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Month: February 2011

Searching for a free beer in Portland? Google Hotpot can help you find one at Beer and Blog, this Friday

This Friday, Google Hotpot have one recommendation that few Portland people will be able to dismiss: visit Beer and Blog at the Green Dragon for a free beer.

In a town like Portland, where we’re a little spoiled with a selection of brewpubs and restaurants, making decisions can be difficult. Reliable recommendations—especially from people you trust—can be the key to figuring out where you want to go.

Google Hotpot, a new service that helps provide those recommendations, is being currently going through a little test drive—right here in Portland. And this Friday, the Google Hotpot folks have a recommendation that few people will be able to ignore: visit Beer and Blog at the Green Dragon for a free beer. Read More

Whereas, Portland startups are awesome: Mayor Sam Adams declares Portland Entrepreneurship Week, February 20-27, 2011

And so, to coordinate with National Entrepreneurship Week, Portland Mayor Sam Adams has declared Portland Entrepreneurship Week to be the week of February 20, 2011.

[HTML4]Now, I know you focus on the entrepreneurial stuff all the time. You’re all startuppy and stuff, day in and day out. But guess what? Not everyone recognizes the value of entrepreneurial pursuits like you. Sad. But true.

But you know what? Portland does. And so, to coordinate with National Entrepreneurship Week, Portland Mayor Sam Adams has declared Portland Entrepreneurship Week to be the week of February 20, 2011. Read More

Don’t just demo, Portland. Demolicious. (Your favorite tech demo night is back.)

If you’ve been around Portland for a while, you might recall Demolicious, a quarterly series of events hosted by Portland Web Innovators that allowed Portland startups and developers demo interesting projects on which they had been working. It was a great way to see all the random stuff happening in town.

If you’ve been around Portland for a while, you might recall Demolicious, a quarterly series of events hosted by Portland Web Innovators that allowed Portland startups and developers to demo interesting projects on which they had been working. It was a great way to see all the random stuff happening in town.

Well, as these sorts of things often do, Demolicious went on a bit of hiatus. But now? It’s back. A little bigger and a little better. Well, a little better, that is, if you apply to show Portland what you’ve been working on. Read More

Sustainable Valley: Southern Oregon is wired and ready for tech growth

Southern Oregon is no stranger to high technology innovators. Now, there’s the new Sustainable Valley initiative and the emergence of a substantial, local Angel investing group: Jefferson Grapevine.

[Editor: Turns out Portland isn’t the only city seeing a surge in tech startups. Southern Oregon has its fair share of burgeoning companies, as well. Charlie McHenry provides a firsthand account of what’s happening down south.]

Southern Oregon is no stranger to high technology innovators. The software utilities segment was practically invented in the region. Central Point Software’s “PC Tools” and Paul Mace Software’s “Mace Utilities” were the earliest players in what would become a very definable segment of the software market. During the mid-90’s, the So. Oregon chapter of the Software Association of Oregon was the state’s largest. Later, the So. Oregon Telecommunications & Technology Council became a regional business power, and influenced the statewide broadband build-out. Read More

Getting to know the Oregon chapter of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs)

One of the most pressing issues for entrepreneurs is making connection with like minded people. Be they peers, investors, or mentors and advisers. But making those connections can be difficult.

Luckily, there are any number of organizations in Portland designed to help entrepreneurs do just that. Problem is: you might not know them. That’s why I’m starting a new series. To introduce you two. And you two. And you two. Read More

How important was your K-12 education to your brave new world techie job of today?

But thinking that the technical proclivity of our region isn’t affected—and buoyed—by the kids coming up through the school systems is both myopic and dangerous. Especially when it comes to assessing the strength of our community as a tech hub, both now and in the future.

Portland tends to be a town of more imports than locals. But thinking that the technical proclivity of our region isn’t affected—and buoyed—by the kids coming up through the school systems is both myopic and dangerous. Especially when it comes to assessing the strength of our community as a tech hub, both now and in the future. And yes, I’ve ranted on the topic of K-12 education before. Read More

What if you could see through your iPhone like a heads-up display? With MegaReader you can

If you’ve spent any time walking and reading on your iPhone, you’ve got the bruises to show for it. It’s inevitable that—with your gaze focused on your device—you’ve run into a few friends, cars, and posts.

If only there were some way to see where you were going. Like if there were a camera that… hey wait a second. There is a camera. And Portland-based MegaReader came up with a really interesting way to use it. Providing a heads-up display for seeing right through what you’re reading. Read More

Want to sell that CafePress tshirt you just made to your Facebook fans? Talk to ShopIgniter

Let’s say you’re a small startup looking to make a little extra cash. Or maybe you’re the class clown looking to memorialize his latest funny quip. Where do you go? Well, you go to the site that lets more people create their own apparel and tchotchkes than anyone else: CafePress. It’s like the Internet version of iron-ons. We’ve all done it.

But getting that stuff in front of people who will actually buy it? That’s a problem. Just like discoverability in the mobile app world. Or at least it was. You see, now? You can hock your creations to people you know on Facebook—all thanks to Portland’s ShopIgniter. Read More

From AboutUs to Ziba Design: 18 awesome jobs for the technically inclined

Sure, sure. What you do is fun and all. And—let’s be honest—you kick ass. But couldn’t you use a different set of folks to impress? Sure you could. And that’s why a new job would be just the thing right about now. I mean, seriously. You owe it to yourself. And you totally deserve it. Movin’ on up and whatnot.

Well, you’re in luck. There are a whole bunch of awesome Portland (and Corvallis) tech companies interested in hiring awesome people like you. It’s, well, awesome. So why not take a look at the Silicon Florist Job Board to figure out your next potential gig? Read More