Roughly 730.5 days ago, I sat up in bed at 2 AM with an idea. Who knew it would be an idea that all but ensured I’d rarely be in bed at 2 AM ever again?
In the wee small hours of August 7, 2007, I dragged my ass out of bed, sat myself down in front of the computer, and—giving life to what seemed like a bit of a strange idea with a wacky name—registered siliconflorist.com. After some hosting setup and WordPress wrangling, I posted the first Silicon Florist post a few days later.
The concept, in my mind, was to highlight what folks in Portland were doing with tech startups. To shine a small light on developers and open source folks who were focused on building cool stuff, but who didn’t have the time to focus on promoting that stuff.
I don’t have any talent as far as development goes, but I am able to churn content fairly well. In a utopian sense, I thought of it as giving back to the community by open sourcing my marketing communications efforts. It wouldn’t be perfect, but it wouldn’t cost them anything either. And sometimes, it might have some bugs.
Out of sheer stupid luck, that crazy idea happened to fill a void. And the number of folks who swing by and read about the Portland—and at times the entire Silicon Forest—Web startup, mobile, and open source scene on a daily basis continues to floor me.
So, I’d just like to say, “Thank you.” Sincerely and seriously. It’s an honor to be allowed into your Web browser or feed reader or Twitter stream on a regular basis. And an honor to help raise the visibility of all the cool stuff you’re doing. Thanks for letting me do that.
The list of individuals who have helped, advised, and cajoled has grown far too long to repeat. But I hope that each and every one of you know how much I value your feedback, criticism, and ideas.
Again, thank you.
That said, Silicon Florist is not without its problems. Two years of working on this side project in my free time for free—and thank you to all of you who feign shock when I admit that this isn’t my full-time job—means Silicon Florist is experiencing growing pains and starting to show its inadequacies.
There’s much much more to be done. People to interview. Projects to highlight. Towns to visit. Connections to make.
At times, the blog is far too much of “the same old gang” over and over. And admittedly, I’ve still completely failed on bringing you more stories about the people making things happen. But I’ve got some ideas. And a site currently in mothballs that may help.
Again, there’s a ton to do. It’s not for wont of doing it. It’s just a matter of finding the time to get it done.
But thanks for putting up with Silicon Florist, as is. Foibles, bugs, and all. I’ll continue to try to find ways to make it better. Because quite honestly, you deserve it. And Portland deserves it.
Celebrating the second anniversary with Strange Love Live
Last year, we had a Portland Lunch 2.0 at CubeSpace to celebrate the first Silicon Florist birthday. We may still do something along those lines.
But tonight, to celebrate, the nice folks at Strange Love Live have invited me to be a guest on their exceedingly awesome podcast. We’ll chat about Silicon Florist past, some of the more popular subjects of posts, and the more popular individual posts, themselves. Who knows? We may even get into some discussions about the cockamamie ideas I have for the site. And for Portland.
As always, we’ll start broadcasting about 10-ish, tonight. So hopefully we’ll see you there, albeit virtually. If you can’t make it, you can always catch the recording—and I can tell you the boring parts to skip. (Read: When my lips are moving.)
Thank you, Portland. Thank you, Oregon. And thank you, um, you. This continues to be the most awesome serendipitous accident with which I’ve ever had the pleasure of being involved.
[HTML1]
Comments are closed.
[…] Silicon Florist is two today. What a short strange trip it’s been. […]
[…] Silicon Florist is two today. What a short strange trip it’s been. […]
[…] Silicon Florist is two today. What a short strange trip it’s been. (17) […]
[…] Silicon Florist is two today. What a short strange trip it’s been. (16) […]
Great post, Rick! And congrats on two years – that’s awesome to see.
Also, thanks for your support of our efforts in the Silicon Prairie. It’s apprecaited.
Looking forward to seeing you at SXSW.
Now that has happened amazingly fast, hasn’t it? Well done on two fantastic years of coverage and celebration of the people and passions that make Portland one of the greatest cities for visionaries.
Looking forward to seeing some of these amazing folks and brilliant offerings migrate into the Inc 500 and WSJ. We can all say, “I saw them first on Silicon Florist.”
Thank you for providing a stage for emerging talent.
Happy birthday and congratulations Rick. You’ve accomplished many amazing things with Silicon Florist. The city is so lucky to have you. Thanks for all you do.
This is one hell of a labor of love. Thank you for expanding and improving tech journalism in Oregon.
Way to go Rick!!
I’ve got plans… evil not so secret not very impressive plans. Looking forward to celebrating tonight on the show.
Congratulations Rick and the entire extended Silicon Florist Family…. I hereby propose today, 7 August, 2009, as Silicon Florist Day!! Happy Birthday.
–BMW.
Congratulations, Rick.
You’re a constant source of inspiration for me.
It resonates and stimulates. Compels action.
News that makes a difference and people stories.
You’ve got soul. A rock star. Don’t stop.
Congratulations, my friend!
I’ve never had a blog that I’ve kept active for longer than even 1 year! LOLz.
But, in all seriousness, you’re doing a great job for the Portland tech scene and for Portland in general. Much, much appreciated.
Happy birthday to Silicon Florist. Hard to believe that 2 years have passed since you started it. I remember the first tweet about it and can’t really fathom a Portland Tech landscape without it here.
Thanks so much Rick for all of your hardwork and to all of those who have contributed to SiliconFlorist.
Major congrats!
Rick,
Congratulations. Your efforts are greatly appreciated and your site is a great resource for the Silicon Forest and beyond.
Cheers,
Andres
Thanks for all you do in and for PDX, Rick – you help make this awesome place what it is and help it grown into what it can be !
Yay! You rock dude, congrats on 2 yrs!
Happy b-day to both of you! I feel like the 1st birthday was only a few months ago. Woah.
Happy birthday! Its my b-day today also 🙂