID development.
That’s why I’m really excited for lunch on Monday with one of the original OpenID developers, David Recordon.
David currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the OpenID Foundation and works as the Open Platforms Tech Lead at SixApart. You may also remember him as a collaborator and editor of Brad Fitzpatrick’s “Thoughts on the Social Graph.”
And to keep this all on the up-and-up as far as Silicon Florist goes, Recordon has Portland ties, as well, having graduated from Catlin Gabel.
If you’ve got time on Monday, come on down to Huber’s for lunch to meet David, Kveton, and a number of other OpenID-o-philes. RSVPs are appreciated so that Huber’s has an idea of how many to expect.
For more information or to RSVP, see A Great Portland Geek Lunch on Upcoming.
[Editor: Due to a slight hiccup with ma.gnolia‘s autopublisher last night, some of the links meant for the “daily arrangement” didn’t quite make it through to you. This one was time sensitive, so I’m posting it manually.]
Just a reminder that today’s Beer and Blog will feature Michael Sigler, lead designer for Jive Software.
Everyone knows that a blog with no images is hell to read. We also know that many times a picture is worth a 1,000 words. As nice as all of that is, most of us are not designers. Well, Michael Sigler is going to show you some tips from the pros about how they make kick-ass images to make posts more inviting.
Rest assured, the irony is not lost on me that there is no image associated with this blog post. So I’ll be trying to make it.
As an added bonus, word is that Justin Kistner, Beer and Blog’s creator, and Sigler will be unveiling the new look and feel for Beer and Blog.
Beer and Blog begins around 4 PM at the Green Dragon. If you’re planning to attend, please RSVP for Beer and Blog on Upcoming.
I’ll have to admit that this one completely slid past me. But luckily I took the opportunity to swing by the Vidoop booth at InnoTech. At which point Kevin Fox and Michael Richardson brought me up to speed.
I blame myself.
When Scott Kveton announced he was joining Vidoop and opening a Portland office, I was pretty excited. Exciting young company. Cool technology. OpenID focus. All good things.
But I never imagined that Portland would be getting two companies out of the deal.
Meet one of Portland’s newest startups: ConfIdent Technologies, the Athena bursting from the head of Zeus spinoff, from Vidoop.
ConfIdent Technologies, a Portland, Oregon-based software technology company, has unveiled a revolutionary secure login authentication technology. RecognitionAUTHâ„¢ promises to change the face of Internet security with a new secure login solution that eliminates passwords, adding a layer of security that is more secure yet intuitive for users to understand, without requiring additional hardware.
But, just so you don’t completely hate me for missing the breaking news, I’ve got something else. I found it buried at the bottom of the Vidoop post, announcing the launch:
Both Vidoop and ConfIdent Technologies LLC will be based in Portland, Oregon.
Obviously, given my myopic view, this could easily be the most exciting part of the announcement. Portland getting a Vidoop office was great news. Portland getting to be Vidoop and ConfIdent Technologies headquarters? That’s a huge step forward for the town and the Portland startup community.
I’ll continue to track and report on this development as more information becomes available.
For more information on Vidoop’s spinoff and the technologies that fall under its purview, visit ConfIdent Technologies. For more on the parent company, visit Vidoop.
Just saw that Portland has launched its own chapter of Startup Drinks.
What’s Startup Drinks, you ask? Well, it’s another startup idea from the same folks who brought us—or more accurately will be bringing us—Startup Weekend.
A simple concept: startup culture in cities around the world gathers around a bar to have a pint and discuss what they are working on, what they need help with and what they can do for each other.
Pints and startups? I, honestly, can’t think of anything more Portland than that. Well, okay, maybe Beer and Blog.
Here’s hoping that Portland Startup Drinks will add their get-togethers to Upcoming so we can track them in the Silicon Florist Upcoming group.
Looking forward to seeing where this goes.
The first day of InnoTech Oregon 2008 is officially in the books. And from what I was able to surmise, it’s been a great event. Crowded sessions. Active discussions between the audience and the speakers. Even more active discussions in the hallways.
There’s some good energy in the crowd. And that crowd is pretty diverse. Lots of suits. And lots of tweets.
If you didn’t get a chance to make it over to the Oregon Convention Center today, bear in mind that today was the “light” day. On Thursday, there’s the keynote and the exhibit floor opens, not to mention a whole new slate of sessions.
If you get the chance, head on over.
Still not convinced? Well, here’s some of what you missed, today.
Is your InnoTech write-up missing? Add it to the comments below and I’ll be sure to add it to the list.
And, of course, be expecting a similar round-up, from me. tomorrow.
For more information on InnoTech, Thursday’s agenda, or the speakers mentioned above, please visit InnoTech Oregon.
I’m happy to report that, once again, it’s time to take a look at my favorite apples-to-oranges comparison of the Portland startup scene, the Techvibes Portland Start-up Index. For me, it’s like having birthday every single month.
The biggest surprise this month? Two-time Webby nominee COLOURlovers has debuted on the Portland Start-up Index at #4, cracking open an otherwise static Top 5. The only other new addition is the Collaborative Software Initiative at #46.
Second biggest surprise? Pheedo jumped up 25 slots. Now that’s a “mover.”
But what’s happening with the other folks? Who’s moving up? Who’s moving down? Where do we stand?
Well, let’s take a look.
For a details on the movement of each startup-list entity or to get more details on how the rankings are tabulated, visit the Techvibes Portland Start-up Index.
I just wanted to take a moment—and apparently a blog post—to thank you for reading.
Sincerely. From the bottom of my bloggy heart.
I’ve been both humbled and amazed at the number of interesting people I’ve had the opportunity to meet, the incredible products I’ve been able to see, and the sense of community I’ve been able to experience in the past months.
All thanks to a random wacky moment of inspiration and a half-hour of blog setup in the wee morning hours, last August.
Today, the Silicon Florist RSS feed has crossed the 500 subscriber mark. That’s something that I never really foresaw. And I’m completely floored.
And I know, full well, that that subscriber number is only where it is because of you. So, thank you to each and every one of you, who are doing really cool things here in the Silicon Forest.
Rest assured, no matter how tough things may seem, you’re doing stuff about which, clearly, people want to hear.
There’s something very exciting happening. And I feel very, very honored to play a role in it.
You keep up the good work. And I’ll keep doing my best to help give it the limelight it so rightly deserves.
Thank you.
