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Month: September 2008

Silicon Florist’s links arrangement for September 30

Oregon Blogs Aggregator Goes Live | Oregon Blogs

Via the ORBlogs 2.0 blog “Wow, you people move fast! I guess we should expect that if there’s a story to break, bloggers are going to be there before anyone! Yes, Virginia, there is an Oregon Blogs aggregator. But it’s time for some pause before swamping the poor fellow’s server.”

Making Clearspace look and act a little like Facebook

Gia Lyons writes “Who Cares? HR departments should, that’s who. All those Gen Y new-hires could join your company, and immediately feel comfy with your social software environment, because their homepage sort of resembles what they’re used to using already. You find recruits on Facebook, right?”

LinuxCon: The anti-OSCON? – Silicon Forest

Mike Rogoway writes “A lot remains unresolved — the venue, the exact dates, admission prices — but it’s certainly a shot in the arm for a city that had seemed to be losing some of its Linux-buffed sheen.”

Open source conference evolution, restart with LinuxCon

Jay Lyman writes “I’ve long been lucky to have some of the key open source software conferences occurring in my home town, Portland, Oreg. While I was sad to see recently that the biggest Portland open source show of all, OSCON, was moving to the Bay Area, I was encouraged this week when the Linux Foundation announced LinuxCon, to be in Portland September 2009.”

Corporate Community Trend: Focus on People at Fast Wonder Blog: Consulting, Online Communities, and Social Media

Dawn Foster writes “I was looking at the new SocialText 3.0 release this morning, which TechCrunch describes as a blend of “Facebook, Twitter and the Enterprise”, when I started thinking about a trend that I have been noticing for quite a while related to companies, communities, and community software.”

OurPDX author/reader meetup at Green Dragon Bistro & Brewpub (Wednesday October 8, 2008) – Upcoming

“Join the OurPDX authors (and help celebrate Betsy’s birthday!) at the Green Dragon. We’ll have appetizers there for all to share (although you’ll need to spring for your own beverages or full-on meals, though.)” The “Green Dragon”? Never heard of it.

(The) Startup Depression « The Jason Calacanis Weblog

Jason Calacanis writes “the goal of this post was not to spread fear, but rather inspire folks at startup companies to get focused and to save as many as possible from hitting the wall. Myself? We’ll I funded Mahalo for the long-term and while the market down turn isn’t good for anyone, we’re largely immune from it because we are building on a five year plan that we’re only 18 months into.”

SAO October Tech Pub – Dawn Foster at Renaissance on the Riverfront (Thursday October 9, 2008) – Upcoming

Corvallis gets the chance to pick Dawn Foster’s brain, thanks to the SAO.

Justin Kistner On WordPress Ecosystem: A WordCamp Portland Event Review « Link En Fuego

Bram Pitoyo writes “WordCamp Portland, the city’s first conference+unconference around the blogging platform, was happening all day Saturday (where by “all day” I mean “from 8 am to 11:45 pm,” partly thanks to Aaron Hockley’s diligence.) On the first breakout session, Justin Kistner made a presentation on setting up a WordPress backchannel ecosystem for team collaboration and work delegation.”

Scott Blomquist » Now 25% more CTO!

Scott Blomquist (recent Vidoop transplant) writes “I’m really enjoying Portland overall—I never have trouble finding interesting things to do or interesting people to talk to. I actually think I’ve become acquaintances with more techies here in 3 weeks than I managed to meet the entire time I was in Tulsa. I’m sure it’s not entirely Tulsa’s fault, but there are so many well-established and well-attended tech events here that it makes it really easy to meet lots and lots of people.”

Silicon Florist’s links arrangement for September 29

WordCamp Portland was Waaaaay better than WordCamp [Insert-your-lame-city-here] | Our PDX Network

Via OurPDX “As I recall, in the first giveaway there were two dozen unbranded oil-free hybrid cars powered by the collective kinetic energy of a crowd of mad MacBook Air keystrokers and Power User iPhone/Blackberry text messagers. In the hand-stitched organic velvet gift bags, we each received free matching his-and-her HD videocams with a gift certificate for a lifetime personal satellite uplink (and stickers!), a complimentary Herman Miller Aeron chair (and a button!), and a lifetime subscription to pre-edited versions of StrangeLoveLive. And then there was the outdoor fully-immersive multiplayer virtual reality gaming arena, but that was kind of boring unless you’re into that sort of thing.”

WORDCAMP PORTLAND

Dane Hesseldahl writes “OK… so let’s talk about what I learned this weekend at Wordcamp Portland.”

PDX #powerballVC Reaps Rewards Worthy of Wall St

Nate Angell writes “I’m pleased to report that the first ever PDX Powerball Venture Capital fund returned earnings worthy of a Wall Street investment fund. With a generous $155 in initial capital, #powerballVC returned a stunning $9 in winnings!”

Three-digit Alexa ranking

Via the AboutUs blog “On one hand it’s a little embarrassing to toot our own horn. On the other hand it’s fun to celebrate milestones! As of last Friday, AboutUs.org has a three-digit Alexa ranking (top 1000 for the first time)!”

Stopping the Social Cartography Menace

Via the WhereCamp PDX blog “A disturbing new trend is showing up among the consumer base. It has the potential to be worse than mix-tapes, worse than the VHS, indeed worse than online piracy. Consumers are taking it upon themselves to make their own maps of their own neighborhoods and their own issues. The HQ for this behavior appears to be at WhereCamp Portland in October – we need to infiltrate this event and put a stop to this kind of behavior!”

ORblogs is back! (Jack Bog’s Blog)

Jack Bogdanski writes “Or at least, somebody’s making great headway in restoring it.”

Time to find that creative spark: Ignite Portland 4 submissions are open

Ignite Portland

Well, well, well. I was just thinking about how it was almost October. And that meant that it was almost November. And that meant it was almost time for the next Ignite Portland.

And lookie what just got announced today: Ignite Portland 4 presentation submissions are now open!

If you want to share your passion with some of the most brilliant minds in Portland (and all 500 of them,) here’s your chance.

Submit An Ignite Portland 4 Talk!

We’re going to close submission at midnight on October 14, and announce the selected talk lineup on October 20.

So there you go, kids. It’s open! Get going!

I’m looking forward to seeing what you propose.

For more information on the incredible experience that is Ignite, visit the Ignite Portland site.

Like WordPress and OpenID? wp-openid 3.0 to launch at Demolicious

I’m always saying that—with companies like Vidoop and JanRain here in town—Portland is the de facto hub for the world of OpenID.

And clearly after last weekend, we’ve got a lot of love for the WordPress platform, as well.

So where better to launch the latest version of the leading OpenID plugin for WordPress—wp-openid—than Portland?

wp-openid launch

Will Norris, the lead developer of the wp-openid plugin, happens to be in town this week. And, as such, he has just announced that he will be launching wp-openid 3.0 this Wednesday at Portland Web InnovatorsDemolicious!“, the new hip spot to unveil cool new tools here in town.

What does wp-openid do?

This plugin allows verified OpenIDs to be linked to existing user accounts for use as an alternative means of authentication. Additionally, commenters may use their OpenID to assure their identity as the author of the comment and provide a framework for future OpenID-based services (reputation and trust, for example).

So, if you’re a WordPress type who’s been using OpenID or who is interested in deploying OpenID on your blog, make sure to attend Demolicious! on Wednesday night at NEMO Design. Even if you’re just OpenID curious, I’d highly encourage you to attend.

Plus, as always, there will be some other cool stuff being demoed there, as well.

For more information on the event or to RSVP, visit Portland Web Innovators Demolicious! on Upcoming. For more information on the current version of the plugin, see wp-openid in the WordPress plugins directory.

WordCamp Portland (#wordcampdx) 2008: Ironically, words escape me

WordCamp PortlandI’d love to prattle on and on about how great and amazing and inspiring WordCamp Portland 2008 was. But I can’t.

I’m simply at a loss for words.

Yes, it was that good.

And I remain ever so proud to have had the chance to sponsor and participate.

What was WordCamp Portland, you ask? Well, it was a very long day of love and learning focused on WordPress—a popular open source blogging platform and content management system. Throughout the day, more than 150 WordPress enthusiasts and soon-to-be enthusiasts shared their ideas, their problems, and their insights.

And, perhaps the most amazing thing? It was almost single-handedly willed into being by Aaron Hockley, following a conversation at Beer and Blog. And with the support of team of volunteers and sponsors, he and his team turned WordCamp Portland into a truly incredible event.

I’d love to tell you more, but honestly, I can’t really do it justice. So—as is my general wont after these types of things—I’m going to round up the stuff that other people are saying.

Let’s let them do the talking:

  • Twitter posts tagged with #wordcampdx (It was the topic on Twitter throughout the day.)
  • Flickr photos tagged with wordcampdx
  • Thank YOU (WordCamp Portland)
    “We’re wrapping things up here at WordCamp Portland, but I wanted to post a quick thank you to everyone. Thanks to our sponsors for providing cash and services that helped make this possible. A big thank you to all of our speakers, some of whom traveled quite a distance, for sharing their expertise and helping to facilitate a ton of great discussion. Thanks to all of our attendees – hopefully you learned something, and we appreciate all of your knowledge that you’ve shared.”
  • Presentations Links Roundup (WordCamp Portland)
    “Many of the WordCamp Portland presenters referenced links, information, or slides which are shared online. Here’s a roundup of pointers to the presentation information, roughly in the order presented…”
  • Liveblogging WordCamp Portland (Critical Games)
    “8:33am: We’re all set up in the main conference room at CubeSpace, bagels and coffee in hand… slide on the project points out that if you want to search on twitter or flickr or anywhere, the hashtag to look for is …. “
  • Liveblogging WordCamp PDX (Eric Stoller)
    ” The tag/hashtag for WordCamPDX (only 1 p) is wordcampdx. Aaron Hockley is kicking off the event promptly at 8:36. Very diverse group of attendees.”
  • WordCamp PDX (superfancy)
    “Anyway, the reason I attended was for information overload! And I was not disappointed in the least.”
  • WordCamp PDX! Resources and Morning Recap (Hazelnut Tech Talk)
    “Saturday morning cartoons and sleep were replaced with a hundred bloggers at CubeSpace. We woke up collectively to a series of speeches, tips, and new friends we didn’t expect.”
  • What I learned from WordCamp Portland (OurPDX)
    “Sitting in the sold out room for WordCamp Portland I was struck by just how dynamic and exciting the internet community in Portland has become. There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to write about it, doesn’t want the rest of the world to know about our little secret (but I think the secret is already out). Big things are happening here in Portland. When I say big things, I don’t mean some major Internet company is going to be opening its doors, and I don’t mean there will be some huge announcement of some grand Oregon based product. The magic of what’s happening here is that it’s a million little exciting things that all add up to a very significant and flourishing community.”
  • I survived WordCamp Portland (My Whim is Law)
    “Yesterday, I met other people who are in the business of changing lives – their own, or those of the audiences or organizations or causes they represent. I added several more people to my Twitter stream, or shared my knowledge with them (and vice versa.) My life is immeasurably richer because I blog. It’s immeasurably easier because I use WordPress.”
  • WordCamPDX Wrap-Up (Critical Games)
    “The short of it: it was a REALLY fantastic event, and I’m very glad I went (it would have been worth coming down from Seattle for were I still in Seattle, let me put it that way). As can be gathered from my previous post, there was a virtual wealth of information regarding blogging, and thats not even getting into the deluge of tweets on Twitter regarding it — at several points in the day, we were anywhere from the number one to the number three item in Twitter Trends, even beating out the political stuff the day after the debates. And the attendance was just 150 people(ish), so that should be saying something on just how much everyone was tweeting. I about doubled my Twitter Follows/Followers.”
  • #wordcampdx Changes Lives (TechnoEarthMama)
    “Today I attended the excellent conference/unconference WordCamp Portland, and was amazed.”
  • WordcamPDX (Vin Thomas)
    “If you don’t know by now, I use wordpress for this blog. I love it! It is really one of the great developments in open source web development.”
  • I learned a little something (Moody Meow)
    “Entering Wordcamp I was almost overwhelmed by the sheer number of people. They announced that they would let more people in, and I’m glad. I almost registered too late, intending on going, but trying to convince myself not to go because I wouldn’t know a soul there.”
  • chrysalis (Cami Kaos)
    “On Saturday I attended WordCamPDX which answered a lot of questions that needed answering and raised about 6,000 more that I’m looking in to. I’ll have an entire post on my experience at word camp later in the week but for now I leave you with this picture of Verso and I taken by Jane Wells.”
  • At WordCamp Portland 2008 (BoxedTofu)
    “Yes, I am a tech / blogging geek. That is why I’m spending the day in a sketchy part of Portland, listening to people talk about WordPress (an awesome blogging platform). If you’re looking to start a blog, it is what you should probably use (open source, plugins, community support, so good).”
  • Wordcamp PDX is over… time to go home (BoxedTofu)
    “Wordcamp PDX was a smash hit. I made some new friends, learned a few new blogging-related things, and saw a lot of people with iPhones. Although I dont’ have much else to say, I did want to show a couple of images.”
  • Josh’s Lifelog for 2008-09-21 (Josh Bancroft’s TinyScreenfuls)
  • Tying your tubes (Steel Bridge Rag)
    “Just joined FriendFeed. Now we’re onto LifeStream, which sends anything I do to one place. These geeks move FAST! Overload!!!!”
  • What is it about blogging platform conferences? (Develonizer)
    “I’ve been to many tech confrences, the only two that have really creep-eeed me out have been Drupalcamp and now wordcamp. I think that they evangelizm is all with good intent, and I’m not trying to be cynical, but think about it. Everyone who has payed $10, and showed up @ 840, so I think that we can assume that there is some level of love for the topic of the day, wordpress(wp).”
  • Unlucky in photo competitions, lucky in radishes (Gwyn’s Blog)
    “It was cheap, cheerful, informative & well-organised. I am proudly wearing my free T-Shirt today. More conferences should have kegs of beer available from lunch time onwards too. Talking of which, I learnt about a Portland institution called Beer and Blog with weekly Friday meetups in PDX, so I might investigate that too.”
  • At Wordcamp Portland Today (Viper007Bond)
    “13-14 hours later I’m home. What an awesome day. I’d write more, but I’m burned out and not big on word anyway. See me on Twitter as well as the #wordcampdx tag for a summary. So totally going next year.”
  • WordCamp Portland Wrapup (Thieves Like Us)
    “More than any nugget of information I got during a talk, I think the most valuable thing I took away was a general sense of what is possible to accomplish with the framework in general.”
  • Finding voice (Art Wells)
    “I went to Wordcamp Portland yesterday. Though I couldn’t stay for the whole event, and I’m far from a wordpress power user, it was still quite inspirational. I met good, positive people and saw some shining examples of people doing what they loved with good tools.”
  • WordPress Presentations from WordCamPDX (Webmonkey)
    “WordCamp wrapped up in Portland over the weekend and all signs point to it being a success. Apparently the #wordcampdx hash tag made the front page of Twitter, if that’s any indication. Perhaps a better measure is the huge list of presentation wrap-ups, including slides, notes, videos, and more.”
  • The Fairy BlogMother Lorelle (Liz Strauss)
    “On the Worldwide Day of Play, Lorelle VanFossen gave her Keynote at WordCamp Portland as the Fairy BlogMother. Amazing in every way!”

That’s what I’ve got, so far. Did I miss your post? Please, by all means, link it up below.

(Psst! If you’re among those who just couldn’t get enough WordCamp, I’ve got a little secret for you. Don’t tell anyone. Let’s just keep this between you and me. But, word around the campfire is that there may be a Portland contingent making the trip down to WordCamp Las Vegas in January, where Matt Mullenweg and Lorelle are already on the agenda. There might be a Portland-type speaking there, as well. Stay tuned!)

The OTBC Brings Lunch 2.0 to the ‘burbs

It’s official. Portland Lunch 2.0 is crossing over into the suburbs, Beaverton to be precise.

As Rick blogged back in August, the Open Technology Business Center, or fondly, the OTBC, had been searching for a new home. The search has ended, and on November 1, the OTBC will move into their new digs in the Beaverton Round.

But wait, there’s more. The OTBC will also be partnering with the Beaverton Round Executive Suites to provide office space for startups on the third floor of the Coldwell Banker building, just two quick flights of stairs to and from the OTBC business offices on the first floor. There’s an elevator too, but since the OTBC provides services to CleanTech (as well as Tech, BioTech and OpenTech), I figured I should mention the stairs first.

What does all this have to do with Lunch 2.0? Glad you asked. On January 14, 2009, the OTBC will be opening its doors to host the first Portland Lunch 2.0 chapter in the suburbs.

Here are the details:

Hosts: OTBC

Where: 12725 SW Millikan Way Beaverton, Oregon 97005, first floor of the South Office building

When: January 14, 2009 from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

RSVP on Upcoming

Did I mention the Round is on the MAX Blue Line, specifically the Beaverton Central stop? Steve Morris of the OTBC says their office is 90 feet from the station. So, if you’re in Portland, it’s only about 20 minutes from downtown. Not too shabby. You won’t have to worry about parking, you’ll get to meet some new people in the ‘burbs, possibly some people you know from Twitter.

Maybe even the elusive Josh Bancroft will make an appearance, since we’re bringing Lunch 2.0 into his neck of the woods.

I asked around at the SplashCast Lunch 2.0, and everyone seemed very positive about cross-pollinating with the suburban tech/Twitter crowd.

So, come out to Beaverton and meet some new folks, and check out the OTBC. If you’re unfamiliar with them, they help Tech, Biotech, Cleantech and Opentech startups with a variety of valuable services. Here’s their about. Interested? Drop a comment or swing by Lunch 2.0 on January 14 and find out more.

Don’t forget these upcoming Portland Lunches 2.0:

  • October 15 at the Art Institute of Portland: This space is huge, plenty of room for everyone, so bring friends and colleagues.
  • November 5 at the Eclipse Foundation
  • January 14 at OTBC in the Beaverton Round

Silicon Florist’s links arrangement for September 26

PDX #powerballVC: Fund startups using the lottery

Nate Angell writes “Based on an idea by @linuxaid, we announce the first PDX Powerball venture capitalist (#powerballVC) group. Our own Legion of Tech has been nominated as the trusted #powerballVC steward and will receive 10% of any winnings to support their awesome work to grow and nurture the local Portland community through free, educational, community-run technology events. Anyone who gives/pledges $5 no later than noon tomorrow (ie, 12pm PT Saturday 27 Sep 2008) can join the final draw and I’ll collect your contribution later if necessary. All entrants will split the winnings equally, minus LoT’s share.”

Hazelnut Tech Talk Episode 11 | On The Road With The Infovore | Hazelnut Tech Talk

Via Hazelnut Tech Talk “This episode features Troy Harlan, wherein we talked about information gathering, filtering and consuming (naturally,) human factors, trilobites, reading at 2,000 words per minute, INTP’s, striving for objectivity, The Black Swan, hunches, and why it’s better to “have no map at all than have the wrong map”—all recorded on the road from St. Johns to downtown Portland.”

Shizzow Blog · Tweaks of the Week: Nearby People on the Place Page

Via the Shizzow blog “We released a couple of new things yesterday. As always, this our way of proving that we like you and actually listen to all of that feedback you post on Get Satisfaction.”

Changing of the guard: Legion of Tech board elections announced

Legion of TechIt’s no secret that one of my favorite organizations here in town is Legion of Tech.

Even in its youth, the Legion of Tech has done an amazing job of becoming a completely philanthropic tech organization designed to serve the greater good and make more events more accessible to more people.

I can safely say that no single organization has had such a dramatic and profound impact on the Portland tech scene over the past year.

Perhaps, for that matter, ever.

The original Legion of Tech crew has done a phenomenal job of transforming the event scene around Portland. I mean, c’mon! The oversold Ignite Portlands? Startupalooza? Big-name Legion of Talks? Legion of Tech Happy Hours? And, of course, the incomparable BarCamp Portland?

The list goes on and on and on.

So it is with some trepidation and some excitement that I report that it’s time for the first Legion of Tech board and advisory committee elections.

Interested in getting more deeply involved in Portland’s tech community? Now’s your chance: the Legion of Tech elections were just announced. There are 2 different LoT positions up for grabs, involving differing levels of responsibility

I have trepidation because the founders have done such a phenomenal job. And yet, there’s definitely excitement because these folks deserve a break—and it will be interesting to see who exactly enters the fold.

So how does this whole election thing work? Well, there’s an extensive election post on the Legion of Tech blog but here’s the short story:

If you are interested in running for the Legion of Tech board or the Advisory Committee, please contact your favorite member of the existing board to request a nomination. Keep in mind that the nominations are due on November 1 for the board of directors and on December 1 for the Advisory Committee.

It’s going to be an interesting election year.

I’m excited to see where this goes. And you can be sure that I’ll keep you in the loop.

And please, if you’re interested in participating and continuing the amazing run of tech events here in Portland, by all means throw your hat into the ring.

Silicon Florist’s links arrangement for September 25

JPV PDX: Articulating KlatchPDX

J.P. Voilleque writes “I feel like we’re missing the chance to get people with different backgrounds and experiences into a room for talks about stuff that matters. Even more, I feel strongly that cool chats are at least as useful as cool talks. There’s also the potential to record these and provide some additional shoutouts to the PDX tech/creative community.”

WhereCamp PDX: bringing the electronic world into the physical

Via the WhereCamp PDX blog “I think that Wherecamp PDX may be the most important unconference in Portland this year.”

OSU’s Open Source Lab names well-connected advisers – Silicon Forest – The Oregonian – OregonLive.com

Mike Rogoway writes “Oregon State’s Open Source Lab named seven from the tech industry to form a new advisory council for the lab. Advisers are charged with helping connect the lab to open source communities and to create opportunities for OSU students.”

Brandon Philips » Linux Plumbers Conf- huge success and looking to 2009

Brandon Philips writes “Linux Plumbers Conf was a huge success due to the huge amount of effort put forth by the organizers and the great turnout of attendees. Thanks to everyone!”

Strands Social Recommender to power Web-based virtual warehouse DollarDays and its retail customers

Via the Strands blog “We are happy to announce that Strands Social Recommender™ is now powering personalized product recommendations at DollarDays, the online wholesaler and closeout company that hosts a Web-based virtual warehouse at http://www.dollardays.com.”

Thought Propulsion | iPhone & Web Apps Built About You

Bill Burcham launches Thought Propulsion. “At Thought Propulsion™ we develop joyful Web applications using whizbang technology like Ruby on Rails and Amazon Elastic Computing Cloud. Got a native iPhone app in mind? We can help with that too.”

Announcing Jama Contour v2.4: Building great software products just got a little easier.

Via the Jama Software blog “Each year in the U.S. alone, over $30 billion is wasted on failed software development projects. And, the major causes for why these projects fail consistently tie back to requirements management. Jama Software’s mission is to eliminate that failure by enabling companies to take a more collaborative, customer-driven approach to product planning and development.”

WordCamp Portland: We’re Going to Rock the House! | Our PDX Network

Betsy Richter writes “Sure, I may be speaking. Yes, I’m a sponsor (and am helping to facilitate the beer acquisition and delivery, woo-hoo!) But I have to shamelessly say that WordCamp Portland will absolutely, positively rock it.”

Coffee With An Expert- PDX Coffee Clinic at CubeSpace at CubeSpace (Monday September 29, 2008) – Upcoming

Via Upcoming “Our September 29 Coffee Clinic will focus on angel/VC fundraising. ‘Startup Expert’ Carolynn Duncan will be available to address your questions and help resolve areas where you may be stuck.”

Silicon Florist’s links arrangement for September 24

Justin Kistner – WordPress ecosystems at WordCamp Portland

Justin Kistner writes “Oh man am I looking forward to this Saturday’s WordCamp!! @ahockley and crew have really pulled together something special. Jane from WordPress will be there to give us an early look at WordPress 2.7. How sweet is that!?!”

Beer and Blog the WordCamp edition at Green Dragon Bistro & Brewpub (Friday September 26, 2008) – Upcoming

WordCamp Portland is this Saturday and we’re pre-funking at this week’s Beer and Blog!

Strange Love: all things aaron…

Via Strange Love Live “On another long crazy Friday night we had the ever distinctive Aaron Hockley over to answer questions about the upcoming Word Camp Portland. I’d suggest that you rush over to register for what’s sure to be an outstanding conference/un-conference hybrid but it’s already sold out. If you’re one of the lucky 150 registered to attend you can get some inside info on what’s going to happen.”