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What are the top 20 Portland blogs?

Rick Turoczy on April 14, 2009

Where are all of these Portland bloggers blogs?I was digging around on PostRank after reading a great post on the PostRank Newsroom by my favorite Vice President of a Blog, Marshall Kirkpatrick. And that digging lead me to a little gem: the list of the top blogs in Portland, Oregon.

So who’s currently in the top 20? I’m glad you asked.

Here’s how the top 20 blogs in Portland are looking this week:

  1. KATU
  2. Jack Bog’s Blog
  3. Blazers Blog – OregonLive.com
  4. KGW.com Local News
  5. Our PDX
  6. The Portland Tribune – News
  7. Dave Knows: Portland
  8. PORTLAND NEWS – Google Blog Search
  9. Trail Post – A Portland Trail…
  10. Around the Sun
  11. msnbc.com: KGW
  12. Portland Transport
  13. Front Porch – Portland Real Estate
  14. KATU – Sports – Local Sports
  15. Portland Acupuncture Blog
  16. Asheville NC concerts [WTF?]
  17. Portland News
  18. About.com Portland, OR
  19. Metroblogging Portland
  20. The Portland Tribune – Jaynes

Wait a second. Those are actually feeds. (But I knew if I put “feeds” in the headline you probably wouldn’t read this.) So let’s whittle down the list to actual blogs:

  1. Jack Bog’s Blog
  2. Blazers Blog – OregonLive.com
  3. Our PDX
  4. Dave Knows: Portland
  5. Trail Post
  6. Around the Sun
  7. Portland Transport
  8. Front Porch – Portland Real Estate
  9. Portland Acupuncture Blog
  10. Metroblogging Portland

Okay. So that’s more like it.

But then again. No offense to those on the list, but for as vibrant of a blogging community as we have—I mean, here’s a smattering of Portland WordPress blogs, alone—that’s a pretty damned anemic list.

So I’m going to go import an OPML file from my feed reader and start tagging those feeds appropriately. If you’re interested in seeing a more representative list of Portland (or any other Oregon or Silicon Forest) blogs on here, I’d suggest you do the same.

It would be really nice to see some more of those awesome Portland blogs I know and love making the list.

(Image courtesy of Nate Angell. Used under Creative Commons.)

Kveton named interim president of the Software Association of Oregon (SAO)

Rick Turoczy on April 13, 2009

Software Association of Oregon - SAOYes, you read that right. Scott Kveton is taking over as the interim president of the Software Association of Oregon (SAO). And yes, Silicon Florist is your all Kveton, all the time resource.

I know, I know. I just wrote about how Kveton had left Vidoop to pursue Bac’n full-time. So this latest headline seems almost nonsensical.

But, that doesn’t prevent it from being true. I mean, you know a Kveton fanboi like me wouldn’t lie to you. Right?

What’s that? Oh. Okay, the April 1st florist post may have strained our bonds of trust. I hear you.

Well, so how about this?

“After a careful search by a special committee comprising SAO Board members, it was clear the best possible candidate to guide the organization during our formal search for a president is Scott Kveton,” said Michael Phillips, chairman of the SAO board and a partner at David Wright Tremaine LLP, in the press release. “Scott is passionate about the mission of the organization and brings valuable local software industry experience to the post.”

Does that sound more believable? Because it’s true. Kveton will be serving as the interim president of the SAO. Cross my heart.

But you have to admit, it’s not entirely out of the blue. I mean, he was recently named to the Software Association of Oregon board. And there was a vacant president seat.

So it’s not entirely crazy.

Okay, you’re right. It’s pretty crazy. But crazy good.

To make this happen, Kveton will temporarily step down from the SAO board seat while fulfilling his duties as president of the SAO. He will be reinstated as a board member once his role as president comes to an end—likely within 90 days—when the SAO names the next president of the organization.

So why is Kveton making the move?

“I’m excited about the possibilities of getting the current membership together with the independent developers and consultant crowd here in Portland and across Oregon,” said Kveton. “A lot of small software companies struggle with how to grow their business effectively and that’s a path a lot of the SAO membership has already gone down.”

On his blog, Kveton offers:

With Harvey stepping down and me spinning up my own consulting business, the timing seemed right for me to interview for the interim President role and the search committee agreed. I firmly believe there is a great opportunity to link up the experience of current SAO members with that of the entrepreneurial spirit and drive of the independent developer community here in the Northwest.

I hear you, we’ve dabbled in this area before with the Thrive PDX stuff. But this seems different. This is someone who knows—all too well—the startup environment here in the Silicon Forest. Someone who might have the chance to make some connections over the next 90 days that could result in some interesting bonds and strange bedfellows.

I, for one, can’t wait to see where this goes.

Obviously, I wish Kveton the best of luck on this short stint as the president of the SAO (see above: fanboi). I’ve known this organization for a long, long time. And it will be interesting to see what he does during his tenure.

What do you think of this move? Does it have potential? And, if so, what would you like to see happen with the SAO, if anything?

I can guarantee that now is the best time to voice those opinions.

For more information, see Kveton’s post on his new role at SAO.

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Open Source Bridge featured on FLOSS Weekly with Leo Laporte

Rick Turoczy on April 13, 2009

FLOSS WeeklyPortland’s entirely volunteer run Open Source Bridge conference—which just closed its call for proposals—got some recent airtime on FLOSS Weekly portion of Twit.tv with Leo Laporte.

Selena Deckelmann and Audrey Eschright spent some time chatting with Leo Laporte and our fellow Portlander Randal Schwartz.

Legion of Tech, unconferences, no self-service gas, Portland and—of course—the 24-hour hacker lounge all get their fair share of love.

To listen for yourself, tune into the Open Source Bridge episode of FLOSS Weekly.

Our favorite Portland coworking spaces get some love from The Oregonian

Rick Turoczy on April 12, 2009

Coworking in The OregonianIt’s no secret that I started Silicon Florist to highlight some of the “under the RADAR” stories that might not garner coverage from traditional local publications.

So, when the mainstream pubs around town cover the stories I’d like to cover—and cover them before I do—it makes me ridiculously happy.

Today’s case in point: coworking spaces in Portland:

Several vintage Portland buildings have been renovated recently, blurring the line between co-working and traditional offices. Small creative entrepreneurs have office doors, but they share common areas and, sometimes, business.

Among the folks mentioned are some of our favorite coworking spaces in town.

Like who?

Well, CubeSpace, for one:

CubeSpace hosts evening events, including tech clubs and Beer & Blog gatherings. Schweber and Kominsky sometimes sweep through at 9:15 — quarter-past quitting time — and urge the crowd to move to a bar.

Souk for another:

When Julie Duryea opened Souk 2 1/2 years ago, cafes were the only choice for most freelancing Portlanders. She couldn’t find many co-working spaces beyond New York and London.

Now, her Old Town operation hosts an eclectic crowd: a footwear and apparel consultant, a strategic planner, a retail designer. Plus, Souk has company in the Portland market.

And up-and-coming Nedspace:

They recruit tenants through online networking, word of mouth and a startup event they hosted last month. Early residents are developing iPhone applications, an online rental payment service, board games, interactive music content and more. Some have started companies; others are first-timers.

If you haven’t checked out these coworking spaces, you should. Not only are they do they provide an amazing resource to our startup community, they serve as the warm little hub around which many of us gather.

And their continued willingness to support our events—often pro bono—is without a doubt a key to the burgeoning startup community with which we find ourselves enamoured.

For more, see The Oregonian article “Co-working: a room not of their own” by Laura Oppenheimer.

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Beyond the Forest: Seattle Lunch 2.0

Rick Turoczy on April 12, 2009

Josh Maher, the Seattle Lunch 2.0 guy, has a happy hour Lunch 2.0 planned for this coming Friday, April 17 at blist.

I know Rick’s reach stretches up north, so if you’re near Seattle, check out Lunch 2.0. It’s a blast; I know because we made a little road trip up there a month ago to check it out and spread the Open Source Bridge word. And it was good.

And, if you split time between Portland and Seattle, like Brian Westbrook does, you can enjoy nearly twice the free lunches, and who can argue with that?

Seattle Lunch 2.0 is also in the running for a Seattle 2.0 award in the “Best Social Event for Startups” category. The awards are focused on Seattle startups and will be held on May 7, 2009.

So, if you feel so inclined, head over and vote. You can do so until April 28.

Good luck Josh.

Attend WebVisions for free

Rick Turoczy on April 10, 2009

WebVisionsWho—would you say—are the top three visionaries in terms of the Web?

That’s what Portland’s leading Web event—and honestly one of the leading Web events, period—WebVisions wants to know.

And if you’ve got an answer, it could mean something for you.

Simply submit your answer to that question before May 7, and you could be waltzing into WebVisions, May 20-22, free of charge.

The winning entry will receive a WebVisions conference pass plus a pass to the workshop “Mental Models” with Indi Young of Adaptive Path. The runner up will receive a free WebVisions conference pass. Third place? You’ll get a WebVisions t-shirt. So that you can pretend you attended WebVisions.

Come to think of it, even if you don’t win, you’ll want to pay to attend. Why? Because WebVisions features more than 50 incredibly cool speakers, like Mark Frauenfelder of BoingBoing.net, Jared Spool, Indi Young of Adaptive Path, Jeff Croft of Blue Flavor, search engine guru Vanessa Fox, Molly Holzschlag of Molly.com, Chris Pirillo, and Armin Vit of UnderConsideration.

Plus there are a ton of amazing Portland-area speakers, as well. Who? Well, check out the who’s who of WebVisions this year.

I know! I can’t believe it either. So cool.

So what are you waiting for? Just submit your top three Web visionaries and you could be headed to WebVisions for free.

Don’t say I never gave you nothin’.

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Lunch 2.0 with MioWorks, Pronounced Me-Oh

Rick Turoczy on April 9, 2009

nametag.pngDavid Abramowksi cleared up the correct pronunciation of his new startup’s name yesterday during their Lunch 2.0 at the Green Dragon.

It’s MioWorks, Me-Oh-Works.

Probably not exactly the way Webster would mark it up, but you get the picture.

About 80 or so people showed up at the Green Dragon for lunch yesterday; surprisingly, several people I know from Twitter were making their first trip to the Dragon. Hard for me to believe, since it’s Beer and Blog worldwide headquarters and an all-around geektastic place to hang out and compute.

David and Manuel Espino from MioWorks provided food and Twitter-friendly name tags (+1 for geeky name tags). They also provided anyone who was interested with a 30-day free trial of their web app which provides relationship management for small businesses. The app recently entered public beta, and David and Manuel are actively seeking people to beta-test the app.

After talking about MioWorks, David, who also volunteers time with Open Source Bridge, called Rick up to give the good people in attendance the 411 on OSB. There was speculation that Rick was thrown under the bus, fingers were pointed. I won’t dignify any of those rumors here. As always, Rick acquitted himself well under pressure.

Finally, we heard from Carri Bugbee about the SoMe awards, covered previously by Rick. There’s precious little time left to submit your favorite social media projects for consideration. The awards will be handed out at Innotech Oregon on April 23.

Update: As Carri notes in comments, the deadline is Saturday, April 11, and the awards gala will be at Candy (NW 9 and Couch), not at the OCC where Innotech is.

The food was fantastic, provided by the Green Dragon, and even though the crowd was a bit smaller than usual, it fit nicely into the space, with clusters of people chatting at each picnic table and at the bar.

I met a few new people, attending their first Lunch 2.0, and as always, I ran into the usual suspects, which is always a pleasure.

Thanks to David, Manuel and the great folks at the Green Dragon for accommodating us.

The Big Book of Portland Lunch 2.0I almost forgot to mention the Lunch 2.0 “artifact” was ceremoniously passed from Thomas to David. I’ll back up; at the Portland Lunch 2.0 birthday at AboutUs in February, someone (not sure if it was Mark, Steven or Nico) put out a guest book that anyone attending could sign. That book was passed to Thomas at the OpenSourcery Lunch 2.0 last month, and now, it’s in David’s hands.

A fun idea. By rights, the book should pass to Denney in two week at TechShop Portland, assuming David makes it out to the ‘burbs.

Don’t forget these Lunch 2.0s, coming soon:

If you’re wondering about the WebVisions’ lunch, it will be open to anyone, attending WebVisions or not.

Big thanks to all the hosts who have hosted or plan to host Lunch 2.0. Drop a comment (or tweet @jkuramot) if you want information about hosting one. It’s easy.

Burgeoning Bac’n business coerces Kveton into consulting

Rick Turoczy on April 9, 2009

[Editor: Let me preface this by saying that I know, full well, that Kveton hates it when I do this. But I think it’s newsworthy. And I thought I should let you know. For that, I’m willing to incur his wrath.]

Scott KvetonMany of you know Portland’s Scott Kveton as one of the new board members for Software Association of Oregon (SAO), founder of the OSU Open Source Lab, the former chair of the OpenID Foundation, a Portvangelist, someone who spends more than his fair share of time at PDX, and the guy who helped bring Vidoop to Portland.

But it’s likely that far more of you know Kveton for one thing: bacon. Or perhaps more appropriately Bac’n.

And now, what began as side project—albeit a passionate one—has drawn Kveton into the world of consulting as a full-time gig.

But it’s more than just his passion for that wonderful magical meat animal. It’s truly a desire to help organizations understand how to better use technology and community to achieve business worthy ends—regardless of their particular focus.

It’s really hard to explain but selling bacon is honestly one of the most interesting/fun things I’ve ever done. Its not just technology-for-the-sake-of-technology. Jason, Michael and I created something out of nothing using off-the-shelf tools to make a solution that delivers real things to real people. And we did it all in less than a month.

Long story short, Kveton is taking the opportunity to do something he loves—and to make it a viable business. And given that that is something with which many of us struggle, I personally couldn’t be happier seeing him take this chance.

I know Portland will gain from this move. And I’m already seeing some local startups beginning to take advantage of his talent and guidance.

For more, see Kveton’s post on his new pursuit or follow Kveton on Twitter.

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Less than 48 hours remain for Open Source Bridge submissions and comments

Rick Turoczy on April 9, 2009

Open Source BridgePortland’s Open Source Bridge, the entirely volunteer run conference for open source citizens, has been quietly amassing nearly 200 proposals to speak at its inaugural conference in June.

They’ve received so many interesting submissions, in fact, that they’ve already selected some of them for the agenda—and they’re all across the board with topics like Ruby, Drizzle, Git, CodePlex, cfengine, Puppet, Opscode, AutomateIT, and bcfg2. (I honestly don’t know half of what I just said, but I know some of you do and that’s what really matters.)

But have no fear, gentle reader. Despite all the wonderful proposals and interesting early selections, there is still time for you to get involved.

No, I kid you not.

The Open Source Bridge call for proposals remains open until 11:59:59 PM on April 10. So that culturally relevant, language agnostic open source talk you’ve been wanting to give? Get on it, tiger. Or maybe that technology specific hack that’s going to wow the open source crowd? No one is going to be wowed if you don’t submit. So get going. There isn’t much time left.

Oh I hear you, “I love me some open source, but I don’t really have anything about which to speak and as such I am feeling somewhat uncomfortable and left out. If not completely disheartened.”

There, there, little camper. There’s something for you to do too. Yes! Seriously!

Because picking the talks won’t be easy. So any and every comment will help. And that’s where you come in. You can provide feedback on the proposals.

What would you like to see? Who would you like to see? Which topics and technologies should everyone see?

I’ve no idea. You tell me. How? Simply head over to the proposal system, log in to your account with your OpenID, and begin providing comments on the talks that you’d like to see.

Not feeling very verbose? Even a “+1” would help the organizers figure out which talks people really want to see.

But the pressure is still on, I’m afraid. Those comments, like the proposals, should be submitted by 11:59:59 PM on April 10.

So scoot scoot, little bug. Get on over to Open Source Bridge and pitch your open source talk or provide your feedback on those who have.

Go! Now! Just think, if you finish early, you’ll be able to tune into Strange Love Live, Friday night, completely guilt free.

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