Recap of Network Redux, Webtrends Lunch 2.0

Yesterday, about 150 people gathered at Webtrends’ downtown office for a Lunch 2.0 co-hosted by Network Redux (@networkredux) and Webtrends (@webtrends).

The weather did not cooperate with tentative plans to enjoy the balcony off the Webtrends cafeteria on the 16th floor, but no one seemed to mind much. There will be other opportunities.

Tavola PDX provided the food, which was quite tasty, and the first hour was the standard Lunch 2.0 milling around and networking.

At around 1 PM, our own Rick (@turoczy) kicked off a panel consisting of Garett Stenson (@garettstenson) of Network Redux, Thomas Brenneke (@tbrenneke), of Network Redux, and Justin Kistner (@justinkistner), of Webtrends.

Alas, the mystery guest I teased earlier in the week was out sick with mono, so the panel was one short.

The discussion began with interesting facts about Webtrends and Network Redux, e.g. did you know that Thomas Brenneke bootstrapped Network Redux with his own money and continues to be the sole owner? No VC money over the company’s six-year history. Impressive.

Also, did you know that Garett is the duct tape wallet guy?

The rest of the panel was less trivia, more information, with much of the discussion revolving around Facebook (Justin’s wheelhouse) and the future of web hosting and social media.

In a bit of kismet, Richard MacManus (@rww), founder of ReadWriteWeb, just so happened to be in attendance all the way from New Zealand, and he mentions some of Justin’s thoughts in a post about social media’s prospects.

You probably know RWW as one of the largest employers of bloggers in Portland, and speaking of RWW, they will be sponsoring this week’s Beer and Blog. Richard will be attendance, presumably along with Marshall Kirkpatrick (@marshallk) and the rest of the Portland crew.

Network Redux gave away three months of free hosting to anyone interesting, and Brett Burmeister (@dieselboi) had Food Carts Portland (@pdxfoodcarts) stickers.

Overall, this was a great lunch, and if you missed it, Garret filmed the whole thing in time lapse, almost like being there.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=12628156&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1
EVENT: Lunch 2.0 June 16, 2010 from Network Redux on Vimeo.

Thanks to Webtrends and Network Redux for hosting.

Upcoming Portland Lunch 2.0s

• June 16 hosted by Webtrends and Network Redux
• July 14 hosted by JanRain

Stay tuned for another announcement for August.

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I’m always looking for hosts, so if you’re interested or know someone who might be interested in hosting a Lunch 2.0, drop a comment, hit me up on Twitter (@jkuramot), or find me at a Lunch 2.0, if you want to chat IRL.

Want to know what’s involved? Check out the how-to primer.

Big thanks to all the hosts who have hosted or plan to host Lunch 2.0. As with the majority of the tech events in Portland, sponsors make them happen. So, we humbly thank you.

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