Oh Portland. You and your borrowed keeping-it-weird ethos. It only stands to reason that the only product we have running in the annual Product Hunt Golden Kitty awards is a VR app. That allows you to experience the world. As if it were somewhere you had to go. Literally. Read More
One of the things that inspired me to start writing this blog, long long ago, was each interesting little side project that folks would dream up. They weren’t businesses. They weren’t commercialized. They were little experiments. Driven by Portland’s culture of curiosity and a hobbyist like imagination. So I thought I’d share a couple of contemporary experiments that reminded me of those days. Read More
There’s a whole bunch of experimentation with bots as of late. Some of it serious. Some of it silly. But it’s all pretty darn compelling. And Portland is no stranger to mucking around with these little buckets of artificial intelligence. Take Mimic, a new bot designed by the creative technologist over at Wieden+Kennedy‘s The Lodge. Read More
What if you turned the world of robots upside-down? No. I don’t mean like making a T-800-esque Schwarzenegger stand on his head. (Although that’s a good idea, too.) I mean, what if, instead of building armies of autonomous beings who do nothing but serve our every whim, we instead built robots who needed us. Like a lot. That’s what Wieden+Kennedy’s creative technologists at W+K Lodge have done with Needybot. Read More
We’re in full swing of First Thursday season, so it only makes sense that our calendars would be getting crowded with a ton of interesting opportunities. Events to attend. People to see. Spaces to explore. Well, I thought I’d try to help by picking out some things that might be especially interesting to you startup types. But I don’t know that I’ve made the decision any easier. Read More
[Full disclosure: I work at PIE.] It’s almost time to start the next class of PIE (Portland Incubator Experiment). Applications are due June 12. Read More
A few years back, I had the opportunity to run a BarCamp Portland session called “From side project to startup.” I’ve always liked that thought. Because it’s a dream that so many of us have. To work on something we love—even if it’s on the side. And for that project to build so much momentum and find users and find revenue. And that we could make it our job. Day in and day out.
Well, I never believed it would happen to me. But with Silicon Florist and PIE, it has. Read More
[HTML1]You’ve just created one of the most talked about advertising campaigns in the history of the Web. What are you going to do?
Well, if you’re Portland advertising powerhouse Wieden + Kennedy, you’re buying beer for folks at Beer and Blog today—and maybe seeing if you can hire some of them on to your digital strategy team. Read More
Back when I first mentioned the Portland Incubator Experiment (PIE) a collaborative project between Wieden + Kennedy and some folks in the Portland startup scene details were admittedly nebulous.
[HTML4]Back when I first mentioned the Portland Incubator Experiment (PIE)—a collaborative project between Wieden + Kennedy and some folks in the Portland startup scene—details were, admittedly, nebulous. And understandably, to some, it seemed as if the folks at PIE were being intentionally vague. So I promised to keep providing more details as time went on.
Well, now some more folks involved in the experiment—like Renny Gleeson of W+K, Scott Kveton, and Jason Glaspey, all of whom are helping head up PIE—have provided some of their thoughts on what PIE is trying to accomplish. Read More
Wouldn’t it be awesome if something positive did the same thing? Now it may. Introducing the Portland Incubator Experiment (PIE) from Wieden + Kennedy (W+K).
[HTML2]If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times, Portland is a town full of creatives. We’ve got creatives in technology. Creatives in startups. Creatives in graphic design. Creatives in writing. Creatives in the arts. Creatives, creatives, creatives.
But if there’s one thing I don’t like about the Portland creative scene, it’s this: how divested these creative groups seem to be from one another. It’s a crying shame.
Now granted, some recent negatives have helped bring these creative groups together. But wouldn’t it be awesome if something positive did the same thing? Now, it may. Introducing the Portland Incubator Experiment, from Wieden + Kennedy. Read More
