Augmented Reality has become more than a buzzword. It represents the next step in human/computer interaction. Interfaces that were once solid have become liquid. With the iPhone, we have the ability to download software from the air. With augmented reality, the interface evaporates from the liquid state into the air as well. Bruce Sterling’s keynote at Layar is a helpful introduction to this field.

There have been a number of applications developed by various companies and individuals, but what’s being done in Portland? As it turns out, quite a lot. I’ve been running an unadvertised Augmented Reality meetup for the past few months (if you’re a developer or Interaction Designer interested in attending this group, comment below), and have found the Portland tech community to be a fertile ground or AR development.

Mobile Portland brings Augmented Reality to you

Starting Monday, you can learn more about what’s going on in Portland AR as well. There will be a meetup at AboutUs.org with two of Portland top AR developers. They’re great people and I highly recommend meeting them. The meeting starts at 6pm at AboutUs.org.

Event Overview

Imagine being able to use your phone to see what that IKEA couch you’ve been considering will look like in your living room. A far-fetched science fiction scenario? No, IKEA has already released an application like that in Europe.

Augmented reality is an exciting and emerging technology. Augmented reality take real life information–typically the video display of a phone–and overlays it with computer information. Augmented reality is something that is completely unique to mobile.

This month at Mobile Portland, we’re lucky to have two speakers who are early innovators in augmented reality. P. Mark Anderson is platform architect for Spot Metrix which provides an augmented reality library for iPhone called 3DAR. Tim Sears created Robotvision, one of the first augmented reality applications for iPhone.

Mark and Tim will share how people are using augmented reality, their experiences using augmented reality, and what the future holds for this new technology.

About the Speakers

P. Mark Anderson

P. Mark Anderson has 13 years experience developing interactive applications. After receiving a degree in Computer Science from University of Colorado in 1999 he started his career as a developer for Sun Microsystems.

In addition to creating several iPhone applications, Mr. Anderson moderates the Helpful iPhone Utilities open source project, as well as My Maps, an augmented reality iPhone app built on top of Google’s personalized mapping system.

Mr. Anderson is platform architect for the 3DAR augmented reality SDK. He enjoys working with both artists and developers, and occupies his spare time with watercolor painting, mountain biking, disc golf and mentoring.

Tim Sears

Tim Sears is a software engineer who works for PR firm Waggener Edstrom by day building web applications, by night creating location-based augmented reality experiences for the iPhone. He created Robotvision, a popular augmented reality browser, for the iPhone in 2009 and currently works with clients to build out mobile geolocation experiences in augmented reality.

His work in augmented reality and social media analytics has been featured in major publications such as ReadWriteWeb, TechCrunch and CNET, and has won several awards, including the International Business Awards Best New Product/Service of 2009 for twendz, a real-time Twitter sentiment analysis application.

Date

Monday, January 25, 2010 at 6:00pm

Location

AboutUs Offices
107 SE Washington St., Suite 520,
Portland, Oregon 97214

RSVP on Upcoming.org

Mobile Portland: Augmented Reality on Upcoming.org

Website:

MobilePortland.com

Last night, around 6 pm, an event at Substance brought together many members of the Portland design/creative/new media/innovative community. Those tags do not describe the types of people there, no do they describe how it was to be at the event. Why? Because I wasn’t able to make it.

I’m going to review the event anyway (or at least provide information for others who couldn’t make it), as well as use some great pictures taken by Haley Lovett. I’m including them here, so you can understand some semblance of the event.

Okay, so what is The New Communicators about?

According to a post on the Substance website, “New Communicators are compelled to engage in conversation. They stand taller and stride farther when traversing the current media landscape. They are a mixture of digital and analog. Their message is everything interactive. Everything transmissive. Communicating is a give-and-take, speaking-and-listening, and New Communicators utilize a mixture of new and traditional tools to share their point-of-view with the world. Evolving conversation, they share their ideas, their truths, their lives”.

The New Communicators Video

If you missed it, here’s a Q&A in digital video!

The New Communicators Q&A - September 1, 2009 from The New Communicators on Vimeo.

The gathering was “about the evolution of conversation: exploring the pathways through which an originator interacts with a receiver. These connections can be fulfilling and triumphant; the failures potentially tragic and illuminating. Regardless of the outcome, these experiences are relevant, useful and inspirational. They should be open, discussed and analyzed in the interest of understanding what it means to be a New Communicator”.

What Next?

From Wednesday, October 28th to Friday, October 30th, you’re invited to hold an event around the theme of Evolving Conversation and explore what it means to be a New Communicator. The intent is to curate events for specific time slots in the mornings (8am to 10am), afternoons (4pm to 6pm) and evenings (7pm to 9pm) across the city. However, if those time slots become filled and you still want to hold an event, we got you covered. Any individual, group or company who wants to be a part of the convergence is welcome to do so and we will promote your events on our web site. Although, get those ideas in early if you want top billing and mentions in press content.

Event Response:

There was a lot of buzz about The New Communicators on Twitter. Some of my favorites:

hillerns: I learned something important this evening. When you invite folks to engage, you begin by asking, “What do you think?” #thenewcom

momothemonster: Great conversations at #thenewcom meetup tonight. Consider my fires officially stoked.

ephanypdx: 2nd thing I learned at #thenewcom: exchanging contact info is so 2004. Now we just follow each other.

Needless to say, I’m looking forward to hosting a session. Although I’m not sure on what yet. You can help me if you want by commenting below.

If that’s not enough for you, here’s a quick Q&A:

Who are you?

We are a group of like-minded individuals who believe the nature of conversation is evolving. It is our mission to illuminate this evolution, educate on how to traverse the new media landscape and inspire others to initiate conversations of their own.

What do you mean by “Conversations”?

Conversations are any kind of engagement in which thoughts are shared, ideas are exchanged and lives are changed. A Conversation is a dissemination of a point-of-view, a connection with an audience and a reciprocation to the originator. It is how we learn and grow.

What is a New Communicator?

Anyone who is compelled to engage in conversation by utilizing a mixture of new and traditional tools to share their point-of-view with the world.

Why are you doing this?

We want to seek out and share the stories of those who have found a way to break through to their audience in an authentic way using any medium, digital or otherwise. Too much emphasis is placed on the technology behind interaction, when it is the content and quality of the conversation that matters most.

How do you intend to make this happen?

We see our role as gracious facilitators providing an online space for participants to promote their gatherings, connect with collaborators and venues, and use our connections in the community to provide a context to share their experiences and promote their ideas.

Where is Substance Located?

Looking for 1551 SE Poplar? Here’s what it looks like from outside: http://twitpic.com/g5705

How Can I Participate?

Simply visit The New Communicators, or follow them on Twitter at @thenewcom, and the hashtag #thenewcom.

Being a webworker is a fun but challenging task. It calls for dedication, focus and the ability to not get distracted by all of the distracting stuff out there on the web.

Since taking on the challenge of working for myself, I’ve learned a few things about being productive online. If you’re struggling with productivity, or thinking of taking your work online, you might like these tips. If applied correctly, they’ll save you a lot of wasted time. If you’re your own boss, it’s sometimes difficult to keep on track. And more time is what you can get from working for yourself. That time is time spent traveling, or with your spouse or kids, or with your friends.

1. Make a To-Do list Before Using Your Computer

Before even looking at your machine, sit down with an analog piece of paper and write down what you really need to do. Organize these tasks into categories, like “time” or “finance”. Organizing the tasks will allow you to do all of the tasks related to finance at the same time, instead of switching around to different tasks. Do the easiest tasks first, and allow only one or two minutes for each. Tackle the most difficult tasks after taking a short break, or break up the difficult tasks into small pieces and attack those similarly.

2. Set a Time Limit

If you’re jumping on a task, set a time limit for yourself. Say, “I’m going to only work on this for 20 minutes. Let nothing else distract you for those 20 minutes. When the time is up At the end of 20 minutes see how much you’ve accomplished the task.

3. Don’t Try to Do More Than 2-3 Big Things Per Day

When I first considered starting a blog, I wanted to do everything in one day. I later realized that doing small things would be more feasible and stronger. If a beach is made of a trillion particles of sand, then a powerful web presence is the accumulation of millions of tiny actions, slowly building themselves into something over time.

4. Use Paper to Organize Your Thoughts

Before tackling a blog post or E-mail, use paper and pen to organize the main points you want to achieve. It will allow you to understand which pieces you’d like to cover, vs. which pieces are not.

5. Don’t Multitask

This is probably the most difficult piece. Multitasking comes naturally, but at a cost: the more fragmented a task becomes, the longer it takes to get completed. Pick simple tasks and do them in one sitting. Resist the urge to check E-mail. If you get stuck, walk around the room without looking at the screen. Try to keep thought processes in the realm of the mind, instead of externalized in Google. This will help the brain to stay agile when faced with problems that take critical thinking to solve. The activation energy it takes to complete a task is often higher than grabbing a search in Google, or a quick look at news feeds, but keeping that analysis internally will help to complete a task in a short period of time.

6. Don’t Bite off More Than You Can Chew

Many projects seem exciting at first blush, but turn into dull chores when actually tackled. Even the smallest of tasks can balloon into enormous projects if not organized correctly. Simplify and clarify before taking on a new task. Make sure to point out key deliverables and communication points. This keeps information from falling through the cracks. Be wary of clients who do not fully communicate their needs or expect you to do multiple processes you are not comfortable with. Simply your deliverables into a cohesive, actionable timeline, and let the client understand what the touch points are.

7. Turn Off the Internet

Forcing yourself offline will push you to reconsider your task list and what you’re really trying to get done online. Use an offline E-mail app like Outlook for PC, or Mail.app for Mac and compose E-mails and drafts offline. Use a piece of paper or a text document to organize tasks that you plan to do when you go back online. At the end of the offline working period, turn on the Internet and send out E-mails in bulk. Look at your tasklist and begin accomplishing tasks that require Internet access without checking E-mail, Twitter, or news feeds. If you need specific answers, feel free to ask your social network, but do not dwell there reading feeds. This is a goal that requires a lot of restraint. Feeds are created to be addicting, and it is often difficult not to sink into the fast-flowing river of news.

8. Don’t Compare Yourself to Others

While looking at what others are doing in your field good for informative or inspirational purposes, don’t dwell on what you’re doing in comparison to them. The Internet is a massive landscape, and it is okay to do things that aren’t as awesome as what other people are doing. If you’re not careful, comparing yourself to others can detract you from focusing on goals at hand. When it seems like every website or project has been completed in one day, reconsider. Success takes a while to accomplish, and the more you focus on your own goals, the more powerful you’ll become.

9. Check Your E-mail Twice a Day

Checking E-mail is one of the worst detractors from productivity.

10. Read the 4-Hour Workweek

Tim Ferriss might not be quite the master of what he preaches (I was told that he definitely works more than 4 hours a week), but he sure knows how to get things done and achieve his goals. If nothing else, his book is a great reference tool as well as an aid in creatively considering new avenues for innovation.

Tim’s ideas explain how to take normal tasks and compress the amount of time and space it takes to accomplish them. Although part of his book talks about outsourcing, the rest has a great deal of sound business advice that has really helped me out. And while it is often difficult not to constantly fragment my tasks and check my E-mail constantly, when I think before I act, the results are generally terrific. I highly recommend it.

Get it: Paper Edition of the 4 Hour Workweek.

Or get this one: Kindle Edition of the 4-Hour Workweek.

Looking for more tips?

Last year, I interviewed Feroshia Knight of the Baraka Institute about how she stayed productive online. She related 5 tips that can be used offline as well.

Read Lifehacker’s Top 10 Productivity Basics Explained. It’s a great post full of useful tips, including how to employ and develop Ninja-like research skills.

Image Credits

1st image: petecarr
3rd image:  cijmyjune
2nd image: kompott

You can find many more here: FutureBuzz - 50 Stunning Creative Commons Flickr Photos.

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Amber Case is a Cyborg Anthropologist and New Media Consultant from Portland, Oregon. You can follow her online at @caseorganic

Alfred Lin, COO, CFO and Chairman of Zappos.com spoke Thursday Oct. 16, at Oregon State University. When @brampitoyo and @mulderc and I got there, the entire auditorium was filled to the brim with college student. Everyone in the room was focused and intent on hearing what Alfred had to say. He spoke quietly and calmly, and his words were very engaging.

In less than ten years, Zappos.com has matured from an upstart to the top Internet shoe seller that is forecasted to generate $1 billion in gross merchandise sales in 2008. The e-tailer stocks 3 million pairs of shoes, handbags, apparel, and accessories, specializing in some 1,000 brands that are difficult to find in mainstream shopping malls.

Using an interactive Q&A format, Alfred discussed the ingredients to building a brand, culture, and company that matters. He shared the lessons he learned while growing the business over the last decade as well as key insights on e-commerce and entrepreneurship.

Transcript:

Consider Yourself Lucky

He talked about a study that was done with a set of people who considered themselves lucky vs. a set of people who considered themselves unlucky. Each set was asked to count the number of images present in a given newspaper. All over

Company Culture

At some point, we had more new people at the company than we had original employees. Our challenge was to train the new employees to understand and become excited about and believe in the corporate culture.

A financial officer in the company must be able to translate what’s happening in the company to other members

Q: Was it difficult to get brands like Versace to sign onto Zappos, and do you find it easier to get brands to sign on as you get more press and success?

Alfred: It’s never easier. It took us three years to get Nike. Once we got them, the CEO’s hands were shaking so much it was difficult for him to write the E-mail to the team about it.

Entrepreneurship

I don’t recommend becoming an entrepreneur. Do not underestimate the work it takes to become one. Your company will go through rough times and good times, but it is becoming harder and harder to be one.

Competitors

90-93% of commerce is done offline, so we do not have a lot of the competition traditional companies have.

On Company Growth

As a company grows, you’re not going to be able to do everything yourself. You have to begin relying on your team.
And a lot of times you have to look at your team and see who does the most and who does the least.

Teams can accomplish a lot more than indivudals. When your team succeeds, you succeed, and when your team fails, you fail. It’s important to create

Retail Stores and Catalog Business

Retail stores are not as scalable as opening up another website. But we have a type of catalog that has fashion advice and other tips.

I think business is why you do it. It’s rewarding and tiring at the same time. I equate the high I get from working on a business to a drug.

He said he wishes he could spend more time with his significant other, but he doesn’t really regret any of the choices he’s made in his life.

The toughest decision he ever had to make is letting his friends go if he’s hired them.

The best day of his career when he joined Zappos on the first day, because he felt very welcomed by the corporate culture.

Tracking and Marketing Tools

We evolved our website over the past 9 years mostly by A/B testing.

We have a new website ( http://zeta.zappos.com ) that we just rolled out, but that website does not convert as well as something that’s evolved for the past 9 years. It’s not that hard to have url A and url B and test the two.

Hiring Zappos Employees

We look for passion and a belief in the company culture over an applicant that has skill but is looking for another job.

The reason we started out training process is that we had to train people because we work and think differently. We had to think about how to not only teach the culture but improve it with each new group that came in.

We think of customers as investments, and that’s why customer

We view our interaction experiences with our customers as a branding experience. We take undivided time to

Recommended Business Books

Peruse growth and learning. We have a library in the lobby and some books are required reading for advancement inside the company.

Good to Great
Peak . Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs.

Management Strategies

I don’t have an overall strategy.I don’t do voice mails. All of them work if you stick to it. Pick a framework and work with it. We’re a very E-mail intensive company. And we expect people to answer an E-mail quickly or in a specific way.

We offer every employee $2000 if they leave. And if it’s not working, they can leave. It’s a good way to test loyalty, and supporting a person if it’s not working out.

Zappos Culture Book

Each employee contributes a paragraph about the culture of Zappos to a book that is added to continually. Except for small grammatical formatting, the book is largely unedited. The bad is left in with the good, and it is an excellent way to introduce others into the culture of the company.

We made money.zappos.com and twitter.zappos.com because of the passions of these different groups.

Zappos.com is one of the few companies who aggregates their Twitter data.

————-

Alfred Lin is responsible for all financial, administrative, and warehouse operations of Zappos.com. Since 2005, he has brought focus, strategy, and financial discipline to help grow the business efficiently and profitably.

Building a Brand that Matters is part of The Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series at Oregon State University. More information is available on Oregon State University’s Business Website.

———–
Amber Case is a Cyborg Anthropologist and Social Media Consultant from Portland, Oregon. You can follow her on Twitter @caseorganic

Doug Fieldhouse of Vesta, ClearEdge Power, ID Experts, nLIGHT and BRING Recycling Are Selected as this Year’s Award Winners

Sept. 18, 2008, Portland, Ore. — The Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN) announced the winners of the 2008 OEN Tom Holce Awards for Entrepreneurship during its 15^th annual awards ceremony on September 18, 2008. The ceremony, held at the Oregon Convention Center, honored finalists in four categories: Entrepreneurship Award for Individual Achievement; Development Stage Company of the year; Working capital Stage Company of the year; and the Growth Stage Company of the year.

Doug Fieldhouse of Vesta received the 2008 Entrepreneurship Award for Individual Achievement. “Doug exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit that we celebrate with these awards,” said Bob Sternberg, judging chair for this year’s awards. “He thinks big and looks for ways to make a tremendous impact, and he has the ability to execute on those ideas in ways that scale up effectively. His success with Vesta is just one example of his ability to change and jump into new opportunities and persistently grow the business over time.” In addition, he has a long history of mentoring and coaching young entrepreneurs.

In the Development category, ClearEdge Power of Portland, Oregon is this year’s winner. ClearEdge Power is a pioneer and provider of ultra-clean and efficient on-site energy generation systems. They have a substantial market opportunity and are professionally managed, well funded and are making substantial progress with product development and early adoption customers.

ID Experts of Beaverton is the winner in the Working Capital Category. ID Experts provides identity theft protection services for individuals, corporations and the public sector. They have successfully adapted to the changing needs of the market when required. Their painstaking and labor intensive process to restore customers’ identities will make it difficult for other companies to compete successfully against them in this marketplace. Due to these efforts, they have a 100 percent success rate restoring identities.

The winner of the Growth Category is nLIGHT Corporation of Vancouver, Washington.

nLIGHT develops and manufactures photonics modules for industrial, defense, and medical applications. The company had the vision to intelligently re-invent itself in the early stages of the collapse of the telecom bubble and the temerity to implement that new strategy under extremely difficult circumstances. It applied its skills and ingenuity in the marketplace to create, shepherd and grow a novel mentoring program (MAPS—Mentoring for Advanced Program for Students) that is having a real impact on local education and the future of this community.

BRING Recycling is this year’s winner of the Non-profit Award. BRING Recycling collects and resells low-cost used building materials as well as provides deconstruction and recycling services. Revenues generated fund conservation and education programs about the best way to reuse and recycle. BRING Recycling was selected for its organizational and entrepreneurial strengths overall, and how the organization was able to change course to meet changing demands in the community. BRING Recycling received a $5,000 award from the Meyer Memorial Trust at the Awards Ceremony.

“The recipients of this year’s awards have been successful because of their determination, independent thinking, and their ability to change direction and chart their own course.” said Linda Weston, executive director and president of OEN. “From clean power to identity protection, these Oregon and Southwest Washington companies are making innovative contributions that make a difference in our communities and beyond.”

The winners were chosen from 14 finalists by the OEN award judging committee, chaired by Bob Sternberg. Companies from throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington were nominated for the Awards, and were narrowed to the 14 finalists after hundreds of hours of due diligence, including site visits and face-to-face interviews. A comprehensive list of winners and finalists follows this release.

Individual Category

Doug Fieldhouse, Vesta - Winner
Ray King, AboutUs.org
Susan Sokol Blosser, Sokol Blosser

Working Capital Category

ID Experts- Winner
Beaverton, OR

Pop Art, Inc.
Portland, Oregon

PV Powered
Bend, Oregon

Growth Category

nLIGHT Corporation- Winner
Vancouver, WA

HemCon Medical Technologies, Inc.
Portland, Oregon

Timbercon
Lake Oswego, WA

Development Category

ClearEdge Power- Winner
Portland, Oregon

AboutUs, Inc.
Portland, Oregon

Jama Software
Portland, Oregon

Plas2Fuel Corporation
Chris Ulum
Kelso, WA

About OEN

Founded in 1991, the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to providing opportunities for Oregon entrepreneurs and improving the business climate for emerging, growth-oriented companies statewide. The organization has members throughout Oregon and southwest Washington. For more information about the OEN, visit its website at www.oen.org.

For more information, press only:
Jessica Foote
OnPR
503-802-4406
jessicaf@onpr.com

—-

Congratulations to all of the winners! Thanks for helping to put Oregon’s Entrepreneurs on the map!

Amber Case is a Cyborg Anthropologist and Social Media Consultant based in Portland, Oregon. You can contact her by E-mail or @caseorganic on Twitter.

 

 Hazelnut Tech Talk Episode 5 [43:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (452)

Click to Subscribe

Hazelnut Tech Talk is a collaboration between Amber Case and Bram Pitoyo.

Our fifth episode features Craig Schwartz from toonlet, wherein we talked about how the web bubble burst helped form FooCamp, why San Fransiscans are dastardly good at spotting werewolfs, history and future of the button, BlackBerry camp, ribs breakage due to excessive laughter, online comic that shares the same spirit with SPORE, and text adventures built on HyperCard.

Let the Comic Making Begin!

If you’re interested in making your own comics really, really quickly, head on over to Toonlet, where you can do pretty much whatever you want. (And the replies to comic posts are in comics too, making it an amusingly spam-free environment!).

Digitally Yours,

Hazelnut Tech Talk

The Baraka Institute is the brainchild of the fiery Feroshia Knight, an entrepreneur, life coach, and teacher. She’s new to Twitter, but wanted to take a brief break from her entrance into the social world to give me (and the world) five time management tips.

As an instructor at Baraka Institute, Feroshia illuminates the classroom with her vibrant energy. She understands the meaning behind practice makes perfect and creates powerful learning environments in which students thrive, leaving inspired and ready for action.

Five steps to better time management

Tip #1:

Know your priorities for the day.

Tip #2:

Have a system to check that you’re on task.

Amber: What kind of system do you use to keep on task? I often use a legal pad, or a notebook with check boxes.

Feroshia: Actually, in addition to having a list, I use a timed device to make sure I’ve stayed on track in alignment with the day’s plan

And a timer can be as easy as an egg timer. Anything that keeps ticking.

Tip #3:

Have a criteria list for when time becomes sparse to make the right decisions as how to best use your time.

Tip #4:

Check in with yourself — Ask: “Am I on fire in a good way or a stressful way? Am I on target?” Because a lot of people try to grind without actually making progress. There’s a difference between working hard and working smart

Tip #5:

Pre-plan your day the night before with the long term future in mind. People tend to focus on the moment, getting stuck in the details.

When people get stuck in the details, life becomes prey ANALYSIS PARALYSIS! The key is to look at different ways to see and do things.

Amber: How long have you been coaching businesses and organizations?

Feroshia: Since 1989. I initially had a marketing and communications agency called Foto:Grafika/Agent 47. I moved from the “expert model” of consultant to the “harness the collective intelligence” model of coaching. Of course there is a mixture of consulting in there, where relevant.

Amber: Brilliant. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and advice. Good luck to you in the future! How can people interested in learning more about being productive, happy people contact you?

Feroshia: Catch me personally at feroshia@barakainstitute.com or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/barakainstitute

There’s also the Baraka Institute Website, which is http://www.barakainstitute.com/

When, Where, Why?

There was an event this Wednesday at Cubespace called “Lunch with a VC”. The VC in this case was Carolynn Duncan. She has three projects going right now: www.fundinguniverse.com, Epic Ventures, Hundred Dollar Business (a series of brilliant startups using less than one hundred dollars each).

New Ventures

While I wasn’t able to stay after lunch to hear her presentation, I was able to visit with her afterward at Backspace with Reid Beels and Bram Pitoyo. She showed us a brilliant new start-up she’s doing (for less than one hundred dollars). And while I can’t say much more about it right now (because is not yet finished), I can say that it will be a wonderful boon to experts used to a coffee-shop/consulting life.

Jean Ann is the President of Escalation Business Consulting, a consulting firm with a focus on business coaching, strategic direction and fund development. Escalation helps individuals and businesses spend less time doing good work and more time doing great work.

Previously, she was the Executive Director of the Cascade AIDS Project, Oregon’s largest AIDS service provider. She has been involved in HIV/AIDS work since 1999, and prior to accepting the position at CAP was the Executive Director of RAIN, a statewide AIDS Service organization in Oklahoma. Jean Ann received her Bachelor’s degree in Language Arts education from Phillips University and a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Denver.

She was voted one of “50 Making a Difference” by the Oklahoma business newspaper the Journal Record, and was honored with the University of Oklahoma’s School of Social Work Social Welfare Leader award. In 2007, Jean Ann was named one of “40 Under 40” by the Portland Business Journal and one of “100 Women We Love” by Go NYC Magazine.

One of Van Krevelen’s clients is the Oregon Entreprenuer’s Network, a proactive source of funds for Portland Startup companies, especially those in the Tech sector.

—————————————————-

Case: How long has the Oregon Entrepreneur’s Network been in existence? What
kinds of services does it provide?

Van Krevelen: OEN was originally formed in 1991 as the Oregon Enterprise Forum, one of more than 20 worldwide chapters of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Enterprise Forum. In 1997, the organization merged with the Oregon Young Entrepreneurs Association (OYEA) and formed the Oregon Entrepreneurs Forum, the largest entrepreneur assistance organization in the state of Oregon.

OEN’s programs are geared toward companies that have the potential to create
significant numbers of jobs and high earnings. The organization helps
entrepreneurs launch and grow successful ventures by providing networking
and access to investors and professional service providers. It helps
investors find worthwhile companies to invest, and helps connect start-ups
with the service providers who can make them successful. Nearly 100
programs/events are presented annually.

Its educational offerings focus on business plan creation and helping
companies prepare to gain funding, but also cover some of the operational
elements of any good business plan, including recruiting a management team
and identifying markets.

Programs range from seminars on business concept development, business plan
development, and investor presentation skills, to formal mentoring, private
business plan reviews, regular monthly networking/education events
(PubTalk), and a series of special events: the Entrepreneurship Awards
Dinner, Angel Oregon, and Venture Oregon. In addition, we manage the
Portland Angel Network and the Women’s Investment Network, which are open to
qualified investors only. We also partner with EDCO to present a PubTalkT
program in Bend.

Case: What services do you provide the OEN?

Van Krevelen: I serve as OEN’s Development Director. This is the first time OEN has had a
Development Director, so I am incredibly honored and excited to be joining
them as the break ground on this venture. OEN has always done an excellent
job of helping brilliant startups find funding to support their efforts, and
now, it will be doing the same for itself. We want to make sure that OEN is
around for the innovators of the future.

Case: Does the Oregon Entrepreneur’s Association have resources for new
business owners to practice their pitch before a conference?

Van Krevelen: There are so many capacity-building and support services for
entrepreneurs.for a summary, go to http://www.oen.org/programs.aspx.
I would suggest that if people are really interested in learning more about
OEN, they should join us at one of the OEN Pub Talks. This informal program
centers on presentations by startups eager for feedback on their products,

services, business model, marketing strategy, or other integral component of their business. Confirming the wisdom of strategy, sharing ideas, alerting them to land mines can help the entrepreneur to improve opportunities for growth and survival.

First, three young OEN member companies have five minutes each to present
who they are and what they do to the assembled crowd, who are encouraged to
ask questions. Later, a single featured company will present an expanded
version of their pitch and take comments and questions from the audience.
Think of it as trial by friendly fire.
PubTalks occur the second Wednesday of every month (except July — we take a
month off in the summer). The cost is $15 for OEN members, $25 for
nonmembers. If you’re interested in either making a five-minute pitch or
being a featured company at PubTalk, contact Mitch Daugherty, the chair of
OEN’s Entrepreneurial Services committee.
Case: About how many tech companies have been helped out through the OEN?
Van Krevelen: Nearly 3,000 members, made up of entrepreneurs, service providers, and the investment community.

Case: OEN is a client of your consulting business. What services do you offer?

Van Krevelen: I am in love with potential, always have been. And I know that it is easy in
business to reach a certain comfort level and stop.

However, some businesses push through to a higher level of functioning and become excellent. I help individuals and clients rise above the day to day and reach ever greater
levels of performance and satisfaction. Below are some of the ways I help
that happen.

Organizational Management and Planning

• Strategic direction through clear and effective strategic planning
• Leadership development through executive counsel and organizational training

Resource Development

• Strategic planning for fundraising/development
• Analysis and recommendation for diversification of funding streams
• Donor cultivation, management and stewardship, and major donor campaigns

Personal Brand Development

• Public speaking and media interview coaching
• Image and profile development strategic planning
• Implementation of effective social marketing strategies

Business Writing, Professional Blogging and Other Written Materials

• Development and renewal of business plan, creation of resumes, CV’s, bios, and profiles
• Development and maintenance of blogs and other forms of social media
• Authoring of white papers, articles, and press releases
• Ghostwriting and byline services

Business Development

• Development of beginning stage entrepreneurial ventures
• Assessment and analysis of infrastructure/system needs
• Business plan development

Case: Who are some of your recent clients?

Van Krevelen: Aside from OEN, my most recent clients are the Northwest Health Foundation,
Yoga Cowgirls and The Main Street Foundation.

——————-

On Twitter and Consulting

Case: I met you through Twitter.com. When we last talked, you told me that
Twitter has also helped you gain clients. What percentage of your
total leads come from Twitter per month?

Van Krevelen: Well, I would say that probably 40% of my new referrals and contacts have
come through Twitter. But there are many more benefits to using Twitter. I
also use it to build community around my blogs and my personal brand.

Case: How do you integrate your blog with your Twitter account and Twitter
with your blog?

Van Krevelen: I have three blogs that essentially signify my main interests, Edgy
Entrepreneur, Portland Foodie and Gardener to Farmer. I have developed a
social media strategy that starts with a mission statement, which is my bio
on Twitter, and ends with the goals of my business plan.

My bio is “I am a serious foodie, an avid gardener and a crazed entrepreneur.” All of which is
VERY true! And I guess that is the other thing about Twitter that I think is
essential. If you aren’t posting in a genuine way, over time serious
followers will realize that and stop following you.

Case: When did you first sign up for an account with Twitter? How has your
microblogging changed/evolved since you first joined?

Van Krevelen: Wow, I signed up back in May, I think. But I just couldn’t get my mind
around why anyone would want to chat back and forth all day about what they
were doing. I went back to it after I had started my blogs and dipped my toe
in the stream. WOW! What a different experience! Over time, its users have
become more aware of its potential and more tweets are directed rather than
random. It is my favorite social application by far.and a great place to
work on establishing a personal brand.

Case:What do you find yourself most likely to talk about on Twitter?

Van Krevelen: I try to post to my mission 60-70% of the time. Otherwise, I am all over the
place, getting nothing done, wasting time. Of course, I genuinely like
learning about other people and get a kick out of making people laugh, so
you could see some quirky stuff.

Case: Thanks for letting the Portland Tech Community know more about the
Oregon Entrepreneurs Network, your use of Twitter, and your Consulting
Business!

————————–

Jean Ann Van Krevelen is the author of www.edgyentrepreneur.com, a blog
on consulting and careers. She also delves into her passion about food and
gardening with www.portlandfoodie.com, a blog about local food, and
www.gardenertofarmer.net. This winter, she will publish her first book, a
collection of gardening experiences and recipes that will allow her readers
to see, from seed to table, the life of the food they are eating.

You can contact her at jeanannvk@edgybiz.com or you can follow her on Twitter @JeanAnnVK