The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20191002030941/http://www.opensourcebridge.org:80/blog/

Blog

Blog Archive

Thank you for ten great years

July 11, 2018 – 11:20 am

On June 29 we came together to acknowledge all that the Open Source Bridge community has built over the last ten years. Christie Koehler started the day with a look back at the history of the conference and our local tech community.

Together we created an amazing body of work that will continue to influence others. We should all be proud of this.

Kronda Adair followed with a personal history of her experiences at Open Source Bridge, and of building her business. She offered these take-aways on the work we still need to do to create a truly inclusive and equitable industry.

Listen the Startup podcast series about Arlan Hamilton, the founder of Backstage capital. You’ll learn what radical wealth redistribution looks like. You’ll upgrade your definition of hustle. Hint: it’s not taking a summer off and flying around the country to get 50 of your rich friends to give you 5 million dollars and then starting a VC fund.

If there’s one theme that pervades my experience in tech, it’s that the people who have traditionally have the least access to money and resources are the best at sharing what they do have with others. But as Arlan likes to say, we’re done settling for crumbs. We’re here for the cake.

Make a list of the products and services you regularly use and recommend to others and then find some black and brown entrepreneurs who provide those services and start using them and recommending them to your networks.

Ask your boss if the women and people of color in your company are being paid the same as their white colleagues for the same work.  If you’re white, tell colleagues how much YOU make.

Check out the Ascend Project repo and run your own version of it.

If you have the skills and the free time, make a website for a business owner who doesn’t have one.

Pay someone who’s given you free advice that helped you grow your business or advance your career. In cash.

Stop looking for underrepresented people to be your junior developers and start looking for us to be your CEOs, CTOs, and CFOs. I’m tired of watching companies hire us for VP of diversity positions and then blocking real change. There’s a lot of white people out here talking about they want to help but you don’t want to give up any of YOUR privilege. That’s not how it works.

These are just a few suggestions that I’ll leave you with as you go and consider your unconference topics for the day.

Lastly, I want to give you an easy metric to measure by so you know if your efforts are making real change:

Find ways to transfer MONEY, ACCESS, NETWORKS and POWER to those who have the least of those things.

If you’re not doing that, then you need to work harder.

We had a full set of unconference sessions, spanning the breadth of our community’s interests.

We collaborated and created things in the Hacker Lounge, including buttons.

And we talked about what comes next. You’re welcome to join us on our new Zulip Chat and be a part of this conversation.

Audrey shared her thoughts on Open Source Bridge ending in a blog post, Saying Goodbye to Open Source Bridge.

Do you have photos or reflections you’d like to share from our final conference? Leave a comment or let us know on Twitter or in Zulip.

Thank you everyone for being a part of this community and the work we did together! We’re excited to see what all of you create next.

By audrey | Posted in conference | Comments Off on Thank you for ten great years

It’s almost time for Open Source Bridge 2018

June 28, 2018 – 1:21 pm

Open Source Bridge 2018 is nearly here! Below are some things you should know if you’ll be joining us tomorrow. Skip to the end for the full schedule and party food menu.

Our venue is the Eliot Center located at 1226 SW Salmon (Google map).

We’re kicking off the day’s schedule at 9am sharp! Doors will open at 8:30am for you to check in and have a cup of coffee. If you’re bringing a friend or colleague, make sure they register in advance.

Getting here

If you’re coming by car, there are two parking lots right next to the Eliot Center. There’s also 2 hour and 5 hour street parking around the venue.

If you’re coming by public transportation, the closest stops are Galleria/SW 10th for MAX and Salmon or Main St for bus. Trimet has a trip planner that can give you more specific directions.

If you’re coming by bike, there are three racks in front of the Eliot Center.

Accessibility: Curb cutouts are on the corners of SW 12th and SW Salmon. Sadly, there isn’t one directly in front of the Eliot Center entrance. There are accessibility pathways/lanes on the first floor that we ask folks to leave clear, so that everyone can easily get to entrances/bathrooms/elevators.

Accessibility and childcare

To make our space accessible to all attendees, we’ll be marking access lanes with blue tape. Please keep an eye on where you’re standing and make sure you don’t block someone’s route. We also have CART captioning for the opening, keynotes, and unconference kickoff. Let Audrey or Christie know if you need help finding a seat where you can comfortably view the screen.

If you requested childcare, our provider will be on site from 9am to 6pm. Kids are also welcome throughout the event if accompanied by a responsible adult.

Meals

We will be taking a mid-day lunch break and you’re welcome to bring food or join a group headed to the carts. Coffee, tea, and water are available throughout the day. For the party, we’ll be having catered Lebanese food from Nicholas (menu details below). Also, cupcakes! This will be an alcohol-free space throughout the day, including the party.

Important policies

All attendees are expected to read and follow our code of conduct and photo policy. When you check in, you’ll be able to pick a name badge color reflecting whether you consent to be photographed. Do not take pictures at Open Source Bridge unless you’ve verified that all people visible have given permission. Please contact us if you have additional safety or security concerns.

Unconference notes

If you haven’t attended an unconference before, or it’s been a while, here’s a few things to know. The unconference schedule is determined by the attendees present. We’ll have a scheduling period starting around 10:30am where you’ll hear about the plan for the day and what rooms are available to use. Each person proposing a session will come up to the front of the room and say what their topic is. We encourage participants to team up and combine similar discussions. Here are some ideas on how to facilitate a great session.

To get the most out of attending the unconference:

  • Listen as much as you contribute: make room for everyone to participate
  • Host a session, even if you aren’t an expert. Some great conversations come out of people asking “how does this work?”
  • If a session isn’t engaging you, feel free to move on or to spin off your own conversation later
  • Thank your fellow participants! This is a collaborative space

Full schedule

  • 8:30am Doors open
  • 9am Welcome and announcements
  • 9:30am Christie Koehler keynote
  • 10am Kronda Adair keynote
  • 10:30am Unconference scheduling
  • 11:15am First session
  • 12:15pm Lunch break
  • 1:45pm Second session
  • 2:45pm Break
  • 3pm Third session
  • 4pm Break
  • 4:15pm Fourth session
  • 5:15pm Break
  • 5:30pm Unconference closing and gratitude sharing
  • 6pm Party!
  • 9pm The end

Food menus

From Nicholas (most items vegan and gluten free):

  • Hummus
  • Baba ganoush
  • Tabouli
  • Cucumber Tomato Garbanzo Mint Salad
  • Falafel with tahini (v/gf) or tazhiki (contains dairy)
  • Majadra
  • Pita bread

From Back to Eden (vegan and gluten free):

Cupcakes: carrot cake w/cream cheese frosting, chocolate lovers, pistachio rosewater, chocolate peanut butter, strawberry lemon, pistachio cardamom vanilla bean, mexican mocha, lemon marionberry

Sponsors

Thank you to this year’s sponsors: The Recompiler, Changeset Consulting, EquitableTech, Okta, and Open Tech Strategies.

See you soon!

By audrey | Posted in announcement, conference | Comments Off on It’s almost time for Open Source Bridge 2018

Final Registration for the Grand Finale of Open Source Bridge!

June 26, 2018 – 10:27 am

Now is the time to register if you’re planning to attend the grand finale of Open Source Bridge this Friday, June 29th.

If space is available, on-site registration will be possible but the price for regular tickets will go up after today. We recommend getting your ticket now. In addition to the in-person options, there’s a donate-what-you-like “Gratitude” option for those of you who can’t attend but would like participate. A few $250 sponsorships are available to companies and individuals alike and you’ll be recognized on the Open Source Bridge website, in the Hacker Lounge, and by the co-chairs during opening and closing sessions.

This year’s conference offers:

  • One-day multi-track unconference (BarCamp-style) with keynotes from Kronda Adair and Christie Koehler.
  • Hacker lounge space with lego table, button maker, portable network kit demo, and more.
  • Beverage service throughout the day.
  • Free on-site childcare (availability limited, please check).
  • Closing party with food from Nicholas Restaurant and cupcakes from Back to Eden.

We’ll kick-off at 9am (doors open 8:30) and switch from unconference to party around 6pm. Tickets are required for the entire event and capacity is limited.

Join us to celebrate 10 years of Open Source Bridge and to plan what’s next!

See you soon!

-Christie & Audrey

By christie | Posted in announcement | Comments Off on Final Registration for the Grand Finale of Open Source Bridge!

Keynote speakers for our grand finale!

June 21, 2018 – 3:56 pm

We are pleased to announce that long time Open Source Bridge community member Kronda Adair will keynote the concluding year of our conference. Kronda is the founder of Karvel Digital, a digital marketing consultancy. Today Kronda helps small businesses take control of their technology stack, through consulting and her popular Working Websites course. In her own words: “I’m a recovering WordPress developer turned digital marketer who loves to reinvent myself and my business. At age 34, I decided to become a programmer and spent the next five years getting a degree in Web Design and Interactive Media from the Art Institute of Portland.”

We’re looking forward to hearing Kronda’s perspective on her journey through the evolution of our conference and community, and what she’s learned about how to making a living with open source.

Additionally, Christie Koehler will open this year’s event with an engaging history of our conference, how it was and is now situated within the Portland tech and greater open source communities, and some ideas for we could build together next.

Space is limited but tickets are still available. In addition to a couple of in-person options, there’s a donate-what-you-like “Gratitude” option for those of you who can’t attend but would like participate in some way.

We could also use a few more sponsors! To sponsor all you need to do is purchase a $250 Sponsorship ticket. Sponsorship is available to companies and individuals alike and you’ll be recognized on the Open Source Bridge website, in the Hacker Lounge, and by the co-chairs during opening and closing events.

See you next week!
— Christie and Audrey

By christie | Posted in announcement | Comments Off on Keynote speakers for our grand finale!

OSBridge year 10: We’ve confirmed availability of child care!

June 7, 2018 – 1:30 pm

Good news: We’ve hit one of our budget milestones and so we’ve confirmed the availability of free child care from 9am-6pm during the event. Pre-registration is required. If this is something you would like to take advantage of, we need to know by end of day on Friday, June 15th. How do you let us know? By buying a ticket and completing the attendee question about childcare. If you’ve have already purchased a ticket, please follow the View Order link in the confirmation email from Tito to change your ticket details and update your answers to “Additional info.”

Even if you’re not planning to take advantage of child care, we encourage you to get your tickets now, whether or not you want to attend the whole day or just the party. In addition to a couple of in-person options, there’s a donate-what-you-like “Gratitude” option for those of you who can’t attend but would like participate in some way.

We could also use a few more sponsors! To sponsor all you need to do is purchase a $250 Sponsorship ticket. Sponsorship is available to companies and individuals alike and you’ll be recognized on the Open Source Bridge website, in the Hacker Lounge, and by the co-chairs during opening and closing events.

See you in a couple of weeks!

-Christie and Audrey

By christie | Posted in announcement, conference | Comments Off on OSBridge year 10: We’ve confirmed availability of child care!