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Decloaking: Portland’s Blackbox Republic wants to foster the Burning Man vibe 52 weeks a year

Blackbox Republic a sex positive community took the wraps off of their new Community Exchange Platform last night. It’s designed to be a mix of social media, compelling privacy controls, event management, retail, and real life meetups. Or as they’re calling it social nicheworking.

Rick Turoczy on July 15, 2009

It’s always nice to see a Silicon Forest company coming out of stealth. Especially when they already have funding. But today a great deal of that launch story may be getting mired with one simple word: sex.

You see, Portland-based Blackbox Republic took the wraps off of their new “Community Exchange Platform” last night. It’s designed to be a mix of social media, compelling privacy controls, event management, retail, and real life meetups. Or as they’re calling it “social nicheworking.”

Where’s the sex there, you ask? Well, it’s in the target market they’re chasing: the sex-positive community. Read More

As the Twitter turns: Chappelle’s (no) Show Portland or Dave’s not here… wait hold the phone, yes he is

Rick Turoczy on July 15, 2009

[HTML1]Now, it’s not like I haven’t fallen victim to silly Twitter rumors before. I have. Innumerable times. Guilty and guilty. But this one has to top all of the others.

[HTML3]Seems that sometime today a little Twitter rumor started that comedian Dave Chappelle was going to stage a secret show in Pioneer Square. Well, and you know. One thing led to another. And Portland does love the Twitter. And pretty soon there were thousands of people in Pioneer Square.

But the question remained: would Dave Chappelle make an appearance? Read More

Happy 10th Birthday, MetaFilter!

And while we should be proud of MetaFilter as a product of Oregonian ingenuity for any number of reasons, I’ve got one more reason to add to the list: MetaFilter just turned 10 years old.

Rick Turoczy on July 14, 2009

One of the most widely read yet least often recognized as a product of the good old Silicon Forest has to be MetaFilter, the quintessential Weblog of random facts and finds. And while we should be proud of MetaFilter as a product of Oregonian ingenuity for any number of reasons, I’ve got one more reason to add to the list: MetaFilter just turned 10 years old.

A blog that’s been around for a decade? (TechCrunch, for example, is four years old.) That’s impressive for any project. Let alone a project that discusses everything from dinosaurs to blasphemy to the truly and completely random site. Read More

WordCamp Portland 2009 continues to add awesome speakers

And as I’ve mentioned—and will likely continue to mention ad nauseam—there’s no better place in Portland to learn about WordPress than they continue to add speakers.

Rick Turoczy on July 14, 2009

Now if Portland had to pick a favorite blogging application, I would venture a guess that it would WordPress, the open source CMS that runs many a blog in the Portland area.

And as I’ve mentioned—and will likely continue to mention ad nauseam—there’s no better place in Portland to learn about WordPress. Especially as they continue to add awesome speakers. Read More

Portwiture: What does your Twitter stream look like?*

Portwiture helps you visualize your Twitter stream of pithy insights. But not in an old-boring-graph way. Instead, it does it by snagging photos from Flickr, the popular photo sharing site.

Rick Turoczy on July 14, 2009

[HTML2]Usually when I ask “Can you see what I’m saying?” I’m just mangling the English language. But when it comes to Portwiture—a random Twitter and Flickr mashup from Portland-based designer Tyler Sticka—I’m being all too literal.

Why? Well, Portwiture helps you visualize your Twitter stream of pithy insights. But not in an old-boring-graph way. Instead, it does it by snagging photos from Flickr, the popular photo sharing site. Read More

Talking rocket surgery: Kryptiq lands secure communications for NASA flight surgeons

Suffice it to say that Kryptiq has landed a new client that means they’ll be flying high, for sure. With astronauts and stuff. You see, Kryptiq’s newest customer is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Rick Turoczy on July 13, 2009

Hillsboro-based Kryptiq has always had high hopes for improving physician-client communications. But now those high hopes are reaching thermospheric levels. Or exospheric. Or whatever.

Enough of the fancy words. Suffice it to say that Kryptiq has landed a new client that means they’ll be flying high, for sure. With astronauts and stuff. You see, Kryptiq’s newest customer is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Read More

Portland Web and graphic design community to the City: Spec work? Ur doin it wrong

In a classic case of one step forward, two steps back the City of Portland is now proposing a design contest to redesign PortlandOnline. And it’s spec work.

Rick Turoczy on July 13, 2009

[HTML3]Sigh. And just when we thought things seemed to be going so well with the City of Portland. I mean, the City had committed to being more open, gone out for bid on fixing the PortlandOnline site, and just ratified the Portland Economic Development Strategy. Yet, now that string of victories risks being thoroughly undermined by a slap in the face to the Portland Web and graphic design community.

In a classic case of “one step forward, two steps back,” the City of Portland is now proposing a design contest to redesign PortlandOnline. And it’s spec work. Read More

Survey: Which Silicon Forest startup organizations do you find most helpful?

If you’ve got a few seconds, I’d really appreciate your providing your opinion on the Silicon Forest organizations that are doing the most to help startups.

Rick Turoczy on July 13, 2009

[HTML1]With the City of Portland planning to spend more time helping startups, I got to thinking. “How are we helping startups, already?” I said to myself. “Not only that, but who’s doing a good job of it?”

Now, I easily rattled off any number of organizations who were focused on helping the Portland and Silicon Forest startup environment. But other than my own personal opinion, I couldn’t really gauge who was helping entrepreneurs succeed.

Clearly, I don’t know the answer to that question. But you know who does? You. That’s why I’m asking you to tell me. (And once you tell me, we can tell everyone else.) Read More

Reminder: Pacific Real Estate Partners Lunch 2.0 at Jive

Rick Turoczy on July 12, 2009

Summer is upon us, which means there’s lots to do outside, but if you fancy some indoor activity next week, which looks to be a hot one, drop by Lunch 2.0 on Wednesday (July 15).

Our host for this month’s midday goodness is Pacific Real Estate Partners, more specifically Mark Friel and Kristin Hammond (aka @FzMcFadden).

The festivities will be held at Jive Software, one of their clients, at their newish corporate HQ, the old Federal Reserve Building on SW Stark and SW 9th.

Read More

Love Twitter, your iPhone, and hide-and-seek? There’s an app for that: hideNtweet

Well, thanks in part to Portland’s Nate “@xolotl” Angell that dream of Twitter and iPhone and hide-and-seek goodness has become a reality. Get ready to play hideNtweet.

Rick Turoczy on July 10, 2009

[HTML2]If you’re like me, you love a good game of hide-and-seek. Or hide-n-seek. And like me, you may also be a big fan of the iPhone. Perhaps even—and this would be the trifecta—you, like me, may have spent a minute or two on Twitter. If so, you may be thinking what I’m thinking. What’s that? Well, I’m always thinking, “If only could I combine my affection for the iPhone and Twitter with the joy of hide-and-seek? If only….”

Well, thanks in part to Portland’s Nate “@xolotl” Angell, some ghost naming from Heather “@twigz” Angell, and illustrations by Brett Forman of a novel design—and of course tons of brilliant coding by John Ellis who doesn’t happen to be in the Silicon Forest… yet—that dream of Twitter and iPhone and hide-and-seek goodness has become a reality.

Get ready to play hideNtweet. Read More

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