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Month: June 2008

Portland Start-up Index for June 2008: Some movement for the same list

It’s that time again. Techvibes has published its latest installation of the Portland Start-up Index. And while there’s a bit of jostling among the usual gang, no new companies and/or products appear on the list this time around.

The highest climber? Jama Software, followed by Iterasi. The biggest drop was Lightfleet.

So, without further ado:

  1. AboutUs
  2. Kongregate
  3. Discogs
  4. COLOURlovers
  5. Frappr (acquired by Platial)
  6. Jive Software
  7. Splashcast
  8. MyOpenID
  9. Earth Class Mail
  10. Platial
  11. Sandy
  12. Gone Raw
  13. eROI
  14. NetworthIQ (acquired by Strands)
  15. Stikkit
  16. Grabbit
  17. Active Reload
  18. Attensa
  19. GadgetTrak
  20. Walker Tracker
  21. Iterasi
  22. Pibb
  23. ChoiceA
  24. Iovation
  25. Art Face Off
  26. UrbanDrinks
  27. Rocketbook
  28. Lunarr
  29. KnitMap
  30. FreeRange
  31. WeoGeo
  32. Jama Software
  33. Goboz
  34. GoLife Mobile
  35. Picktastic
  36. MomHub
  37. fmyi
  38. Imindi
  39. GoSeeTell
  40. Kryptiq
  41. Cendix
  42. VocalNation.net
  43. Kumquat
  44. Pheedo
  45. Workplace2go
  46. Avnera
  47. Box Populi
  48. IDP Solutions
  49. Collaborative Software Initiative
  50. Lightfleet
  51. Worldwide Nest
  52. YourList
  53. Techchex

As always, this list comes with some caveats. The Techvibes index ranks Portland area tech start-up Web sites—sometimes a series of products from one company, sometimes the corporate site—based on an average of Alexa and Compete traffic rankings. And they don’t take into account widget activity.

Numbers, movement, and other details are available on the Portland Start-up Index page.

Silicon Florist’s links arrangement for June 16

Hiring a Community Manager

Dawn Foster writes “Hiring a community manager can be tricky for companies, especially ones filling this position for the first time. Last week, someone told me they wanted to hire a community manager and asked me if I could put together a few resources to help get them started. I thought it would be more useful if I turned my email to him into a blog post so others could benefit from it.”

Jive Talks: Facebook in Clearspace, create content via email, and more!

Gia Lyons writes “I haven’t blogged about how ridiculously extensible Jive Clearspace is. Or, how active the global Clearspace development community is. No need. Just check out the Clearspace Plugin Catalog, along with the discussions and ratings for each plugin to get an idea. Tell your geek friends about it.”

Nice Interview of Michael Berkley on Beet.tv

Tom Turnbull writes “Here is a good overview of what we are doing here at SplashCast filmed during our recent trip to NYC for the Advertising 2.0 conference.”

Legion of Tech Happy Hour (was BarCampMeetups) at Plan B (Thursday, June 26, 2008)

We recently realized that we’ve outgrown the Jive breakroom, and we’ve evolved away from the BarCamp Meetup name. So, we’ve renamed this monthly event to the Legion of Tech Happy Hour, and the event will now be held outside on the back patio of Plan B.

COLOURlovers: Portland site could be one of the top 50 on the Web

COLOURloversPortland-based COLOURlovers has had quite a run as of late. Nominated for a Webby twice in a row. Winning a WebVisions Web Visionary Award. And now this: COLOURlovers has been nominated as one of the top 50 sites for 2008 by Time Magazine.

Now, I was Time Magazine’s Person of the Year a couple of years back (as were you), so I know what type of notoriety this type of distinction can deliver. Why not give COLOURlovers a fighting chance?

I’m not advising you to stuff the ballot box or anything. But if you’re a fan of COLOURlovers, you should definitely take a couple of seconds to vote.

Why Portland? Amy Winkelman says “Hi Vidoop, welcome to Portland!”

[Editor: This is Portland. And this is why I love Portland. New Vidoop transplants ask a few questions, and Portland responds. And, as I read through this response, it struck me as a perfect “Why Portland?” entry. So, Portvangelist Amy Winkelman, take it away.]

I’m a friend of Rick Turoczy’s who pointed me to his Silicon Florist post about you all moving to Portland. Since I’m currently on a client work project in China, I’ll miss meeting you at Beer and Blog. However, I’m currently riding in a bus for the next three hours from Huizhou to Hong Kong and it’s a perfect opportunity to try and answer the questions you posed.

Like Rick, I’m thrilled to have another way-cool tech company come to Portland and as a native Oregonian and fanatic Portlander, I love recommending things to new folks visiting the city.

So, here goes…

Portland geographic primer

Oh, just one thing first – a quick guide to directions in town. The city is basically divided up into four quadrants (NE, SE, NW, SW) + North Portland which is sometimes referred to as NoPo. The Willamette (oh yeah, it’s pronounced “Wil-lam-it”) river is the divider between East and West, and Burnside Street is the divider between North and South. A couple of notable neighborhoods fall into the following sections:

Oh yeah, and in NW Portland the streets are alphabetical in one direction (Burnside, Couch, Davis, Everett, etc.) and numbered in the other direction so it’s super easy to get around. Since Portland is home to a couple of mapping start-ups, I’m sure you’ll figure it out. 🙂

Now, to get to the questions…

Koesmanto Bong

Is there any local friendly pick up soccer and volleyball games in Portland?

For volleyball, the schedules and availability of courts change a lot depending on time of year, so check out: http://volyplyr.brinkster.net/pv.asp and http://www.portlandvolleyball.org/

I’m not a soccer player, so I don’t know about that, sorry!

Where can I find authentic Chinese food in Portland?

In the city, you can try Fong Chong in Chinatown/Old Town. [Editor: And within walking distance of the Vidoop office, to boot!] The area is a little dicey at night, so I’d recommend going in the day. But really, most of the Chinese immigrants and families have moved out to SE 82nd (around Division St.) where it’s less expensive, so the most authentic places are up there. The biggest place and possibly the most authentic for dim sum is called Legin. It’s huge and popular (big wedding banquet spot and really busy on Sundays).

My favorite Chinese restaurant isn’t necessarily authentic, but it’s very tasty (kind of expensive though)—it’s called Sungari Pearl on NW 11th & Lovejoy in the Pearl District. [Editor: A little bit of a hike from the Vidoop offices, or a streetcar ride away.]

Is bacon the official choice of food of the city?

It is according to @verso, but I would honestly say anything that is locally farm grown, organic and/or “artisan” is generally pretty popular. Portland is also known for coffee, microbrew, and micro-distillers, wine, berries, hazelnuts and anything you can find at the farmer’s market. Oh, and you’ll see many McMenamins restaurants of different types around town, all owned by a pair of hippie brothers who renovate old spaces and put in restaurants, theaters, etc. each with its own sort of theme. They hire local artists to decorate them, McMenamins microbrew on tap and decent pub food, and the atmosphere is very Portland.

Joel Curran

Where can I find some info on some sports leagues?

Online is the best way to go here. There are tons of leagues, and most should have Web-based info, registration, etc. available. There seems to be a league or group of people who get together to play just about every sport there is (I even see croquet players and bocci ball players in my neighborhood).

Who are some of the top local bands?

[Editor: Look out. You’ve struck a chord here. Oh my. Bad pun.] Indie-rock is the most popular kind of music here. The Shins, Modest Mouse, Spoon, The Decemberists, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Quasi, The Gossip, The Dandy Warhols, Helio Sequence, Stars of Track and Field, Menomena, The Thermals and many more call Portland home. It’s a great music town.

Pink Martini is also hugely popular, but they are a totally different kind of thing… just check them out. They’re fun. Floater is also a long-time favorite local band of many.

Oh, and the jazz/blues scene is strong—Jimmy Mak’s in the Pearl District is a great place to see jazz/blues players. Curtis Salgado is sort of the king of that scene, as is Mel Brown.

What is the one place you would say is a “must-go” for my trip to Portland this weekend?

That’s a really hard question since I don’t know what you’re into. Best thing to do is to pick up a Willamette Week (best alternative paper in Portland) and check out what’s going on this weekend. Here are some other ideas:

  • If you like books (no, if you enjoy life!), you must go to Powell’s. Best bookstore on the planet. NW 10th & Burnside.
  • Saturday morning, check out the Saturday Portland Farmers’ Market in the South Park blocks (downtown by Portland State University) as that’s a good slice of Portland life, and has great food.
  • Go down to the Willamette River waterfront (Tom McCall waterfront park) and walk along the promenade.
  • Take a ride on the Portland Streetcar to the South Waterfront area and take the Portland Aerial Tram up to OHSU (hospital at the top of the hill) for a great view of the city.
  • Check out who’s playing at the Crystal Ballroom, the Doug Fir Lounge, Roseland, Wonder Ballroom, Berbati’s Pan or Jimmy Mak’s and go there for some live music and a drink. [Editor: More of Amy’s insights on venues below.]
  • Try Stumptown Coffee (various spots around the city) for amazing coffee and hipster viewing.
  • If you like to hike or just want a walk in the woods, go to Forest Park—the largest city park in the US. It’s not really a park, but a forest that has amazing trails for short, long or really long hikes. You will totally forget you’re still in the city. A good way to access it is from Washington Park and the Hoyt Arboretum which is also by the Oregon Zoo (accessible by MAX light rail).
  • If you’re a movie buff, there are tons of great theaters, from high-end fancy to down-to-earth funky. I like the pub theaters where you can order food and a beer while watching a second-run flick for only a couple of bucks—try the Mission (in NW), Laurelhurst Theater (NE) or the Bagdad (SE) [Editor: Home of Ignite Portland 3]. On the nicer side, try Fox Tower theaters (downtown) or for strictly independent or foreign flicks, check out the Living Room Theaters (downtown/NW) and Cinema 21 (NW).
  • I’d also recommend checking out Jackpot Records (downtown & SE) and Music Millennium (NE), two of the best independent music stores.
  • For art galleries, restaurants and window shopping, go to the Pearl District (if the weather is good, Jamison Square on NW 10th/11th & Johnson is filled with kids and families playing in the fountain which is fun to watch). I love walking around Northwest Portland along NW 21st & NW 23rd which has some great stores, restaurants and people watching opportunities—both neighborhoods are accessible using the Streetcar.
  • Oh, and it’s definitely a good idea to grab a donut at Voodoo Doughnut at some point—a true Portland experience (downtown, just off Burnside on SW 3rd).

And most importantly, what is the best place for some Mexican food?

Portland is not really known for its Mexican food (sad, but true), but I really really like Nuestra Cocina (SE Division St). Also try Por Que No (NoPo on Mississippi), Cha Cha Cha (NE), or for funky Tex-Mex you can go to Esparza’s just off E Burnside and 28th.

Jason Grlicky

Where is the best local place to get music gear?

Portland Music Co. is the most well-known (several stores around town).

What are your favorite venues?

My favorite is a little (smoke-free) spot called the Doug Fir Lounge that mostly features indie-rock bands (it’s on East Burnside, just over the Burnside bridge from downtown). It has a great bar and restaurant with a cool design, and is located in an up-and-coming area of town with some hip restaurants and shops.

I also really like the Crystal Ballroom, also on Burnside, but in NW/downtown Portland. It’s a lot bigger, brings in all sorts of musical acts and since it’s a McMenamins, the art/design is very Portland. It also has this awesome old-time dancefloor with springs underneath it so you bounce when you dance or pogo or sway, whatever you do. The Wonder Ballroom is another good spot for music (in North/NE).

Who wants to get together and play some board games?

I’ve seen people get together the Lucky Lab pub in SE Portland (on Hawthorne just over the Hawthorne Bridge) for board games. I’m not positive about which night—like Wednesdays maybe?—so check online. It’s a great pub, and I’ve seen all kinds of board games set up that I think you can just join in and play if there’s a seat open.

Robert Nelson aka Rob

Where should I live?

Well, are you single? Have kids? Want to buy a house or rent an apartment? Do you want to bike/walk to work? Want to spend a lot of money on rent/mortgage or only a little? All those things are pretty key (you know that, duh), but let me know what you’re looking for and I can recommend some neighborhoods for you to check out.

I’ve lived in several different kinds of places in NE, SE and NW Portland and each area has its own distinct neighborhoods with their own individual personality. I don’t know where Vidoop’s offices are going to be, but that’s definitely something to consider as well since Portland has excellent public transportation and bike routes so you may want to factor that into where you decide to live.

Where are some great places close to down/mid town to hike?

Forest Park! You will grow to love and adore it—it’s right in town, huge, gorgeous and has great, well-maintained trails. And of course right outside of the city, there are many amazing hiking, mountain biking and walking trails through forests, up/down mountains, along rivers, etc.

Sushi?

Oh, are you going to love Portland! My favorite (traditional) sushi place is in the Pearl District and called Hiroshi (after the chef). It’s a little expensive, but has the best quality fish I think. Other hot spots are Saburos (in SE/Sellwood – go early, it’s crowded), Yakuza (NE), and Masu (downtown & SE). For cheaper but still decent sushi, there are many Mio Sushi’s around town also.

Live music?

Depends on what kind of music you like, but check out who’s playing at the Crystal Ballroom, the Doug Fir Lounge, Roseland, Wonder Ballroom, Berbati’s Pan or Jimmy Mak’s which are the places I’ve gone to most often.

Places to train MMA (jiu jitsu and kickboxing)?

Sorry, no idea… [Editor: I’m hoping that Jake Kuramoto will jump in here. He may even offer to beat you up!]

Joel D. Siedenburg

Looking for a good gym…?

24 Hour Fitness is in just about every neighborhood (downtown, Pearl District, NE, etc.) which is where I go (well, sometimes…). I have some friends who really like the YMCA downtown by Portland State University. There is a Nautilus gym downtown, and some boutique gyms in NW Portland. Oh, and there are tons of yoga and Pilates studios if you’re into that sort of thing (located all over the city).

Where are some close fly-fishing spots?

Not sure, sorry about that. I know people who head down to the McKenzie River near Eugene (about 2 hours away) and I know there is awesome fly fishing on the Rogue River in southern Oregon (about 5 hours away), but I’m sure there are places closer by. A friend of mine is a fly-fishing fanatic (and local software engineering guy) so I’d be happy to do an email invitation for you and he could fill you in.

And definitely need to start looking more into housing… recommendations?

I don’t know what price range you’re looking for, but Portland’s housing prices may be a bit high in comparison to what you’re used to. Every neighborhood in Portland has its own personality and price range, and the closer-in you go toward downtown, the more expensive it is generally. Let me know what you’re looking for and I can do my best to recommend some cool neighborhoods. I also have a really good realtor I’ve used a couple of times if you need that.

Benjamin Stover

What kind of bike should I buy? A hybrid? Where’s the best place to buy one?

Since I bike around on an old busted up mountain bike on the occasions when I do bike, I’m the worst person to ask. But, there are amazing bike resources in town, including some excellent bike shops (Bike Gallery, River City Bicycles, even REI) that have super nice people who can help you. The Bicycle Transportation Alliance is a non-profit to check out—they should be a good jumping off point for bike-related questions. They’re actually a really strong force in the city to promote better bike lanes, bike safety and to make Portland even more bike-friendly.

Is there a good capoeira group in Portland? Muay thai?

I so had to look up capoeira on wikipedia. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t practitioners in Portland… [Editor: Again, recommending Jake Kuramoto—who should be at Beer and Blog—to help in this regard.]

What are the geeky niches in Portland? e.g., retro video game hobbyists? Chiptunes scene?

Portland has lots of geeky subcultures, including retro video game hobbyists (check out Ground Kontrol in Old Town [Editor: Conveniently located just below the current Vidoop office])… The city’s unofficial motto is “Keep Portland Weird” so I guarantee you that you’ll find “your people” whoever they may be.

Again, the Web is your best friend when it comes to finding them.

More questions?

I hope this helps, that you have great weather during your stay and that you enjoy Portland as much as we do. 🙂

Please feel free to drop me a note over email amywinkelman at gmail dot com or Twitter if you have any questions.

Have fun!

Amy Winkelman

Silicon Florist’s links arrangement for June 12

Beer and Blog – DiSo with Scott Kveton and Michael Richardson (Sponsored by Vidoop) at Green Dragon Bistro & Brewpub (Friday, June 13, 2008)

Justin Kistner writes “On this Friday the 13th we’re going to talk about DiSo with Scott Kveton and Michael Richardson of Vidoop. DiSo is a cool project started by Chris Messina and Steve Ivy to create a distributed social network. Vidoop is sponsoring the session and will have several of its out-of-town employees there.”

Iterasi Now Available on Firefox 3

Alex Williams writes “We launched iterasi on Firefox 3 today. Iterasi is fully compatible with Firefox 3 on Windows XP and Vista. You may add iterasi to Firefox 3 just like other extensions.”

The Five Stages Of Early Adopter Behavior

Louis Gray writes “On the Web, this process can be extremely fast. One month’s golden boy can be next month’s afterthought. One week’s addiction can be next week’s memory. For a service to succeed, it needs to attract those early adopters who can help propel a strong population, but it needs to do all it can to keep those adopters feeling like partners and mainstream users, before letting neglect fire up their egos so much that they leave you altogether. Making a successful Web service is more than writing the best code. It’s also about relationships. And while the early adopter crowd is notoriously fickle, they’re not going away all that soon.”

OSCON Drupal booth at dot org pavillion

From Drupal.org “I am arranging for a Drupalcon Booth at OSCON. Let me know if you are available to represent Drupal during the following hours.”

First Portland Google Friend Connect sighting? Mapdango may be it

Earlier today, Portland’s Marshall Kirkpatrick had a post on the first Google Friend Connect widget observed outside of captivity, in its natural habitat:

Prominent Israeli tech blogger Orli Yakuel has just installed the first Google Friend Connect widget we’ve seen yet in the wild.

Read the post. Found it interesting. Filed it away.

Then, this evening, I’m reading through my feeds and what do I see? Portland-based Mapdango has added Google Friend Connect:

Friend Connect provides a simple, effective, and fairly universal way of adding social networking features to a web site. Although Friend Connect is still in private beta, mapdango is one of the lucky sites that now includes Friend Connect functionality (it took a little cajoling) 🙂

Now, that’s exciting!

So, what’s Google Friend Connect? Well, it’s a social-networking widget. The most readily available analogy I have is “the Yahoo! MyBlogLog widget on steroids.” Or, as Google says:

Google Friend Connect lets you grow traffic by easily adding social features to your website. With just a few snippets of code, you get more people engaging more deeply with your site.

Now granted, Google Friend Connect is not without its shortcomings—or its detractors. But let’s suspend disbelief for a brief moment, disregard that silly “privacy” thing, and revel in how cool it is to see a Portland company among the very fist to get the chance to test-drive this technology.

As always, I’m very interested to see where this goes.

To try Google Friend Connect for yourself, visit Mapdango.

Vidoop Troop #1: Portland by way of Tulsa

By now, I’m sure you’ve heard that originally-Tulsa-based Vidoop is now well on its way to becoming Portland-based Vidoop. If not, let me tell you this little secret: Vidoop is moving its headquarters to Portland.

Now, Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a far cry from Portland, Oregon, on any number of fronts. Therefore, a little friendly immersion is both recommended and necessary for this burgeoning crop of soon-to-be Portvangelists.

So, Scott Kveton, the original Portvangelist, has arranged to bring members of the Vidoop team up here in waves, introducing them to Portland and the whole Portland tech scene. There are a group of them in town as we speak. And they’ll be in attendance at the Vidoop sponsored Beer & Blog, this Friday.

Hold that thought. And let’s talk about Twitter for a second.

Like many of you, I’ve been known to use Twitter from time to time. And, one of the things I’ve always appreciated most about Twitter is that I gradually get to gain some sort of insight into a person’s life before I run into them in person.

In essence, I get to meet them before I meet them.

Now, I’m excited to meet all the new talent that Vidoop is bringing into Portland. And I’m following as many of the Vidoop folks on Twitter as I can. But we’re a little short on time. So my little “getting to know you” Twitter trick won’t work.

Long story short, I’m feeling a bit behind.

And, here’s where you come in. Disguising my “self interest” as “community interest,” I asked the Vidoop troop if they would be up for answering a few questions. So I we could meet them—as it were—before meeting them.

Being good sports, a number of them obliged. (I like them already!)

And now, I present those folks to you, to meet them before you meet them. Breaking the ice, as it were.

Koesmanto Bong, Web Developer

What? I am one of the web developers at Vidoop who is in charge of the development of myVidoop. I also work on maintaining vidoop.com, confidenttechnologies.com, and blog.vidoop.com

How? I was born in Indonesia in 1982. Came to the US in 2000 and graduated with a degree in MIS in 2004. I worked for a non-profit organization for 2 years before joining Vidoop in June 2006. I have a huge crush on photography and soccer. My dad is a photographer so it runs in the family. My favorite soccer team is Manchester United. I am glad to be a part of Vidoop and what it believes in as far as the way things should go in the identity space, and definitely look forward to seeing where things are going in the near future.

Links? SoccerNet, Digg, Koesbong on Twitter

Questions about Portland?

  • Is there any local friendly pick up soccer and volleyball games in Portland?
  • Where can I find authentic Chinese food in Portland?
  • Is bacon the official choice of food of the city?

Joel Curran, Researcher – Business Development

What? My day is filled with reading tech blogs and different news sources to find info on competitors, potential partners/clients and what’s happening out in the tech community. I also do some market research and help provide information and statistics to contribute to our marketing department.

How? I graduated from Oklahoma State University with a B.A. in Public Relations in 2007. At OSU I helped manage a student-run advertising agency, worked on some non-profit PR campaigns, and worked for the athletic department/football team. I have been working at Vidoop since January. Some things that make my day are: listening to Ray Lamontagne, any sport (but college basketball is number one), Chuck Palahniuk books, meeting new people, being outdoors, a little rain, some time at the gym, an episode or two of The Office, and a good dinner and night out with friends.

Links of interest? The Office Quotes, ESPN, and Go Pokes.

Questions about Portland?

  • Where can I find some info on some sports leagues?
  • Who are some of the top local bands?
  • What is the one place you would say is a “must-go” for my trip to Portland this weekend?
  • And most importantly, what is the best place for some Mexican food?

Jason Grlicky, Web Developer

What? Web work of all sorts. Mostly keeping up with myVidoop.com and working with the plugin team. I am frequently seen grazing in areas populated by CSS & JavaScript and have been known to create little icons at the slightest provocation.

How? Raised in Oklahoma, I graduated from the University of Tulsa in ’07 with computer science and psych degrees. I joined Vidoop as an intern last August and became full-time as soon as I could. I take great joy in good design and am obsessed with games (video or otherwise) and music.

Links? Maxheadwound on MyVidoop, Maxheadwound on Twitter, Jason Grlicky

Questions about Portland?

  • Where is the best local place to get music gear?
  • What are your favorite venues?
  • Who wants to get together and play some board games?

Robert Nelson aka Rob, Business Development aka BizDev; specifically: Prospector (I like saying aka)

What? I am part of the Business Development Team, working specifically for Confident Technologies which focuses solely on bringing stronger authentication to enterprise. I support my BizDev brothers by finding new leads and building relationships with contacts/companies that we want to partner with to provide the web with stronger authentication.

How? I have a problem (or so my boss say’s, “whatever Mitch, you shut your mouth”) I tend to speak, then realize that I immediately regret what I just said, there is supposedly this thing called a “filter” that most people have and apparently I don’t have it. I am very active, if it is day light I want to be outside, I enjoy combat sports, watching and training, I train Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai kick boxing along with some wrestling and boxing as well. I like to cheat the system (for the record there is no sign that says you have to leave the theater once your movie is over, so the way I see it I am just smarter than everyone else 🙂 ..I am known to go to a movie and then whenever my movie is over sneak into another movie, then another, then another, then another, my record is 6 movies in one day, 5 soda’s 3 popcorns, 2 pickles, and of course a butterfinger…and waaaay too many bathroom breaks. One of my favorite things to do though is simple, get together with quality people and eat some quality food, in that order. I think I am addicted to sushi, our CEO said I am going to wake up one day with gills, I’m still waiting…

Links? T-Rex Vehicles, UFC, and the obligatory ConfIdent Technologies, Vidoop, and Silicon Florist

Questions about Portland?

  • Where should I live?
  • Where are some great places close to down/mid town to hike?
  • Sushi?
  • Live music?
  • Places to train MMA (jiu jitsu and kickboxing)?

Joel D. Siedenburg, Account Manager

What? Siedenburg’s core role is business development and strategic partnership procurement as well as account relations and management.

How? Born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, moved to Tulsa for college in 2000, and did commercial real estate (retail investment sales) with CB Richard Ellis. Later turned down doing an amplified level of this in London or Madrid to join Vidoop in Nov of 2006. Have never looked back!

Links? Elpais.es, elmundo.es, Lowes.com (joke, I’ve been renovating a 1928 house), Wes Anderson, Audi

Questions about Portland?

  • Looking for a good gym…?
  • Where are some close fly-fishing spots?
  • And definitely need to start looking more into housing… recommendations?

Benjamin Stover, Software Developer

What? Member of the plugin team. I currently maintain the Firefox plugin code.

How? Born in Texas, raised in Oklahoma. I’m 23 and have been working for Vidoop for about a year. My interests include video game programming, Javascript, jogging, two-stepping, beer (favorite: Pilsner Urquell) and math (or what I can remember of it). My current project is losing weight. 🙂 Lately I spend too much time reading blogs and thinking about work. I’m gay and have a wonderful boyfriend who is a
school teacher, and we volunteer together at Oklahomans for Equality.

Links? Not very interesting, I assure you 🙂 My webpage is stechz.com, but there’s nothing there right now. My twitter URL is http://twitter.com/stechz.

Questions about Portland?

  • What kind of bike should I buy? A hybrid? Where’s the best place to buy one?
  • Is there a good capoeira group in Portland? Muay thai?
  • What are the geeky niches in Portland? e.g., retro video game hobbyists? Chiptunes scene?

So now that you’ve met them, where can you meet them? Beer and Blog, my friend. Beer and Blog. Sponsored—appropriately enough—by Vidoop and featuring Scott Kveton, Michael Richardson, and DiSo.

As always, I’m sure Mr. Kistner would appreciate an RSVP on Upcoming so he knows how many to expect.

Looking forward to seeing you and the Vidoop’rs there.

And if you want to get a jump start on answering some of the questions posited above, feel free to begin sharing your Portland expertise in the comments.

Silicon Florist’s links arrangement for June 11

WebVisions 2008 in podcasts

From the WebVisions blog “The following is a selection of presentation podcasts from WebVisions 2008. You can view many of the presentation files on the WebVisions 2008 page on Slideshare.net.”

Screenshots from our private level administration area

From the Walker Tracker blog “We’re building a robust administration area for our private level administrators. I thought I’d share a few screenshots. The administrative interface has a fairly bare-bones look to it currently, but I’m excited about how far it’s come along and how powerful it is already.”

Ignite Portland Strands After Party at Imbibe (Wednesday, June 18, 2008) – Upcoming

Join Strands for the Ignite Portland after party on June 18th at Imbibe & Win a 3G iPhone. You do not need to be a Strands user to attend the party, only to win the iPhone.

Silicon Florist’s links arrangement for June 10

Strands Launches Plug-and-Play Recommendation Engine for eCommerce and Media

From the Strands blog “The Strands Social Recommender can be easily installed through the Strands API or by adding personalization widgets to a retailer’s site, and can be up and running in as little as 30 minutes. More than 100 online businesses have piloted the Strands Social Recommender, with many customers seeing a significant increase in sales.”

An Inside Look at Y Combinator

Josh Catone writes “3 year old seed fund Y Combinator has funded over 80 companies and seen a handful through to Series A round funding or successful exits. Given the amount of money that Y Combinator invests in each startup (in the order of $10-20k), it would be hard to classify their oft emulated model anything but a success. Though many of Y Combinator’s alumni have blogged about their experiences, what it’s like to be one of the few companies selected to live in Cambridge, MA or Mountain View, CA each year remains something of a mystery to anyone who hasn’t lived it.”

Calagator: Go Ahead and Search Us

Audrey Eschright writes “I’m behind on relaying code sprint updates, but as of yesterday we have something especially cool to announce: you can now search all events on Calagator. You’ll see a little search box in the upper left corner. Type in whatever you’re looking for, hit enter, and ta da! Search results.”

GadgetTrak featured on WebbAlert

Around 4:05

Concrete5 Blog » Welcome All Early Adopters to Concrete5!

From the Concrete5 blog “Before we get going, please try to keep in mind that this is a preview release. I can’t stress that enough! There are going to be issues with performance, stability, with some features, and probably some problems with browser compatibility. Still, that doesn’t mean we don’t want to hear from you; far from it!”

Kryptiq connects GreenField Health with Microsoft HealthVault

From the Kryptiq press release “GreenField Health, a nationally recognized consulting group and medical clinic in Portland, Oregon, is using Connect IQ to enable patients to exchange information between their doctor’s office and their HealthVault account. This is the first live implementation of connectivity between a clinical practice and Microsoft HealthVault.”