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Tag: rdtn

Managing well meaning but messy intentions: Discussing how to keep projects born in crisis on a path to success

I’ve mentioned this pattern a few times before. We see it repeating again in this new new normal. A crisis occurs. Collaborative communities — open source, startup, Portland — rush to the fore, eager to solve it. Immediate tactics have some meaningful but limited impact. And then the bigger problems reveal themselves. And things get real complicated real quickly.

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Three techie Portland Kickstarter projects that could use a little love… and one that’s been successfully funded

Portland loves the Kickstarter projects. And not just because Andy Baio was the CTO while he was living here. There’s simply something about the friends and family funding model that appeals to the Portland mindset.

So it should come as no surprise that there are any number of Portland projects on Kickstarter. But what may be surprising are some of the more tech oriented projects that wind up there. Here are a few of my favorites. Read More

RDTN.org moves from plotting data to plotting to build devices to measure radiation levels in real time

RDTN.org is taking the next logical step. Well the next logical two steps, actually. First, they’re going to track down existing radiation monitoring devices to ship to Japan. Second, they’re intent on manufacturing a network of devices that monitor radiation levels so that no one has to encounter this sort of shortage, again.

Remember RDTN.org? The site that Uncorked Studios built in 72-hours to help the people of Japan plot and track radiation levels from the earthquake crippled nuclear reactors?

Well, RDTN.org has the plotting of existing data dialed in. But gathering accurate and timely data to be plotted has been less than an easy task. Seems most of us don’t just have Geiger counters sitting around. In fact, there aren’t many sitting around period. They’re hard to come by. Read More

There’s no such thing as bad press: Portland startups featured by Time Magazine, New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Jimmy Fallon

Well, well, it’s been quite the big media week for our little burg, this week. All because a few Portland startups are getting the recognition they so richly deserve by national media. Better yet, it’s traditional media. Which has far broader reach than the usual tech echo chamber.

So who made the news this week? Well, Spotlight Mobile‘s Meridian, RDTN.org, Urban Airship, and Twitalyzer, to name a few. Read More

Turning to the people: RDTN.org provides current radiation readings from people in Japan

they launched RDTN.org, a site that allows anyone in Japan to report radiation levels in their location.

The world has been overwhelmed by the nuclear situation in Japan. Portland is no different. But getting accurate information about what’s actually happening has been difficult to say the least. That’s why we’ve been turning to citizen journalists like yokosonews.tv to get more insight into the story.

But what about radiation levels? What’s really happening there? Well, Uncorked Studios here in Portland thought that giving the people of Japan a way to report radiation levels seemed like the best way to answer that question. And 72 hours later, they launched RDTN.org, a site that allows anyone in Japan to report radiation levels at their location. Read More