The San Franista

Last Call for Labs (Foodspotting Proves It Can Work)

Emily Goligoski — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:32:24 +0000

This Saturday marks the last day to apply for the pre-incubator Labs program through Women 2.0, but fear not: men and women can still qualify for the five week program for engineers, designers, and “business and marketing mavens” looking to start developing high-growth technology ventures in SF. Labs doesn’t require company equity or require that you quit your day job, so hop to it, advocates of rapid prototyping.

And if you’re seeking proof that concentrated time through these programs can pay off, look at Alexa Andrzeweski: after founding meal recommendation tool Foodspotting through one of Women 2.0′s incubator programs, the company has taken off in ways the former UX designer would never have expected. She sat down during final presentation night for the summer Labs to discuss picking business partners and surrounding yourself with entrepreneurial-minded individuals. Thanks to Alley Pezanoski-Browne for videography and VidSF for editing.

Fifty24SF Opens “Over Normal”

Emily Goligoski — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:07:29 +0000

Radiohead’s interactions with San Francisco have been overwhelmingly positive (if you discount sound interruptions at the first Outside Lands fest, of course). I’m excited to see that their artist collaborator Stanley Donwood is having his first stateside show, “Over Normal,” at Fifty24SF on Fillmore starting tonight. Following a reception tonight, the work that plays on text-focused ads in primary colors will be viewable through the end of October: “The catalyst for the large works featured in the show is Los Angeles, where Stanley began to notice (with equal parts amazement and distress) that the advertisements bombarding him on the multilane highways were made of seven basic colors, immediately grabbing viewers’ attention in a primal way…Stanley noticed a parallel between the use of those colors and an influx of spam emails that promised everything from more fruitful sex lives, to cheap foreclosed properties at the expense of someone else’s misery. ”

Listen.

Emily Goligoski — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:06:25 +0000

What would we do without public broadcasting?

I loved this Everynone production “Words” created in collaboration with WNYC, RadioLab and NPR. A good reminder to pay attention thanks to San Francisco-bound pal Michelle Cohen.

Welcome September + Architecture & The City Festival

Emily Goligoski — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:03:16 +0000

Hearing about “Investigating Urban Metabolisms” so soon after lunch may have you reeling, but program details for the seventh Architecture and the City Festival may get you ready to digest (tours, films and lectures, that is). For the month of September, the American Institute of Architects’ local chapter has planned events that consider how information, building and transportation systems act almost like a human body in their intricacy. Maybe that’s why a Food Foraging Tour post-SF Design Awards sounds so good.

Outdoors Again >> The Amrita Edition

Emily Goligoski — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:29:52 +0000

Ah, weekend getaway. I’m still getting back to it after a camping trip with pals took me to Yosemite, and while I’m not much of a camper, well-outfitted friends demonstrated how much nicer being outside all night can be with select gear. Since I’ve been back in the City by the Bay, I’m realizing what I should have packed from a few eco-minded companies on the West Coast: a) Portland-based Nau’s new merino wool shirt-dress; b) the BPA-free ALEX Bottle, which their team tells me is better for mixed drinks than hot ones; and c) Alite’s “sexy hotness,” alleged to be “the perfect sleeping bag for making love in the woods”–finally! I would have considered it guilty pleasure camping until mi amiga Amrita (who’s woefully London-bound) introduced me to “glamping,” or packing drop earrings in preparation for communal bathrooms.

In Conversation with Slideshare’s Rashmi Sinha

Emily Goligoski — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:35:00 +0000

I speak for production company VidSF and myself when I say it was a pleasure to talk with Slideshare co-founder Rashmi Sinha at the company’s SoMa office recently about her early visions for the site and her career. The interview, which addresses her advice for people considering leaving their jobs to start a new endeavor, is part of Women 2.0′s In Conversation series (and, for the sake of disclosure, her company partners with my own, Federated Media Publishing).

Building by the Block

Emily Goligoski — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:36:01 +0000

My first question upon seeing creator Patrick Chirico’s “Build Your Block” pillow set based on Brooklyn brownstones was when SF renditions might be made. The answer? When you’re ready. For $75, your favorite corner store/Victorian/vertical park image can grace your couch. Why not go for a full set of Painted Ladies?

Summer Salon for Lady Content Creators

Emily Goligoski — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 19:50:59 +0000

Design by Carmel Hagen; photo by Selvaprakash Lakshmanan

Smarties: please join us for a Sunday tea date at Dartealing on September 26 for the sake of welcoming the (alleged) start of summer in SF. Join writers, illustrators, designers, programmers, and activists over scones for a bit of creative brainstorming to benefit the International Museum of Women. The virtual musuem (and creator of the global online exhibitions Imagining Ourselves, Women, Power and Politics and Economica) is preparing its next public work and we can all benefit from good ideas. And fear not: there will be plenty of time for conversation, you chatterboxes.

SFMADE on Branding Local Products

Emily Goligoski — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:12:18 +0000

You may hear “California public benefit corporation,” but what local group SFMADE actually advocates for is local manufacturing that makes good economic sense. Enter an event series that includes manufacturing best practices and marketing tips for companies with local roots. This Thursday, Rickshaw Bags founder and former Timbuk2 head Mark Dwight will speak in the Dogpatch about branding locally made products. You may not yet know anything about “geographic ingredient branding,” but pride of place is certainly familiar to this site’s kind readers.

Digital Goings On for End of August

Emily Goligoski — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:40:04 +0000

Lest you think the return of summer weather has people flocking only to Zeitgeist, there are two meetups worth mentioning on the social web front this week that may make being inside (temporarily, of course) worthwhile. Tonight’s Chomp Tastemaker Party at Sloane on Mission sold on quickly, for which you can thank a Rose/Scoble duo. And tomorrow Ubergizmo will be hosting Digital Summer, their annual combination of photography, tech and fashion at Temple (think gadget demos and eco-fashion by Edun). Hot stuff.