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Category: Events

Counting down to Inverge 2008

Rick Turoczy on August 12, 2008

InvergeIn less than a month, a number of luminaries will descend upon the Rose City for Inverge 2008, a two-day opportunity to share their insights about the convergence of media platforms.

So far, the following speakers have been confirmed:

For more information on topics and timing, see the Inverge schedule.

Need more reasons to attend? Okay, you’re a tough sell, but I’m a soft touch. How about this:

Inverge brings presenters and attendees together from a variety of professions and disciplines to explore changes and opportunities presented by the increasing digitization of media, the democratization of distribution and the proliferation of connectivity into new areas. The big picture is revealed via the unique integration of disciplines at the event. The presentations are high-level, informative and conceptual, pointing the way toward the future and facilitating advanced professional development.

Still not biting? Okay, well… How about a 2-for-1 deal? That’s right. I’ve been authorized to give you a 50% discount when you register two people. That means the price per person drops to below $200. Split the cost with a friend. Give someone a ticket as a gift. Or look to scalp it on eBay.

To get your discount, simply visit the Inverge registration page and enter the code 2for1SF. That’s it. Easy!

What’s that? You don’t have anyone with whom to split this deal? Oh my. That IS a sad story. Okay, well enter the code SF and get a 25% discount. See there? Buck up, little camper. It’s all better.

Inverge 2008: the interactive convergence conference will take place Sept. 4 – 5 at the Armory in Portland’s Pearl District (128 NW 11th).

BlogHer ’09 to be held in Portland, Oregon

Rick Turoczy on August 5, 2008

Well, okay. Maybe I’m jumping the gun. But BlogHer ’09 could be held in Portland. It could be, that is, if you exercise your right to vote.

Elisa Camahort writes:

I’ve heard a lot of rumbling out there wondering where BlogHer ’09 will be. Well, just like last year, we’re going to poll the community. We included the below poll in the post-conference survey for attendees, but we want to make sure those of you who didn’t attend can also weigh in.

That’s right, the premiere event for women bloggers is asking you to help choose where BlogHer will be held in July of 2009. And I can’t think of any better spot than Portland.

Why?

  1. Portland is home to a number of phenomenal women bloggers
  2. Weather in July is pretty good
  3. Portland’s a great city for hosting these kinds of events
  4. Portland is home to a bunch of brilliant women bloggers
  5. And we’ve got some really talented women bloggers here, too

So what do you have to do to make this dream a reality? Vote! Female blogger or otherwise. Vote, and let’s see if we can bring BlogHer to the Rose City next year.

(Hat tip Jeff Martens)

Lunch 2.0 at the Art Institute of Portland

Rick Turoczy on August 3, 2008

Hot on the heels of SplashCast’s possibly haunted Lunch 2.0 announcement, comes another Lunch 2.0. I told you I had a busy Friday.

The Art Institute of Portland will be opening its doors for Lunch 2.0 on October 15, just over a week after their Fall term begins. It’s in the Pearl, right across the street from the Portland Armory.

Big thanks to Bram Pitoyo for making this happen. Did you know he is a graduate of the Art Institute, as is Lunch 2.0 veteran Gaia Borgias Brown? I’m sure there are others you follow on Twitter who will be happy to return to the hallowed halls.

OK, the skinny:

aiipdx.pngHosts:  Art Institute of Portland

Where: 1122 NW Davis, Portland, OR, 97209

When: October 15, 2008 from 12:00 to 2:00 PM

RSVP on Upcoming

Thanks to Allena Baker and Lulu Hoeller for securing a gigantic space for this Lunch 2.0. Bring your friends and colleagues and look forward to learning something new about the Art Institute, meeting some new people and seeing your old Twitter pals. Oh, and check out the exhibit on your way in or out or both.

One last programming note, I’ve spoken to a few potential hosts who were interested in September and/or October lunches. Fear not, there’s no clause in the Lunch 2.0 bylaws requiring no more than one event per month.

So, we can work around the upcoming lunches, no worries, or we can look ahead to November.

Lots of lunches coming up, so here’s the quick and dirty schedule:

SplashCast to Host Lunch 2.0, Friendly Ghosts Invited

Rick Turoczy on August 3, 2008

Last Friday I signed up two more Lunch 2.0 hosts at two very cool places in Portland.

First, SplashCast wants to show off its new(ish) office space in Old Town, and not just any building in Old Town, the old Merchant Hotel.

You know, the same building that Old Town Pizza inhabits, directly above the infamous Portland Shanghai Tunnels, the haunted one. That building.

While the Merchant’s old lobby is the home to OTP now, SplashCast is up on the third floor, presumably occupying space that once was one or two guest rooms way back in the day. Kim Ramage has done a great job fixing up the space, and she’s eager to have you all come by for some lunch. So, now the skinny:

splashcast.jpgHosts: SplashCast

Where: 226 NW Davis, 3rd Floor, Portland, OR, 97209 (we’ll have signs and spirit hosts to guide you)

When: September 17, 2008 from 12:00 to 2:00 PM

RSVP on Upcoming

The space isn’t huge, so the RSVP if you’re definitely coming. We’ll turn off the list at 60 or so; if you’re not sure, decide on that day and cruise by later. The crowd generally thins out after 1:00 PM as people head back to work.

As always, if you want to nom veggie or vegan, add a comment on the Upcoming event indicating your culinary desires.

In case you missed it, Rick is celebrating his first birthday as the Silicon Florist with a Lunch 2.0 on August 13 at CubeSpace. RSVP for that event here, and stay tuned for another Lunch 2.0 announcement for October.

Enhance your monitor tan: Summer Coders’ Social

Rick Turoczy on July 30, 2008

It’s no secret that one of the best things about Portland is the summer weather. (Although the past few days have been working at doing a pretty job of keeping that secret.) It’s also no secret that the more technically inclined spend more time absorbing rays from their respective monitors than they do from that burning orb in the sky.

So, if you’re a coder and you need something enticing to draw you away from the dull glow of your favorite machine, look no further than the Summer Coders’ Social, a language and framework agnostic gathering of Portland’s coding community, this Sunday, August 3, at Laurelhurst Park.

The first Coders Social was last December, Winter Coders Social (photos). It was the result of many of the scripting language User Groups “Taking the month off” from their regular meetings and instead “having a party”. The event was a great success so we thought we would do something this summer. Coders Summer Social is the outdoor, sunny, successor of that winter event. The goal is a very casual, geek social event. BBQ, games, and conversation.

C’mon. That code will wait for a few more hours. Why not take a few minutes this Sunday to hang out with some other coders?

Sponsor Mozilla will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, and vegetarian BBQ fare. The rest? Potluck. You’re a coder. Go build something in the kitchen, too. Beverages are your responsibility, as well.

For more infor mation on the event, see the Summer Coders’ Social wiki. To RSVP, visit the Summer Coders’ Social on Upcoming.

No such a thing as free lunch? There will be when Silicon Florist hosts Portland Lunch 2.0

Rick Turoczy on July 29, 2008

After all of this posting about Portland Lunch 2.0 and attending Portland Lunch 2.0 and acquiring Portland Lunch 2.0, it seemed only proper that I actually put my money where my mouth is. So I thought it might be nice if I actually took the dive and hosted a Portland Lunch 2.0.

And I would really, truly be honored if you had a few moments to attend.

I’m planning to hold it August 13. And CubeSpace has been kind of enough to offer up space for the event.

I’m really hoping you can make it.

Do I sound desperate? Good. Because I am.

Rest assured, I’ve got a couple of other things up my sleeve. So, hopefully, there will be a free lunch and a little bit more.

But in any case, it would be really nice to see you. I mean, we’ve been so busy this summer. And I want to make sure that you’re doing okay. Oh, and I want to have you meet some of the other folks who make Portland such a cool place for startups.

Silicon Florist turns one

One other thing? Holding this event in August is kind of special to me, because one year ago this August, I woke up at 2 AM, registered a surprisingly available URL, and started Silicon Florist.

So, this is a celebration of sorts. An anniversary. Or a birthday. Or whatever you want to call it.

It would be great to see you on August 13. Please take a moment to save the date by RSVPing on Upcoming for this get together. And soon, there will be more exciting news about what’s happening. Maybe.

Tell your friends. Everyone is welcome. Techie or not.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

P.S. If you’re a Web-based, Web-oriented, or Mobile-based startup in the Silicon Forest—whether I’ve had the opportunity to cover you or not—why not take a few moments to send a logo to siliconflorist at gmail? I’d like to see if we can’t work on getting your name out there at this event.

Reminder: Mobile Portland on the iPhone App Store

Rick Turoczy on July 28, 2008

iPhoneEveryone is still all gaga over the newest release of the Apple iPhone 3G. We can’t seem to stop talking about it.

And while 3G battery life seems to be the biggest complaint, the biggest win—without a doubt—has been the release of iPhone Apps and the Apple App Store.

And tonight at Mobile Portland, long-time Apple proponent and founding organizer of iPhoneDevCamp, Raven Zachary, will be discussing the “iPhone App Store Opportunity,” providing his insights into this new vehicle for interacting with the Apple platform and its users:

In his talk, Raven will provide a basic overview of the process of developing and distributing software for the iPhone and iPod touch, and share some key findings and metrics gathered in the two weeks since the launch of the App Store. What does the App Store mean for third party mobile developers?

The event will be held at the AboutUs offices in Portland’s Olympic Mills Commerce Center, 107 SE Washington St., Suite 520. Things get started around 6:00 PM.

For more information on the event or to RSVP, visit Mobile Portland on Upcoming. For more on the organization behind these events, visit Mobile Portland.

 

 

OSCON 2008: Beerforge III

Rick Turoczy on July 24, 2008

Wow. That just flew by, didn’t it?

OSCON 2008 will soon be wrapping up. And while there’s still a ton of good content to consume, there’s another important form of consumption that will be taking place on Thursday evening—and you’re encouraged to be there: Beerforge III.

Beerforge

Slated to begin immediately following the SourceForge Community Choice Awards (and open source tattoo unveiling extravaganza) at the Jupiter Hotel, Beerforge is designed to keep the festivities—and conversations—going.

According to Portland-based OpenSourcery’s Thomas King:

We’re coordinating with SourceForge to create a continuous party from immediately after the conference until the wee hours, at the Jupiter Hotel and Bossanova Ballroom, respectively. Transportation is free from the convention center, and it should be a blast.

A number of Silicon Forest open source types—Jive Software, Open Source Lab, OpenSourcery, and Vidoop—have pitched in to help organize and underwrite the event. Mozilla and Songbird are also sponsors.

It’s sure to be a memorable event. And in the spirit of open source, it’s open to anyone who would like to attend, OSCON participant or no.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

For more information or to RSVP, please visit Beerforge III on Upcoming.

Geek Bat signal: iPhoneDevCamp 2 Portland needs your help

Rick Turoczy on July 23, 2008

iPhoneI recently posted a link to the iPhoneDevCamp 2 Portland event (and I believe there will be another one when the ma.gnolia links post fires off). This differs from the original iPhoneDevCamp, because this time around Portland will have a satellite event so that Portland folks can participate without having to spend the cash—and the carbon—to make it to the main event down in San Francisco.

Very cool idea. And a great way to keep the community involved.

Except for one thing. Doug Coleman and Dean Martindale are reporting they’ve hit a snag:

Enthusiasm is high about an iPhone DevCamp 2 satellite event being held in Portland. However, PCC Cascade informed us today that we will not be able to use their facilities to host DevCamp 2 PDX without paying almost $1000 in security and overtime fees. Disappointing news, because plans have been in the works for weeks now and we have already announced it to the world. This leaves us without a venue to host this event that is only a week and a half away.

So, I’m throwing up a “Geek Bat signal.” If anyone has the ability to host the event or to help these smart folks find somewhere to muck around with their iPhone apps, please comment below.

Even if you can’t help, please spread the word that they need help.

For more information on the event, see iPhoneDevCamp 2 Portland on Upcoming.

[Update] Even as I compose this post, a number of folks are pitching in with possible venues, but the problem hasn’t been solved yet.

OSCON: Etelos provides a marketplace for open source apps

Rick Turoczy on July 23, 2008

Every once in a great while, I cover a company that doesn’t really “live” in Portland or the Silicon Forest. And I generally don’t do that—there are plenty of other resources that do that sort of thing far better than I—unless it has to the potential to influence what we’re trying to accomplish around here.

Etelos has that potential. And I got the chance to sit down with them at OSCON yesterday.

What’s the story? Well, Etelos provides a way of marketing and distributing open source apps for those folks who don’t have any desire to deal with marketing and sales.

Sound like someone you know? I thought it might.

And I think their marketplace idea might appeal to some of you.

The Etelos MarketplaceTM gives developers an easy place to license, distribute and support applications. The Etelos Marketplace also gives businesses a wide selection of fully customizable, on-demand business applications to license and deploy to the hosting environment of their choice.

“You take care of the code,” said Ahmad Baitalmal. “And we’ll take care of the rest.”

What’s that? Yes, yes, I hear you. “Why can’t I just do that with my current host?”

Simple answer? Instead of eschewing customization, these guys seem to thrive on it. They’re built so that every app gets exactly the environment it needs.

Let’s say you need an environment running PHP 5 with the latest Zend framework and MySQL 4.2 and you need it running with a certain amount of memory at its disposal. If you’re dealing with a traditional host, you just began a very lengthy conversation. And you just became a sysadmin instead of a developer. Not exactly where you want to be.

But with these guys, start throwing those specs at them and the response is likely “Okay.”

And you don’t have to be interested in selling your app. This may just be your distribution method.

Take for instance an idea that Justin Kistner has been discussing for some time that I like to call the “RedHat of WordPress.” The concept is based on the idea that every time you install a new WordPress blog—or every time you build a new environment for a client—you have to take an arduous journey of installing and updating every plugin you liked from your last installation. So what if—thought Justin—what if there was a “build” of WordPress that came with everything you needed and only one codebase to maintain that anyone could grab when they needed?

Etelos would be a great way to support that kind of distribution.

Or maybe you’ve built something you want to sell. Like the backbone for social mapping applications or the technology to aggregate calendars online or something.

Etelos could likely help you there too. They’d do all of the marketing and deal with the buying and selling. And all they’d take is a little cut of the revenue.

It’s an interesting concept that takes me back to the days of “shareware” distribution points like download.com and Tucows.

Back in the day, these download sites were incredibly popular place to find the latest in new and interesting software. They became destinations because of the variety of applications that they offered.

Etelos seems to have this same potential. And could serve a very similar role for open source apps.

It will be interesting to see if they can achieve that sort of notoriety. For both their company and the products they promote.

If you’re a developer who just wants to code and leave the business stuff to someone else? Etelos may be just what you needed.

For more information or to try Etelos for yourself, visit Etelos. Or if you’re at OSCON, swing by the Etelos booth to get a demo of their services.

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