Portland startups, open source, and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
There’s a lot to like about the Portland Maker community. And a lot that reminds me of the Portland startup community ten years ago. Amazing people. Awesome creativity. And some really really interesting projects. That’s why it’s been an honor to get to participate in PDX Maker Week to celebrate that awesomeness. Read More
Hey. How have you been? It’s been a while. You’re looking good. And that new thing that you’re working on…? Yeah. It’s awesome. Really. So cool that you’re doing that. But honestly, we’ve all been so busy I feel like we’ve lost touch. And as much as I enjoy being snarky with you on the Twitters, seeing your adventures on Instagram, and sharing Snapchat filters, it would actually be really really good to see you in person. You know, all IRL and shit. Read More
For many Portlanders, there are few things that taste better than a cool microbrew on a hot summer day. In fact, I can really only thing of one thing that might top that: making that beer free. And that’s just Beer and Blog Portland has done this week in conjunction with AboutUs, the awesome Portland-based wiki.
For many Portlanders, there are few things that taste better than a cool local microbrew on a hot summer day. In fact, I can really only think of one thing that might top that: making that beer free.
And that’s just what Beer and Blog Portland has done this week in conjunction with AboutUs, the awesome Portland-based wiki that’s creating an editable catalog of every single Web site in the world.
Oh, I’m sorry. You’re here for the free beer? Yes, there’s free beer courtesy of AboutUs. But why? Well, there’s reason to celebrate. You see, AboutUs turned three-years old last month. Read More
David 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.
I 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.
Back when David and I were talking about this week’s Lunch 2.0, which will be hosted by David’s new startup, MioWorks, at the Green Dragon, we mused about how nice it would be to have a warm Spring day to break in the Dragon’s patio.
Well, today it’s supposed to hit 70, and according to our friends at KGW, tomorrow will be equally spectacular.
Wednesday, not so much, at least not in the shorts and t-shirt department.
Maybe we’ll catch a break, and the warming trend will continue.
Anyway, rain or shine, we’ll be at the Green Dragon on Wednesday, that’s April 8, to hear about MioWorks from David and his merry startup band. MioWorks launched a private beta at Ignite Portland 5 back in February, and they’ve since moved into public beta, offering a free 30-day trial.
You’ll probably get your fill of Open Source Bridge chatter as well, since David is also volunteering with many of us on that effort. MioWorks will be offering OSB attendees free service for six months, in case you needed another reason to attend.
So, come on down to the Green Dragon, even though it’s not Friday, and hang out with your favorite Portland geeks and meet some new people too, for good measure.
As always, please make sure you RSVP over on Upcoming so they know how much food to get and drop a comment there if you’re a vegan or vegetarian.
Finally, a quick announcement about the ISITE Design Lunch 2.0 in June. The date has changed to June 24. Please plan accordingly.
Don’t forget these Lunch 2.0s, coming soon:
As always, 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.
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Birds of a feather flock together. Startups like startups. Creatives like creatives. And that’s probably why when a startup distillery and bistro called the Green Dragon opened, the startup tech community in Portland felt a certain affinity for it.
They liked us. We liked them. They were perfect for Beer and Blog. They were centrally located for other tech events. It was a very much kismet.
But now, that’s coming to an end. I’m sad to report that, like many a startup, the Green Dragon has (possibly) been acquired by Rogue Brewing.
And, if it goes through—the lawyers have jumped in to say that “nothing is final”—then the dynamic of the joint may be changing.
John Foyston of The Beer Here blog has an update that pretty much states that Rogue plans on keeping most of what the Green Dragon character is today, so that could bode well for us who love it. From how I read the article, the only change would be in ownership, but the heart of the Green Dragon would live on. You decide.
We don’t know what we don’t know. But I’m not exactly holding my breath that the Green Dragon we know and love will be around much longer.
What to do? Show up to Beer and Blog today to bid one of the best geek hangouts in town a fond farewell. Mourning attire and protest armbands optional.
After a long weekend at Gnomedex and a—no doubt—“conversation crammed” late-night ride to Portland on the Iterasi Magic Bus, Sarah Lacy took time out of her travels to spend some time chatting with Portland folks at the Green Dragon, last night.
A number of folks got into some pretty in-depth conversations with Sarah. And from what I could hear, those chats made the trip well-worth Sarah’s time.
The Portland stop on her junket was part of her User Generated Book Tour to promote Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good. And I’m proud to say that Portland was one of 13 cities that made the cut. Thanks, in no small part, to folks writing in and asking Sarah to stop by.
So thank you to all of the folks who wrote in and to all of you who took time out of your weekend to swing by and meet Sarah.
As I always say, I think it’s incredibly important for folks from outside of Portland and the Silicon Forest to meet the people who are doing cool things here. To get an understanding of what’s happening in our area. And to get them as excited about what we’re doing as we are.
I think we succeeded in doing that last night. And, I know Sarah really appreciated your being there, too.
Buck up, little camper. Don’t be sad.
We’re already working—lobbying heavily, in fact—to get Sarah back to town soon.
And Sarah’s assistant, Olivia (who is from Portland), will be here in town for a few more days. So we’ll work on getting her out at some more of the Portland events.
Plus, Amber Case and Bram Pitoyo sat down to record a Hazelnut Tech Talk with Sarah, so you’ve got that going for you, too.
What’s that? Oh, the book?
Well, see here’s the thing. Sarah and Olivia had a few books and a couple of t-shirts and some stickers and stuff left. And they were going to have to check bags. And I knew that you would really like the book.
So, here’s what I did: I kinda bought them out.
And I was thinking of selling them on eBay—I mean, they’re signed and everything—but I like you more than eBay.
So I got this idea.
You’ve been working hard and being good and whatnot. You deserve a little reward.
And then there’s me. I don’t really do anything and yet, every once in a while, I kind of stumble into some cool stuff. Like multiple copies of Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good, for example.
Seems like there’s some kind of disconnect here, doesn’t it?
I agree.
It struck me that, for all the nice things you do for me—like creating cool stuff for me to write about and showing up at cool events and being interesting—I’m not really pulling my weight.
So, I’ve started Friends of the Florist.
By joining Friends of the Florist, you’ll get the opportunity to receive random physical mailings from me from time to time. No spam. No ads. Just cool stuff—or at least stuff I think is cool—from people like you who are busting their proverbial humps to make cool things.
Well, and you’ll probably get some Silicon Florist stuff every once in a while, too.
You might get flowers. You might get a pony. Who knows?
First mailing? Four lucky winners will receive a signed copy of Sarah Lacy’s book, Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good.
Your obligation? I just need a physical address to which I can send the stuff. Well, and your trust that I’m not going to do anything nefarious with that information. (Which I won’t, Seeger.)
If the idea of getting some little rewards and nice things from Silicon Florist from time to time sounds like a good thing to you, simply sign up to be a Friend of the Florist.