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Category: lunch

How to Portland Lunch 2.0

While it used to be common knowledge around these parts, Portland Lunch 2.0 seems to have become a bit of an enigma. I can tell, because every time I start talking about it, folks are like “How do we even do a Portland Lunch 2.0?” Fair question. Let’s see if we can clear some of this up. For both attendees and hosts.

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The City of Portland, CivicApps and Portland Ten to Host Lunch 2.0 October 20

So, this is kind of a big deal.

I’m extremely pleased to announce that the City of Portland, specifically CivicApps (@civicapps), and Portland Ten (@portlandten) will be our hosts for Lunch 2.0 on October 20, 2010 at City Hall.

You may recall from Rick’s coverage that CivicApps is “a contest sponsored by the City of Portland designed to help stimulate and motivate the development community to mix and match all the awesome datasets—more than 100 different types—available from the City.”

Of course, you’re also likely familiar with Portland Ten, a past Lunch 2.0 host, whose mission is to grow ten Portland startups to $1 million in revenue within 18 months.

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So, can I buy you lunch today?

Well, it’s finally here: Portland Lunch 2.0, the Silicon Florist first anniversary edition. And to celebrate, I’d like to buy you lunch. But don’t tell anyone. This will just be our secret.

All that you have to do is meet me down at CubeSpace around noon. That’s it!

Now, it’s no secret that I’m not the best in front of a crowd. So I’m currently wallowing in a near-death tizzy about forgetting to thank some very important people. (And it’s just you and me. Imagine what a wreck I would be if more people decided to show up?)

So, rather than risk it, I thought I’d do what I do marginally well: write a post.

First and foremost, thank you, um, you. Thanks for reading this blog for a year. For the amazing support. And for the true feeling of community. I completely stumbled into this. And I continue to stumble—and be humbled by the amazing community we have here. I feel incredibly lucky. And, I really, really appreciate your support. Thank you.

Thank you to all of the cool side projects and companies Portland and the Silicon Forest. Thank you to each and of every one of you—geeks, bloggers, and leaders—who take a risk, try to bend technology to your will, and in the end, wind up creating some incredibly cool things about which—in my opinion—everyone should know.

I love hearing about what you’re doing. And hopefully, I’m doing a little bit to help other folks understand what all of those late hours and crazy conversations truly mean.

And I’d also like to thank some individuals:

  • Thanks to Jake Kuramoto for bringing Lunch 2.0 to Portland. Without him, I wouldn’t have this knot in my stomach right now.
  • Thanks to CubeSpace for always being the gracious host for the Portland Web tech community. Without them, we would all (and by all I mean you and me) be trying to stand in my backyard during lunch.
  • Thanks to Marshall Kirkpatrick, who has been a true mentor, a connector of dots, and a consummate promoter of the blog. I can honestly say that I’ve never received a better introduction than, “Rick follows everything going in Portland tech. And then he blogs the shit out of it.”
  • Thanks to Justin Kistner, who has truly codified a community with Beer and Blog, who has helped Silicon Florist reach a wider audience, and without whom, we’d still all be seeing that little watering-can guy in the header.
  • Thanks to Scott Kveton for his Portvangelist magic, his seemingly unshakeable belief in what this blog could be, his guest posts on Silicon Florist, and of course, for his indefatigable (that’s right, I said “indefatigable”) role in all things Open. He definitely keeps me cranking content.
  • Thanks to Mike Rogoway and Steve Woodward at The Oregonian, for the link love, the kind support, and for realizing that there is something happening here. Something that’s important. Something that deserves a wider audience.
  • Thanks to Darius Monsef, for sharing his insight, his intelligence, his scheming, and his guest posts which always lead me to wonder if my servers are actually going to be able to withstand the traffic.
  • Thanks to everyone who has ever written a guest post, thought about writing a guest post, or read a guest post here on Silicon Florist. It’s really rewarding for me to have the opportunity to share other voices and views, and it’s made this blog a much better resource because of that sharing.
  • And finally, thanks to everyone who has ever read, subscribed, commented, trackbacked, and shared articles. It is, after all, a conversation.
  • And thanks, of course, to my family and friends without whose support I’d never be able to do what I do. “I thought you were a workaholic before, but this year took you to a whole new level.”

I could go on and on and on. Literally. And hopefully each and every one of you—whom I would love to list—know who you are. I hope. I hope I do a good job of letting you know that.

And I’d like to do a better job of that in year two. Making sure that people know not only what’s happening in Portland but who is making things happen. And there’s plenty of other stuff cooking, too. Let’s see if we can’t make this thing even better, shall we?

So come on down to CubeSpace, grab some lunch, and let’s celebrate a wacky, wonderful first year of Silicon Florist. I can’t wait to see what we accomplish in year two.

And don’t forget, Shizzow will be the guest of honor, so beta accounts will be flowing like honey.

Got lunch plans? Why not have “Lunch with a VC” today?

Seems like Silicon Florist has lunch on the brain as of late. What with looking for Portland Lunch 2.0 hosts and hosting a Portland Lunch 2.0 in August. So, clearly, mentioning another lunch or two won’t hurt.

Okay, let’s do that.

If you don’t have any lunch plans today, you might want to take the opportunity to swing by CubeSpace at noon to have “Lunch with a VC.”

Come hang out with Epic Ventures to learn more about VC funding. Bring questions! We’ll have 45 min. of Q&A, then head out to lunch as a group.

Carolynn Duncan of Epic Ventures will host this first-of-many-to-come event as a way of introducing herself to the Portland startup and entrepreneurial community.

Can’t make the lunch? No worries. You can still get to know Carolynn by following her on Twitter or following her blog.

And lunch isn’t all she has in mind. There will be some other capital-related activities that she’ll be kicking off in the near future as well.

For more information or to RSVP, visit Upcoming.

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

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.

Portland Lunch 2.0 roadmap

Portland Lunch 2.0, admittedly a continually evolving work-in-progress, has quickly taken a firm hold—and sparked some interesting conversations—in the Portland tech community.

And like developing any product, even though the Portland Lunch 2.0 team (read Jake Kuramoto) hasn’t launched the latest version of their product—that version will launch on Monday—the team is already hard at work on the next version.

So, I thought it might be helpful to step into a product manager role, ever so briefly. Just so you can get the milestones and release schedule on your calendar.

Let’s take a glance at the product roadmap:

  • Portland Lunch 2.0 SP4 will be released Monday, June 30, at Wieden + Kennedy
    “On Monday June 30th, the PDX Tech/Tweeple community is cordially invited to join 50-100 W+K employees for a “blind date meets grade school birthday party” ad/tech extravaganza. It’s going to be a fun, it’s going to be quirky, and it’s going to rock RockBand style (literally).”
  • Portland Lunch 2.0 SP5 will be released Wednesday, July 16, at souk
    “The Portland Lunch 2.0 saga continues at flex term office space provider souk, once again in Old Town on July 16, 2008. We won’t stop until we have Lunch 2.0 at every, single business in Old Town.”
  • Portland Lunch 2.0 SP6 will be released…?

For more information or to RSVP, visit Upcoming for the Portland Lunch 2.0 SP4 and Portland Lunch 2.0 SP5 RSVP lists. If you’re interested in hosting SP6 or a later release, please ping Jake Kuramoto.

Portland Lunch 2.0 SP4: Code name “Wieden + Kennedy”

Update (June 10, 2008): The format for Portland Lunch 2.0 SP4 has been revised.

Details have just been released for Portland Lunch 2.0 SP4 and it’s going to be a little different than the “come one, come all” format that’s governed your attendance—or possible attendance—at the first three.

Hosted by Portland’s favorite advertising juggernaut—Wieden + Kennedy—on June 30, Portland Lunch 2.0 SP4 will come with a catch: It’s going to be a more exclusive gig, with a limited number of tickets available to those hoping to attend.

On Monday June 30th, 50-100 people are cordially invited to join 50-100 W+K employees for a “blind date meets grade school birthday party” ad/tech extravaganza. It’s going to be a fun, it’s going to be quirky, and it’s going to rock RockBand style (literally).

So how do you get behind the velvet rope? Don’t worry, gentle reader. We’ll make sure your name is on the list.

Well, if you show up on June 16, that is.

In order to get the most out of this event, we ask that you swing by the W+K lobby on June 16th (next Monday) between 6-9pm to pick up a ticket package. This package will contain information about your Lunch 2.0v4 “date”, directions/instructions, and a ticket to the event.

On June 16, I’ll hope to see you at the doors of the W+K home base in the Pearl, clamoring with the throngs hoping to get a ticket. And I swear, if you elbow me in the chops the way you did to get into the first Ignite Portland at W+K, I’m not going to be happy.

Interested in attending Portland Lunch 2.0 SP4? Well, you can RSVP on Upcoming. But as I’ve said, that’s not going to do you much good. It will, however, give you an idea of the competition against which you’ll be struggling for that coveted golden ticket to Portland Lunch 2.0 SP4.

Update: This format for Portland Lunch 2.0 has sparked some interesting discussion, starting with Aaron Hockley and continuing with Bram Pitoyo.

Portland Lunch 2.0 SP3: Vidoop, hard hats, and bacon-wrapped dates

Portland Lunch 2.0 Vidoop hard hats by Aaron HockleyContinuing its line of successful—and relatively bug-free—releases, Portland Lunch 2.0 launched its latest incarnation, last Wednesday, at Vidoop in Old Town. So I guess this one was a “security” release. Or maybe Lunch 2.0 now supports OpenID. Or something.

In any case, a well attended Portland Lunch 2.0 promises one thing for sure: lots o’ blog posts and other fodder. So, here’s your round-up.

  • Flickr photos tagged “Portland” and “Lunch 2.0
  • Portland Chapter Completes Third Iteration, Teases Fourth
    “Bacon and OpenID were the themes at yesterday afternoon’s Lunch 2.0, graciously hosted by OpenID provider Vidoop.”
  • Lunch 2.0: Portland style
    “Since the ideas of a) free lunch, and b) geeks gathered were both good ones, Lunch 2.0 became an unofficially official thing. Since then the idea has spread all over the world, but taken a special hold in Portland where we have loads of tech companies.”
  • Lunch 2.0, the Vidoop version
    “I also noticed that the crowd seems to have expanded. From my standpoint, what started out as a mostly techie crowd now seems to include a lot of marketing folks as well as some of the general Portland Twitterati.”
  • Portland Lunch 2.0
    “Lunch 2.0 is one of the best way to meet people in Portland’s thriving tech scene—the other being BarCamp Portland and Startupalooza.”
  • Trails and Lunch 2.0
    “This afternoon I attended Lunch 2.0 here in Portland, OR. It was hosted by Vidoop, the creators of an OpenID product they say foils both phishing and key logging. I created an account, chose my 3–5 images, and logged in and out of it. It seems interesting, so likely more to come on that one as well.”
  • There’s no such thing as a free lunch
    “So Cami’s easy… a free hardhat and bacon wrapped goodness plus a room full of interesting people totally warrants a mention on my blog.”

Did I miss your post on the Portland Lunch 2.0 that was? Please comment. I’d be more than happy to link it up.

Photo Credit: Aaron Hockley. Used under Creative Commons license.

Same Portland Lunch 2.0 building, new Portland Lunch 2.0 host, also bacon

Sad that you missed seeing the eROI space at the last Portland Lunch 2.0? Well, wipe away those tears, gentle reader. We can get you close.

The latest Portland Lunch 2.0 date and location have been announced. And, as luck would have it, it’s in the same exact spot, only one floor down.

Vidoop, one of the ever-burgeoning residents of the eROI-owned space in Old Town, has volunteered to host the next Portland Lunch 2.0, to be held May 28. Those interested in attending can RSVP via Upcoming.

This lunch marks a celebration of sorts for the Vidoop team, in a Welcome Wagon sort of way:

From what I hear, this will be a cool time for Vidoop. Apparently, their entire Tulsa office is transplanting itself to Portland this month, in an epic roadtrip. So, this will be a great chance to welcome them to Portland and give them a taste of how we do Lunch 2.0 here.

No word on the amount of bacon to be had. (Knowing the hosts, I’m assuming this is not an “if” question, but rather a “how much” question.) But, rumor has it that Ford’s on Fifth may be tapped to cater the event.

Jake Kuramoto, the energy behind Portland’s version of Lunch 2.0, has said he’s interested in squeezing a few more Portland Lunch 2.0 gatherings into the summer months. So, if you’re interested in hosting, please ping Jake on Twitter or feel free to comment below.

Future Portland Lunch 2.0 hosts include Wieden + Kennedy and maybe, just maybe, yours truly. But first, let’s all head on over to see Vidoop’s new digs.

I’m looking forward to seeing you there.

Portland Lunch 2.0: Five reasons to attend

Jake Kuramoto gives us five reasons (well, six, really) we should all consider attending Portland Lunch 2.0:

  • You enjoy meeting new people in Portland, some geeks, others not, all Portlanders, all the time.
  • You like learning about cool companies doing cool stuff in the Rose City.
  • You can’t make the evening and weekend activities like Barcamp, Startup Weekend and Startupalooza, but you really want to do 1. and 2.
  • You like good conversation with smart people over tasty eats.
  • You really need to break up your day by getting out of the office/house, seeing the sky, and checking out a new locale with some new people.
  • And bonus, you can’t pass up a free lunch.

Sound interesting? Well, you’re in luck, my friend. The next Portland Lunch 2.0 will be held Wednesday, April 9, at eROI.

More than 70 people have RSVP’d already. So it promises to be quite a crowd. And, unfortunately, it looks like Jake has had to close the RSVP list due to space constraints.

But, I’m still going to encourage you to show up, anyway. Because that’s just how I am. And because some people will not be able to make it. And the way I figure it—worse comes to worst—we can always peel off and overwhelm Backspace.

I’m looking forward to seeing you there.