Beer and Blog Portland

My goodness. Summer is here already! How is it I’ve just today noticed my first fireworks stand of the holiday season? Time to slow down and smell the sulfur, I say.

This Friday’s Beer and Blog is casual. As in: we have nothing planned and yet we’d like to hang out anyway. Unwind from the work week and kick off the 4th of July weekend with the usual suspects on the patio of the Green Dragon. Casual Friday style from 4-6pm, yo.

Next week, however, it’s time for some fun. July 10th we’ve brought back by popular demand What the Shit, novelist @melissalion’s heelarious Dramatic Twitter Reading Series. I lamed out last time, but this time I’ve already got a couple of good tweets to orate. Time to put those high school theatre skills to use. BONUS: AboutUs is having it’s anniversary party at Beer and Blog and wants to share the love in the way of beer. For the Beer and Bloggers. Yay! Stay tuned for more info.

And finally, while I’ve got your attention, I’d like to announce a date change for the hugely successful End Bloglessness. Again. (Long story.) BUT THIS TIME WE MEAN IT. On July 18th, Beer and Blog proudly continue its collective efforts to put an End to Bloglessness. We feel everyone should be polluting the Internet with our hopes, opinions, rants, and obsessions, not to mention hocking the Next Big Thing. Held at Webtrends, more details to come.

Now, if you care to RSVP on Upcoming or get informed at Calagator about Casual Beer and Blog Friday, please go right ahead.

Have a safe and explosive holiday weekend!

For a year now the OurPDX blog has pointed readers to the best and worst Portland has to offer online and off, engaged in transparent discussions about culture and post content, and sought to inform and entertain the fine citizens of Portland, Oregon. You might know the names of some of the authors of OurPDX from the Beer and Blog community: @morganPDX, @ahockley, @CamiKaos, @Dieselboi, @abrahamhyatt, @betsywhim. Any of those ring a bell? How about @mediaChick? Yep, I write there too. But not as often as I should, I’m afraid, but I do proudly call myself an OurPDX author.

Or…maybe you don’t know them. Or me. If that’s the case then here’s your chance, because this Friday Beer and Blog is thrilled to host the 1st birthday party of OurPDX, Portland’s awesome group blog authored by 23 writers who pour their honest insights about our fair city onto the Web.

Come celebrate OurPDX’s first year with cake on the patio of the Green Dragon (hopefully…rain, rain, will stay away) starting at 4pm. In fact, if the weather does cooperate, Beer and Blog will bust out the summer gear for playful fun. That means we might get to frolic in the kiddie pool, my beer and bloggie pals. Awww-yeah. Here’s hoping @portlandsun hangs around because, personally, I want my cake (on the patio) and to eat it (water pistols) too!

Also, later that night, tune into a special Strange Love Live broadcast, hosted @CamiKaos and @docnormal, with as many OurPDX authors who can stay up that late. Signature SLL tiki rum drinks will be served to the writers to get them sufficiently liquored up in the hopes they’ll say embarrassing things for everyone’s amusement. I’ll be there, trying to remember that the show is, indeed, broadcasting accross the Interverse, and is, indeed, being taped for prosperity and posting later. As in inrefrutable evidence of one’s drunken, public confessions.

On behalf of Beer and Blog and OurPDX, we hope you’ll join us this Friday. Won’t be the same without you!

RSVP on Upcoming or get your deets at Calagator

…and on a completely different but totally related note: Save the date! Saturday, July 11 is Beer and Blog’s next installment of End Bloglessness. We’ll be posting more information soon, but in the meantime please get the word out to your non-bloggie friends. You know, the ones who keep talking about wanting to blog, but never seem to get around to it, or who suffer from I-don’t-know-where-to-start-itis. In one afternoon, with much hand-holding and soothing instruction, we can help them correct the blog deficiency in their lives painlessly. And remember: only YOU can prevent bloglessness! (That just will never get old to me. EVAR.)

Big thanks to Widmer for sponsoring our After Party by donating two delicious kegs of beer!! They hooked us up with Difter Pale Ale and Widmer Hefeweizen. Give them a big thank you on Twitter @Widmer_Brothers. Also thank you to Betsy Whim for making the connection for the sponsor, Jake for driving to get them, Rick for helping, and Michele for buying lunch.

In addition to this week’s Beer and Doggies with Career Transition, we’re hosting an After Party with Open Source Bridge at the Webtrends office. OSB attendees can head over to Webtrends at 4pm, then the rest of the Beer and Bloggers will head over at 6pm. The After Party will go until 10pm and will have beer, which we’re working on a sponsor. Strange Love Live is also planning to stream a live show from have a camera crew at the After Party.

Merriment and good times will be had by all

RSVP on Upcoming or Calagator

Unless you’re living off the grid in some shack nestled deep in the lush Pacific Northwest forest, you already know that Oregon is still 2nd in the nation for unemployment numbers with more than 12% of our friends, neighbors and family pounding the proverbial pavement looking for a job. If you’re a hermit, I applaud your good taste in blogs despite your Internet connection challenge. If you’re unemployed, or know someone who is, I invite you down to the Green Dragon to find out how to transition into not only a career, but one you actually like.

Interested? Join us at 4pm on Friday in the patio for Beer and Doggies’ Career Transition presentation!

Whether you find yourself unemployed, underemployed, or unhappily employed, it’s all for the dogs. We think you can do better. We think it’s entirely possible for you to not only secure a steady paycheck, but land that job you lust for, even in “this economy”.

Career coach and strategist Brian Kurth of Career Transitions will explain how to use his straightforward 8-Steps of a Successful Career Transition action plan to not only find a job, but find the job of your dreams. He’ll cover defining your ideal job, finding a mentor, and creating an action plan you’ll stick to, plus much more.

Bring your well-mannered pooch and listen to Brian extol the wonders of his action plan “vocationing” process, which has so far helped thousands of people land their dream gig. You’ll learn how to find work you love, and before you know it you’ll be saying you live a dog’s life! Woof!

I’ll be there with my gorgeous canine @littlegyrl. (Yes, she has a twitter account. Don’t judge me.)

RSVP on upcoming.org or get your deets at Calagator

Are you one of the 100 Most Influential People in Twitter living in Portland?

If your name is on the list, generated courtesy of the intricate algorithm of Twittalyzer, you’re definitely going to want to show up to Beer and Blog this Friday. There’s a free beer waiting for you!

The creator of Twitalyzer Eric Peterson, consultant and author of Web Analytics Demystified and Web Site Measurement Hacks, will be there to explain his online service. He will also be generously treating each of the 100 most influential among us to a free, refreshing beer. Yay!

I’ve seen the list, and while there are plenty of familiar names on it there are also names I’ve never seen. There are also some names that belong to faces too rarely spotted in the Beer and Blog Clubhouse (aka the Green Dragon). I hope to see all of you for one big 100 Most Influential People in Twitter living in Portland Love Fest.

So where’s the list? Under lock and key, of course. This is free beer we’re talking about! Stay tuned. It’s almost time for Silicon Florist to announce the lucky influences and I’ll link to it when that happens, post haste, pronto, and with a quickness.

EDIT: It’s here! The list is here! Do you see YOUR name on Silicon Florist’s post on the Top 100 Portland Twitter Influencers?

RSVP at upcoming.org or Calagator

I know it doesn’t look it, but summer is almost here, and it couldn’t get here sooner. To me the hot season means slowing down and taking time off, spending lots of time in nature, and of course getting as much sunlight as my pale easy-to-burn skin can handle.

Luckily, we Beer and Bloggers can pretend summer’s already here at this Friday’s Beer Official Opening of Patio Season!

Patio Season is that precious period of time in which dining (and drinking) alfresco will be the Beer and Blog norm during the warmer months of the year. That’s cause of celebration! So how does a kiddie pool, astroturf with lawn chairs, squirt guns and ring toss sound? Like fun! Whoo-hoo!

Rain or shine, it’s Open Patio Season! Grab your sunscreen and join your friends in the Green Dragon patio this Friday.

RSVP on Upcoming or Calagator

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Psssst.

Hey, you!

Don’t run away just yet! Wouldn’t want you to miss a peek into the future of Beer and Blog’s schedule:

June 12th
Twitalyzer Top 100 Meetup
Come meet the Twitalyzer Top 100 people in Portland on Twitter. Twitalyzer creator Eric Peterson will be there to explain his service and will kick in for some drinks!

RSVP on Upcoming or Calagator

June 19th
Career Transitions
Brian Kurth will lead a chat on how to successfully make the move into a new job, whether forced to by layoff or workplace unhappiness.

June 26th
Strange Love Live and OurPDX
Betsy Whim and Cami Kaos have something special in store. Stay tuned!

June 27th
End Bloglessness
The next un-official date for the hugely successful End Bloglessness event. Remember, only YOU can put an End to Bloglessness.

July 10th
What the Shit?
Back by (very) popular demand, Melissa Lion’s Dramatic Twitter Reading Series will make the actor in all of us laugh, cry and laugh again. Very good shit, indeed.

Today

Wow friends! It’s a beautiful day to socialize and network outside on the patio with cool drinks and good people! @xolotl is planning a good game of hideNtweet. @geekygirldawn is talking about an 8pm run for @Whiffles fried pies. I think I’m going to share a laugh with @turoczy on his comment on a Facebook invite for a $25 Happy Hour Workshop on The Holy Triad of Social Media Marketing

From now on

Last week I was working with Nichole installing a blog for her father. She is also an attorney and we discussed someone from her firm doing a talk on IP law as it relates to blogging and social media. That’s when a couple thoughts came into my mind that I realize come up frequently now:

1. It’s too loud to do talks at the Green Dragon these days, and;
2. We could do it somewhere else, but the offsite Beer and Blogs cause confusion.

These are problematic issues because a big part of what Beer and Blog is all about is helping each other for which talks work great. We could change venues, but Green Dragon has been a great home to us. It’s tough to find locations that meet the requirements for a good meet up spot: happy hour, good food, nice selection of drinks, reliable wifi, order at bar when busy (compared to table service only), and a staff that cares we’re there. The location is convenient and parking is easy. Finding all of that *and* a separate room with A/V support for talks is a fantasy land at the moment.

So, let’s do this:

1. Always meet at the Green Dragon every Friday with no exception. (I can see @kenefsky’s and @reidab’s heart breaking for Blog and Beer)
2. We’ll do the talks as offsite events at different times than Friday’s from 4-6pm.

These changes will not only address the two concerns about where we’ll be and ability to hear talks, but it will also begin to build connections with other groups. At our talks, we’ll do two discussions: one lead by us and the other by the group we’re visiting. This gives us a chance to teach and learn with other groups while expanding everyone’s networks. We have an opportunity to expand the spirit of helping each other beyond the tech scene in a way that leaves *us* more well rounded in our knowledge of the world outside of tech. As I write this there is a discussing taking place on Silicon Forest with 3 Oregon Venture Capitalists. They are talking with many of our friends about funding startups. This is an exciting time for all of us and now is our moment to reach out to the larger business community and the even greater Portland community with the offering of tech in our hands and to do so as a group. Beer and Blog can participate in this movement by helping spread the knowledge of blogging and social media. I plan to ask you, the attendees, to lead our talks for the other groups. This is a particularly good opportunity for folks to share baseline information that might otherwise be perceived as too basic for the more advanced tech scene. Let’s talk more about this stuff tonight and on the network.

I also realize that Beer and Blog serves another important function, which is to be one of the groups that brings play and the social into our group. So we’ll continue to do fun field trips, but those too will be outside of our regular meet ups. We need to go to more Twicnics with @donpdonp. Take more magic bus rides with @podcasthotel. Organize outdoor movie nights with suggestions from @pdxflaneur. Participate in more hideNtweets with @xolotl and @yuetsu. Sing more karaoke with @mizd and @rockstarbrother.

I posted this on Upcoming and Calagator even though it’s practically start time.

There’s a lot going on this Friday. Have you noticed? Let me spell it out for you, a glimpse into the eye of the social storm:

Eye of the Social Storm

What	When	Where	Spell it out for me, please	RSVP
Beer and Blog	4-6pm	Green Dragon	What the Shit? sign-ups at 4:45, dramatic readings at 5pm	RSVP
Portland Ten Open House	6-8pm	Willamette University	Get an inside look at Portland Ten! www.portlandten.com	RSVP
Show and Tell	6-9pm	Substance World Headquarters	10 minutes to share something that that explains “What are you working on?”	RSVP
WebVisions Wrap Party	6:30pm-?	The Greek Cusina	This says plenty: “…we’ll buy a free shot of ouzo to the first person who beats Jeff Veens ouzo drinking record.”	Crash Central
The Whuffie Factor	7-9pm	Souk	Reading and discussion by Tara Hunt	RSVP
KGW on the Square Tour	7pm	The KGW Square	Get on TV! @TheSquare and Steph Strickland invite you on a tour of their new digs in Pioneer Square	Crash Central
Nate Angell on the Strange Love Live Podcast	9:30pm-12am	Strange Love Studios	Nate will be the guest (again, ahem) and so will his freakish eye. Here’s hoping for close-ups and a slow-mo re-enactment!	Crash Central

I’ve even provided a helpful google map to help you make as many of these awesome events as possible.

View Beer and Blog: Eye of the Social Storm in a larger map
And now a bit more about What the Shit? plans for the Eye of the Social Storm (which would be Beer and Blog, of course):

Welcome to the inaugural What the Shit Dramatic Twitter Reading Series. I started What the Shit 40 years ago in internet time (Monday) as a way for Twitter users to tap into latent performance desires and let the world celebrate the beauty and anguish, the light and dark, the cacophony and symphony of communicating in 140 characters. Let us join together and experience the poetry of Twitter.

Any and all internet documentation of What the Shit is encouraged, and the hashtag #whattheshit has been reserved.

Read more and learn the rules of the What the Shit? Dramatic Twitter Reading Series. I will be there, and am hoping to hear one of my tweets read with such melodrama that would put Wm. Shatner to shame. What a compliment that would be!

Hope to see you, my fellow beer-n-bloggers, at least once on Friday. Shouldn’t be too hard, from the looks of things!

RSVP on Upcoming or Calagator

I love being the Portland Chapter Beer and Blog Provost. I LOVE IT. I really, really do. Except, momentarily, maybe not right this second. Right now, you see, I am a wee sad to be your Official Provost. It means I am ineligible to win the most excellent beer-related loot we have ever had to give away:

2 VIP tickets to the Portland International Beer Festival in July, courtesy of GoTime.com.

Yes, really.

But wait! There’s more!

These two tickets for the Portland International Beer Festival, which is scheduled for July 17-19 in the North Park Blocks of the Pearl District, includes the following goodies and privileges:

• Unlimited entry/re-entry all weekend
• VIP express entry (no waiting in line)
• Commemorative festival glass (beer mug & shot glass)
• A premium festival shirt
• 15 beer tickets each

Generous prize package, I’d say! GoTime.com is a Seattle-based outfit with a sweet (free) iPhone app that tracks hundreds of detailed happy hour listings and nightlife discounts in the Portland area.

All you have to do for your chance to win is put your Beer and Blog Network username in the proverbial hat this Friday at the Green Dragon. There may even be an actual hat, I don’t know, but I do know names will be accepted starting at 4pm and the name of a very, very lucky Beer and Blogger will be drawn at 6pm.

Don’t have a Beer and Blog username yet? No-problemo! Just show up this Friday and one of the usual Portland Chapter suspects (read: Justin, Kelly, Christine or myself) will enroll you. Maybe you tried to register online for the Beer and Blog network but couldn’t get in? That’s because our online network requires offline registration. Here’s the reasoning behind that:

We want everyone in the network to be a real person, with a true interest in the health and viability of the idea behind Beer and Blog: bloggers helping bloggers over beer. With a free, online Beer and Blog membership you can communicate with any member of the Beer and Blog family, from any Beer and Blog chapter, as well as chime in on discussions concerning your local chapter. Most importantly, we want your Beery and Bloggy input on upcoming presentation ideas, field trips, and the like, and what better way to collect opinions then to create a gated online community! Seriously.

So if you’re not already registered, get registered at this Friday’s Beer and Blog for your chance to win the goodies generously donated by GoTime.

I only ask that the winner let me briefly hold the commemorative festival glass and remind me how much I love being the Portland Beer and Blog Chapter’s Provost.

Because I really do. =)

RSVP now on Upcoming or Calagator