Portland startups, open source, and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
The Oregon wildfires of 2020. Devastating is an understatement. Many communities were razed to the ground in a matter of moments. Others had structures survive but were without left without much needed infrastructure and utilities. One of those communities — Oregon’s McKenzie River Valley — came up with a creative way of rebuilding Internet access.
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Back a dozen years or so, before I started this blog, I happened upon COLOURlovers, a Portland founded startup that was unlike anything I had seen to date. It wasn’t a business to business site. It wasn’t software. It was consumer focused. And social.
Every once in a while, you get to be present to witness the establishment of a widespread platform. A platform that provides the means of making a market. Sometimes, it’s the first to market—like the iPhone or Roku. Sometimes, it’s a fast follower—like Microsoft Explorer or Google. We’ve seen it happen time and time again. With the Web and Mobile and Streaming Media. But it’s rare to see that happen locally.
If you’ve been around Portland and, well, the Internet for any amount of time, you’ve likely heard rumblings about XOXO, the experimental festival for independent internet artists and creatives that—from the start—was a must-attend event. And even as it grew exponentially, the unique festival remained true to its founding roots which kept folks coming back—and looking forward—year after year.
Like connected devices? Looking to explore some interesting concepts this weekend? Well, you’re in luck. (And I’m tardy in sharing this event.) Because Women Who Code Portland is having an Internet of Things hackathon this weekend.
It’s no secret that Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon is a staunch proponent for a free and accessible Internet. His efforts around keeping the platform as open as possible are well known. But did you realize that he was also part of crafting the legislation that laid the foundation for the way we’re able to communicate online, today? Read More
Last Friday morning, I woke up to a flood of emails, tweets, and text messages asking, basically, what the heck I was trying to pull with my fake news story. More than a little confused, I started digging around. What I found was both interesting and disconcerting. Read More
I’m consistently—and constantly—struck by how incredibly lucky we are here in Portland. Without even realizing it. We’re home to the inventor of the wiki, folks creating the tools that have helped create the Web, and within a stone’s throw of one of the founders of the grandaddy of Weblogs, among other things. Quietly. But here.
And let’s not forget, Portland is home to Andy Baio, whose blog Waxy.org quietly turned a decade old over the weekend. Read More
Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon has a long history of standing up to legislation that affects the Internet. And we think that’s pretty cool. Especially since many of us have jobs and products and blogs because of his efforts.
Well—true to form—he’s standing up against another bill and he’d like to have you join him, by having your name read aloud on Capitol Hill as part of a filibuster. Read More
That’s why we all started drooling all over Google Fiber. And that’s why an awful lot of us are excited about Portland’s latest connectivity plan – citywide broadband.
Who doesn’t want a faster more reliable connection to the Internet? Well okay. I guess there are some people who don’t. But the majority of us? That speed and reliability sounds pretty good.
That’s why we all started drooling all over Google Fiber. And that’s why an awful lot of us are excited about the potential for Portland’s latest connectivity plan—citywide broadband. Read More