All very good ideas. I just wonder how easy it would be to replace JPGs with widgets. I think a lot of ad networks might frown on that. Do you have any experience doing this? Or know anyone who does?

@CarriBugbee
Social Profiles: http://bit.ly/CarriB

CubeSpace has been phenomenally supportive of the local tech and Web 2.0 communities. I’ve been to countless events there - most of which were free or very inexpensive to attend. In retrospect, I'm guessing that Eva and David should have probably charged more for the use of their space. I'm sure they looked at those events as marketing for their collaborative work space (which it was), plus they are just really nice people.

But many don’t realize the cost of free. Portlanders can be rather chintzy when it comes to paying for events. I count myself in that group. But we often don’t think about what the cost of free might be. Sometimes it means an event goes into the red and won’t be there for us next year – no matter how educational or inspiring it was. Sometimes it means a venue we cherish will fall off the map.

People in bigger cities don’t expect everything to be free – even when they have sponsors to offset costs (and those are hard to come by at the moment). Maybe it’s time for Portlanders to reset their expectations and plan to pay real money for events we value. I know this won’t be a popular opinion given the state of the economy, but what affects us personally affects businesses and venues as well. We don’t deserve free stuff just because we want it. And in retrospect, I wish I had paid a little bit (or a little more) every time I went to CubeSpace so Eva and David could have maintained a great gathering spot.

@CarriBugbee
http://www.bigdealpr.com

This isn't an IT job or a PR job - it's a comprehensive communications position that should be filled by someone with EXECUTIVE LEVEL expertise in ALL forms of outbound electronic communications. Knowing how to push buttons and write 140-character updates isn't the job description. This person will need many years of PR and/or marketing experience (I’d say at least 10+), including crisis communications expertise in the public sector. Social media is just one aspect of the position.

I haven’t seen a single comment here (and I read them all) that reflects an understanding of how specialized this job description is or what it would take to do the job. It would be a 24/7 position because the Internet is always on. I know a lot of communications professionals in Portland and frankly, there are VERY FEW who could handle this.

This type of job would garner at least $60-70k in private industry – probably a lot more. You can’t hire someone who is trained to write well, do strategic planning, work with the press, engage with people on multiple online channels who can keep up with fast-paced technology changes (this could be a full-time job alone), and has been on the front lines of communications for many years for $18,000.

We should all be happy that local government recognizes the need to have someone on the front lines of all the places constituents congregate to foster better transparency and communication.

I think it’s funny and ironic that everyone here on this forum is currently ENGAGING IN SOCIAL MEDIA, yet most (though not all) say it’s a waste of time for local government to be here too. Why should you be here, yet insist that government representatives should be absent? Makes no sense.

@CarriBugbee