On Wednesday, July 16th, Bram Pitoyo and I realized that we both had three tech events scheduled on our calendars. There was Lunch 2.0 at SOUK from 12-2Pm, pdxMindShare from 5:30-8:00Pm at Paddy’s, and a surprise Tweetup with Charlene Li, author of Groundswell (note: this event was later canceled, due to the fact that Li’s flight was delayed! We were all very sad).

But wait! There’s one more!

There was an extra event on my calendar. It was a Meetup for novice, intermediate and advanced bloggers to provide each other writing advice. It started at 6:00 Pm at the Kennedy School in NE. Bram and I realized that between biking and networking, it was going to be an extremely intense day.

In addition to 4 networking events, I also had an entire day of work to do. With only a 1 hour lunch break in the middle, I’d only be able to attend Lunch 2.0 for 30 minutes. I started my morning at 7Am, ate breakfast and got ready for a day of work, networking, and hardcore biking.

Below is a recap of the three events. Bram Pitoyo reviewed the series of events in separate posts and they are available on Link en Fuego. Jake Kuramoto also expertly reviewed Lunch 2.0 at Silicon Florist from a distance, hence the title Bot Recap of Lunch 2.0 at SOUK. Doug Coleman attended and blogged about Lunch 2.0 and Writing for the Web, and his reviews are here.

Event #1: Lunch 2.0 at SOUK

I arrived at the Portland Business Accelerator early and set myself to work. Before long it was time for Lunch 2.0! I rushed down the stairs and out the door, to my bike, which I strategically parked directly outside the PBA the night before.

I careened down the steep hill that led from the building and to the waterfront, where I zoomed by other bikers and lunchtime wanderers. I went under the Morrison and the Hawthorne bridge, and then headed into the heart of the Pearl District, and arrived at SOUK at exactly 12:01. I thanked myself that I’d beta tested the space before, else it would’ve been quite difficult to find. It’s sort of a secret space, but one well work the look. A coworking/rental space doesn’t really get better than this.

The place was packed! Tons of new faces! Exceedingly delicious Thai food from a block away. I saw @donpdonp, my friend from high school (who is an iPhone app developer), @xolotol, Melissa Lyon and her partner, founders of PDX BackFence, @ahockley, @geekygirldawn, @tisque, @bobuva, @selenamarie, @ekki, and @julsd, the founder of SOUK.

I only had time to talk to a few people, but the discussions were excellent, and everyone seemed to have an very engaging experience. Before long, it was 12:50, and I leaped downstairs to my bike for the ride back to the office.

I careened down to the waterfront as fast as I could while avoiding end-of-lunchtime vehicles. When I made it back to the office, I was drenched in sweat, but was very happy.

Event #2: pdxMindShare, 5:30Pm, Paddy’s Bar. Downtown Portland

At 5:00Pm I cleaned up my desk and wrote the tasks I had to do for Monday on notecards. Then I ran to my bike and rode back downtown to Paddy’s, where the monthly SEMPDX pdxMindShare event was going to occur.

I first attended pdxMindShare back in January when I was finishing up my last year of college. I’d just been introduced into the world of search engine optimization, marketing, Google Adwords and Analytics. My mind only knew Anthropology and Sociology then, and I’d just finished writing my thesis on “Cell Phones and Their Technosocial Sites of Being”. The event left a big impression on me, though, and I was excited to show up again, this time as more of an expert than a novice.

I arrived early enough to see that Kent Lewis, President of Anvil Media was still in a meeting, so I grabbed my computer and begin doing some Analytics work. Presently, Kent warmly welcomed me to the event, and a lot of people began to arrive. A women who used to be in the translation business but who wanted to enter into the advertising world sat down with me, and I mailed her a list of Portland networking events that could help her with her job search. She was very kind, and a little nervous to meet so many new people. I introduced her to a few people, and she began to really enjoy herself. Yay!

8 out of 10 Collaboratory Members Made an Appearance

Bram and I spotted Allison McKeever, Brian Davidson, Christine Vo, Heather Schwartz, Mary McPherson, Megan Nuttall, Whitney Bard, and Kim Karalekas. This was awesome, because they were able to see a really vibrant part of Portland’s networking community. According to their blogs and Twitter writings, the members really enjoyed the event!

While waiting for my drink bill, I had a fantastic discussion with an Ajax/Flash developer about Usability. He didn’t have a card, which made me sad, but I’m sure we’ll meet again at another event.

Event #3: Writing for the Web Meetup Event at the Kennedy School

Bram and I realized the time. It was getting really late, and we still had to bike all the way up to NE Portland to NE 33rd for the next event! We made a hasty exit and got to the Yellow Line Max right as it arrived at the station near Paddy’s. The ride was fast, but we still had 40 blocks to ride to get to the School, and the details of its actual location were rather fuzzy.

We dashed those 40 blocks and arrived at the event a full hour late. But it was still going on! And during the middle of it, we were notified by Twitter that the Charlene Li Tweetup had been canceled due to a flight delay! Darn! We ended up ordering food. We were about to pass out from exhaustion and starvation.

Marilyn Schwader. the Meetup host, gave great tips on blogging and writing copy. She taught me a lot about considering demographics, and keeping things simple. @dariusmonsef of Colourlovers was there, as well as @dougcoleman. It was a great time, and a good source of inspiration to the aspiring and advanced bloggers present. Doug Coleman showed us his awesome recording equipment too, and we talked about Podcasts.

When the event was over, Bram and I explored the amazing hallways of the Kennedy School. Vintage photos and detailed paintings lined the walls. After viewing the dipping pool, we regretted not bringing swimming suits. Then we discussed the idea of a hot tubbing bike/tweetup! Hooray! This should happen soon.

Conclusion

We biked back from the Kennedy school to SW Portland, where we split paths at the waterfront so Bram could catch the MAX, and I could head back to my car at the office.

Although exhausted, I jumped into hyperspeed on the Internet when I got home. As usual, Twitter and Analytics consumed my time. I set my alarm for 6Am so I could get ready to attend the Internet Strategy Forum in the morning, and fell asleep listening to a Sci-Fi podcast. Intense Day in Tech #1…Complete. Tomorrow would be twice as intense, but I didn’t know it yet. A review of Thursday, July 17th to come soon.