Portland Technology News

Portland Web Innovators Demolicious

Posted by Rick Turoczy on Thu, January 8, 2009 1:49 PM · Filed under Portland · No Comments

Last night, Portland Web Innovators kicked off its 2009 gatherings with Demolicious, the quarterly showcase of cool new products.

Of the five demos, two were products we’ve seen before—but they’ve been retooled for the new year.

Mugasha - Akshay Dodeja demoed Mugasha. Originally developed during Portland Startup Weekend, the site has gone through several iterations in development—now it’s ready to launch in private beta.

If you’re into electronica, you’re going to want to check it out. What’s it do? Basically, it parses DJ set podcasts—usually one long multi-hour track with no song info—into separate song tracks, allowing user to play the songs they want to play and actually know which tunes they’re playing.

Metroseeq - Taking a different cut on a previous iteration, Kevin Chen demoed a new version of Metroseeq, a mapping application that gives you the options to search for resources around a town, in-between two locations, or by marking your own route and allowing the service to plot resources along that route.

The new version of Metroseeq relies on the Google API and returns to the four closest resource for any search.

The other three demos showed off some new development.

Foodisms - Michael Kelly showed us Foodisms, an early version of a restaurant and food searching site with a twist: rather than searching by cuisine, you search by ingredient. Foodisms then looks for that ingredient and suggests a variety of dishes at any number of restaurants.

The current dataset is currently limited to 100 Portland restaurants (which, for Portland, is a narrow subset) but the foundational structure for the product has been established. If they can scale the data entry—dish by dish, ingredient by ingredient—this is going to be very cool indeed.

Sunago - Scott Andreas shared Sunago, community management software for nonprofits—especially advocacy groups. Its mission is simple:

“We’re tired of companies charging exorbitant amounts of money for apps that, well, suck. We’d rather you to spend your money on your vision, not software. That’s why Sunago is free for small organizations, and affordable for larger ones.”

Sunago has already been deployed with several nonprofits and Scott is constantly adding new features.

OpenLaszlo - Finally, Dave Miller demonstrated OpenLaszlo, an ECMAScript tool for building “rich internet applications” that will let the developer script structured content that can be compiled and deployed as either HTML or Flash—from the same code. Dave showed off some of the capabilities and demoed an app he had built.

Based on the beginning of his demo, I’d also offer that Dave is available to perform as a mime for your kids’ birthday parties or your next corporate function. Or not.

Demolicious was streamed live via UStream, but I’m not seeing an archived copy available yet.

If you missed the event, the next Demolicious will be April 1. What a fortuitous date for demoing.

Take Craigslist Mobile with Craigsphone for your iPhone

Posted by Karilyn Kempton on Tue, January 6, 2009 3:24 PM · Filed under Denver-Boulder , Portland , Seattle , Calgary , Edmonton , Montréal , Ottawa , Toronto , Vancouver , Victoria , Kitchener-Waterloo , Social Media , Mobile · No Comments

Craigslist addicts like myself will be interested in Craigsphone, the new iPhone app from Next Mobile Web. Craigsphone offers a clean UI; the ability to post, upload and share location while mobile; a saved viewing history, location-based suggestions, and instant-dial numbers. The Next Mobile Web crew is claiming that there is much more to come. "The internet is raw and beautiful because it is Us," they say, "and no site is more Us than craigslist." While the ability to "see stuff, fun and people nearby" is currently limited to San Francisco and Manhattan, Next Mobile Web says they will "take the best local site in the world and make it truly local." It will be interesting to see exactly where they go with that. This app might end up being the greatest thing since sliced bread for those people who constantly scan the Missed Connections hoping to find themselves described.



craigsphone from Next Mobile Web on Vimeo

 

 
Company:
Next Mobile Web
Website:
http://nextmobileweb.com/
Location:
San Francisco, California, United States

We are mobile geeks working hard to improve the web. [more]

 

WiMAX Service Launched in Portland

Posted by Karilyn Kempton on Tue, January 6, 2009 2:40 PM · Filed under Portland , Wireless , Telecom · No Comments

Portland became the first American city to get Clear-branded WiMAX service on January 6 - Clearwire calls Portland "the fastest unwired city in the West.. Clearwire recently gained control of Sprint's Xohn network to provide Clear-branded WiMAX service. Portland and Baltimore, MD are the only two pure WiMAX networks in the United States so far, with Baltimore still operating under the Xohm name.

 "Today is a historic day for the evolution of mobile computing and communications services in Portland, and the U.S.," said Benjamin G. Wolff, Clearwire CEO. "Clearwire is reinventing wireless by delivering an unmatched combination of Internet speed and mobility. We're providing a valuable service designed to improve our customers' productivity and make their lives more enjoyable, wherever they happen to be in our coverage area."

Clearwire announced in early December that they have raised $3.2 billion for a nationwide WiMAX network, from Comcast, Intel, Time Warner Cable, Google, and Bright House Networks. WiMAX offers wireless broadband acess, data and telecommunications services, and portable connecvity. Clearwire had made some enthusiastic plans to upgrade its 46 pre-WiMAX markets in the near future, there has been speculation that upcoming WiMAX deployments might be slowed due to the financial crisis. Clear offers residential users wireless service with no installation, and mobile users only  need to plug in a mobile WiMAX-enabled USB modem to their laptop.  Many computer companies are announcing embedded WiMAX technology compatible with the Clear network in teh first half of 2009. Sprint is reselling access to its 3G network to Clear, which will allow 4G WiMAX devices to work even where there is no WiMAX.

Grand opening events are happening at Portland's three Clearwire retail stores on Saturday, January 10, with gift certificates and prize draws occuring. The stores are located at: 15th and Broadway, 92nd and Sunnyside (Clackamas Promenade), and Burnside and 23rd Place (Uptown Shopping Center).

 
Company:
Clearwire
Website:
http://www.clearwire.com
Location:
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Clearwire, (NASDAQ: CLWR), offers a robust suite of advanced high-speed wireless broadband services to consumers and businesses. Clearwire’s open... [more]

 

New Sponsor Welcome: Zapp Worx Design

Posted by Rob Lewis on Tue, January 6, 2009 11:49 AM · Filed under Denver-Boulder , Portland , Seattle , Calgary , Edmonton , Montréal , Ottawa , Toronto , Vancouver , Victoria , Kitchener-Waterloo · No Comments

Techvibes is pleased to welcome Vancouver, BC based Zapp Worx Design on board as a sponsor.

Zapp Worx is situated in Gastown and pride themselves on being one of Vancouver's longest-standing graphic design firms, offering outstanding service and delivery under the most difficult situations.

Luie Zappacosta created Zapp Worx Design in 1987. Zapp Worx has grown into a full-service design and print firm, with services ranging from brand creation to web design and print design, complete with an in-house digital print facility.

Luie's team of graphic designers have trained in some of the most prominent art schools locally and internationally including Emily Carr School of Design, the University of Macedonia and The Human Academy in Japan.

 
Company:
Zapp Worx Design
Website:
http://www.zappworx.com
Location:
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Websites and print communications that entice customers, empower clients and out-do the competition. [more]

 

Portland Bloggers Unite!

Posted by Karilyn Kempton on Tue, January 6, 2009 11:49 AM · Filed under Portland , Web 2.0 , Social Media · No Comments

Portland bloggers have another valuable resource coming their way - the newly-formed Portland WordPress User Group is hosting their first meeting on Thursday, January 15 at CubeSpace. The meeting will go over future meeting times and dates; topics, ideas and speakers; ideas for regular help sessions; and an overview of cool new WordPress 2.7 features.

Portland is definitely a blogging town: on January 16, check out the one year anniversary party for Beer and Blog. Beer and Blog meets every Friday between 4:00pm and 6:00pm at Green Drago.

Portland has lots of opportunities to get involved with the blogging community, network, and learn some new tricks - all bloggers are encouraged to come out to these meetups!

Frind prepares tombstone for Match.com

Posted by Rob Lewis on Mon, January 5, 2009 3:25 PM · Filed under Denver-Boulder , Portland , Seattle , Calgary , Edmonton , Montréal , Ottawa , Toronto , Vancouver , Victoria , Kitchener-Waterloo , Success Stories · No Comments

Mashable's Jennifer Van Grove wondered aloud today if paid online dating sites are dead? She wonders if the recent launch of DowntoEarth, a completely free dating site with an interesting pedigree.

According to DowntoEarth’s Privacy Policy, this new, free entrant is “part of the IAC/InterActiveCorp family of businesses.” IAC, of course, acquired Match.com in 1999, and is also behind Match.com’s spin-off site Chemistry.com. Despite its success with paid dating, then, IAC is testing the waters with a free model.

Free dating site rival (and Vancouver resident) Markus Frind of Plentyoffish has an answer for Van Grove. YES.

In a post titled It's official - Match.com Abandons Paid Dating, Frind claims that IAC's launch of DowntoEarth is a victory for free dating sites.

It looks like match.com realizes they are losing marketshare fast and paid sites don’t really have a future.    15% of my users in the US pay on other dating sites every month,  but they all say if there was another big free site like plentyoffish they wouldn’t pay elsewhere.    This has already happened in Canada where plentyoffish is pretty much the only dating site people use, and eHarmony a distant second.

 
Company:
PlentyofFish Media
Website:
http://www.plentyoffish.com/
Location:
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Plentyoffish.com is a 100% FREE online dating site, and is constantly improving based on your feedback. You will notice everything on this online... [more]

 

Portland Startup Index - January 2009

Posted by Rob Lewis on Mon, January 5, 2009 2:09 PM · Filed under Portland , Start-up Index · 2 Comments
Rank   Company TTR
1   AboutUs 1,105
2   MetaFilter 1,847
3   Kongregate 2,187
4   Discogs 4,061
5   Digital Trends 10,952
6   COLOURlovers 19,342
7   Frappr! 40,779
8(1) myOpenID 43,437
9(-1) Jive Software 43,723
10   Platial.com 48,127
11(2) SplashCast Media 50,536
12(2) Sandy 52,965
13(-2) Strands 57,904
14(-2) Earth Class Mail 63,748
15(2) Vidoop 68,264
16(3) Clicky 75,482
17(-1) Pheedo 78,612
18   eROI, Inc. 81,236
19(-4) Gone Raw 83,359
20   Neighborhood Notes 156,890
21(4) Stikkit 173,752
22   GadgetTrak 236,866
23   GreenPrint  239,047
24(-3) Avatron Software 259,857
25(-1) LetsEat.at 270,015
26(8) UrbanDrinks.com 377,070
27(-1) Walker Tracker 390,717
28(3) MomHub 393,000
29(-2) Attensa 393,778
30(2) iovation 401,216
31   Trubee.com  439,443
32(-4) Zapproved 443,271
33(-3) NetWorthIQ 446,204
34(-5) Active Reload 457,293
35(-12) Iterasi 540,962
36(3) Grabb.it 542,029
37(-4) FreeRange 607,103
38(2) KnitMap 647,722
39(-1) Pibb 647,997
40(-3) Public Press 649,141
41(-5) Imindi 669,003
42(2) Art Face Off 711,516
43(-8) fmyi 736,598
44(-3) ChoiceA 755,680
45(-2) WeoGeo 760,147
46(-4) GoSeeTell 772,010
47(-2) Rocketbook 983,200
48(-2) Kryptiq 1,056,089
49(-2) GreenRenter 1,136,011
50(-1) Kumquat 1,385,004
51(-3) LUNARR 1,431,146
52   Jama Software 1,589,291
53(-2) Goboz 1,649,331
54(-1) Avnera 1,921,092
55   CitySpeek.com  1,940,535
56(1) Lightfleet 2,110,109
57(-3) Techchex 2,369,188
58(2) Collaborative Software Initiative 2,606,936
59(-3) Box Populi 2,767,497
60(-10) GoLife Mobile 2,791,436
61(-3) Cendix 3,147,825
62(-7) Picktastic 3,469,043
63   Ontier, Inc.  4,446,980
64(-5) Vocal Nation 4,491,226
65(-3) Worldwide Nest 10,233,416
66(-5) YourList 11,595,662
 
Company:
AboutUs
Website:
http://www.aboutus.org
Location:
Portland, Oregon, United States

AboutUs is a wiki for and about businesses and organizations, containing millions of editable pages about websites as well as other community... [more]

 
 
Company:
MetaFilter
Website:
http://www.metafilter.com
Location:
Portland, Oregon, United States

Metafilter is a weblog (what's a weblog? | comprehensive history of weblogs) that anyone can contribute a link or a comment to. A typical weblog is... [more]

 
 
Company:
Kongregate
Website:
http://www.kongregate.com/
Location:
Portland, Oregon, United States

Founded in 2006 and currently in a state of heavy development, Kongregate seeks to create the leading online hub for players and game developers to... [more]

 

The Top Five Reasons your Web Startup Will Fail

Posted by Rob Lewis on Sun, January 4, 2009 4:25 PM · Filed under Denver-Boulder , Portland , Seattle , Calgary , Edmonton , Montréal , Ottawa , Toronto , Vancouver , Victoria , Kitchener-Waterloo , Start-up · 3 Comments

Just before everyone took off for their annual Christmas break, MakeFive's Eric Karjaluoto had his Elevator Pitch featured on Techcrunch. While I'm sure Karjaluoto had a pretty strong following to his numerous blogs - IdeasOnIdeas.com, EricKarjaluoto.com, & the MakeFive Blog - before that, there's no doubt that kind of exposure is great for your overall readership.

Karjaluoto is a co-founder of a Vancouver-based interactive agency smashLAB and has been dabbling with a couple startups recently. So when he blogged on Friday about Why your web startup will fail, his readers piled on the comments (148 and counting) and they liked what they read.

In honour of Karjaluoto's current startup MakeFive, I've summarized his blog post into The Top Five Reasons your Web Startup Will Fail:

  1. You won’t have an audience
  2. You’re going to run out of cash
  3. You’ll get frustrated
  4. The emotional rollercoaster will beat you
  5. You’ll get excited about something else
 
Company:
smashLAB
Website:
http://www.smashlab.com
Location:
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

smashLAB is an interactive design firm. We create digital experiences that are meaningful, memorable and easy to manage. Our diverse clients in the... [more]

 
 
Company:
MakeFive
Website:
http://makefive.com/
Location:
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

MakeFive is a website that allows people to connect through top-five lists. In it users can start topics of any nature and then share their... [more]

 

Top Blog Posts of 2008

Posted by Rob Lewis on Fri, January 2, 2009 3:42 PM · Filed under Denver-Boulder , Portland , Seattle , Calgary , Edmonton , Montréal , Ottawa , Toronto , Vancouver , Victoria , Kitchener-Waterloo , Success Stories · 1 Comment

2008 was a stellar year for Techvibes. We relaunched the new Techvibes site in August to plenty of fanfare and our site traffic has been growing ever since. Fuelling the traffic has been some great blog content from our contributors across the Techvibes city network. So, what was popular on Techvibes in 2008 - here's are the 20 most popular blog posts based on pageviews (excluding our Startup Indexes blog posts):

  1. Canada's Do Not Call Registry Starts Today - Greg Andrews, Sep. 30th
  2. The Gaming Industry in Vancouver - Rob Lewis, Feb. 1st
  3. Talking A Lot with Rogers Talkspot - Jonathon Narvey, Aug. 15th
  4. BC's Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies - Rob Lewis, Sep. 3rd
  5. Fiver Media (aka Bodog & Riptown) cut 174 employees - Rob Lewis, Sep. 19th
  6. New Ownership announced at Marqui - Rob Lewis, Aug. 18th
  7. Baines Impounds Photo Violation Technologies - Rob Lewis, Oct. 20th
  8. Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em - Kevin Curry, Sep. 4th
  9. McDonald's Fuels Fairies and Dragons - Rob Lewis, Mar. 8th
  10. Amazon.com to Acquire AbeBooks - Rob Lewis, Aug. 1st
  11. Intuit Canada Moves Head Office from Edmonton to Mississauga - Stephen King, Mar. 11th
  12. Sanyo Canada reinvents the square wheel with pointless Internet Radio - Warren Frey, Oct. 27th
  13. Canada's National Do-Not-Call List is Live - Varun Mathur, Oct. 1st
  14. Globalive Pledges to Launch Canadian Cellular Service in Mid-2009 - Greg Andrews, Sep. 5th
  15. Ottawa Startup Gazaro Brings the Babes at TechCrunch50 - Greg Andrews, Sep. 11th
  16. Air Sharing Brings Missing File Storage Functionality to iPhone - Greg Andrews, Sep. 16th
  17. Gravity Factor takes on Marqui - Rob Lewis, Jul. 23rd
  18. CanWest to buy NowPublic? - Rob Lewis, Nov. 14th
  19. Vancouver Tech Executives see Mumabi Massacre firsthand - Rob Lewis, Nov. 27th
  20. Edmonton's Free WiFi Project provides free Internet access at the Fringe Festival - Mack Male, Aug. 14th

Does anyone has a favorite Techvibes post  for 2008? I know what mine was - feel free to comment with yours.

Top 10 Blog Posts of December 2008

Posted by Rob Lewis on Thu, January 1, 2009 2:55 PM · Filed under Denver-Boulder , Portland , Seattle , Calgary , Edmonton , Montréal , Ottawa , Toronto , Vancouver , Victoria , Kitchener-Waterloo , Success Stories · No Comments

Traffic on Techvibes started very strong in December and slowed down as the month progressed and everyone's holiday plans kicked in.

As usual our Canada Startup Index was the most popular post of the month and promises to continue being a regular contender for top monthly post throughout 2009. Sun Microsystems sponsored the Techvibes Startup Indexes in November, however the indexes went sponsor-less in December and we're open to offers for January. Look for the new round of indexes to be published on January 5th.

Blog coverage in December was diverse with the economy having a role in a couple of the biggest stories - EA pulled the plug on their showcase Yaletown digs, rumours swirled around VC-backed EQO, and Telus was one of many companies to lay-off employees pre-holidays. On the bright side, Chalk Media was acquired by RIM and Tech legend Dick Hardt joined Microsoft.

The Top 10 blog posts published in December based on pageviews were:

  1. Canada Startup Index - December 2008
  2. EA Drops Plans for Still-In Progress Taletown Studio
  3. b5media shares revenue numbers - how do you compare?
  4. Hover.com is the anti-Go Daddy
  5. 10 Canadian New Media Companies to Watch
  6. EQO Shutting Down?
  7. Xtreme Labs Speedtest Ranked in Top iPhone Utilities of 2008
  8. Telus Cuts Managers to lower costs
  9. RIM buys Vancouver's Chalk Media for $23.1 Million
  10. Dick Hardt Joins Microsoft

Stay tuned for our 2008 wrap-up tomorrow where we'll dig into our Google Analytics account and uncover some trends from last year.

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