Portland, Oregon, startup news, open source, and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
I’m not going to lie: I love that the increasing accessibility—both in terms of costs and programmability—of hardware is inspiring new and creative pursuits. Sometimes, they create new business concepts. Sometimes they’re just cool. And when folks give you an inside look at how they made it? That’s even cooler. Which is why I loved this LEGO Saturn V project writeup from Portland’s Asa Miller.
Even though there’s less focus on it than previous years, Portland is—and remains—the de facto hub of open source activity. It’s just something in our blood. So it only stands to reason that—as more things become open—Portland would be a great spot for those open pursuits to congregate. Take for example Open Hardware Summit. Read More
I really enjoy highlighting projects other folks are creating. Really really. Conversely, I always hate highlighting my own projects. That’s not why I started this blog. This is always weird. Still, I wanted to let folks know that PIE—the ongoing experiment between the Portland startup community and Wieden+Kennedy that I helped cofound and continue to run—is changing what it’s doing. And that may impact you. Read More
As we work to create a more welcoming and diverse startup and tech scene, it’s important to recognize that there are any number of individuals who have already spent untold hours on this effort over the years. Making inroads without a great deal of support. Laying the foundational groundwork that will enable a more diverse community. And championing the effort tirelessly. Read More
There was a time before blogs and social media and all of that, when the democratization of the Web was far more simple. And ugly. But everyone has to start somewhere. And many folks started out on Geocities, a platform that enabled you to build your own home on the Web without setting up a server. Well, that magic is back. In a new and prettier way. With Neocities. Read More
Portland is pretty in tune with the experimental uses of technology. It’s our hobbyist culture. We like to muck with stuff. And technology, for many of us, is just another brush with which to paint. Which is what I found so compelling about Meatspaces, a chat environment created by Portland’s Edna Piranha, that mixes in short form gifs snapped by your laptop camera. Read More
Portland is known for rethinking banks. From startups like Simple to bigger banks and credit unions that are trying to do things differently. And of course we’re into open source. We’re the de facto hub of open source. Duh. But we’re also quite enamored of the cryptocurrency stuff. So it makes sense that we’d also be the home of rethinking banking and crytocurrency with an open source flare. Read More
Sure sure. Elon Musk is rethinking space travel. But what’s he going to wear up there? Maybe he could sport a little Portland fashion? Because you know, we do win Project Runway and we do have someone who has figured out a do-it-yourself space suit here. Read More
It’s that time of year again. Portland’s homegrown, volunteer-run open source conference—Open Source Bridge—is almost here. Now in it’s sixth year, the conference continues its by developer, for developers focus, bringing some amazing speakers to town and highlighting some of the incredible talent we have here in our own backyard. Read More
[Editor’s note: Remember when I used to post on early stage startups more often? Get ready to be happy.] Portland has long been known for its open source efforts. But not so much as a hotbed of ecommerce. That, however, may be changing. Especially if new open source ecommerce startup Sellvana gets their way. Read More