business

It's fall, the weather's turning colder, the leaves are changing and falling, my two year old has become a bundle of energy with strong opinions, and I'm feeling a bit sick from too much Halloween candy. In addition to all that, I have a few business related changes to report.

First, you may notice the refresh levelos.com received. I've been hacking away over the years at an initial design Annette Sabo created for me years ago, to the point that I had a bit of a Frankenstein on my hands. A favorite quote of mine is about how "... the cobblers kids have the worst shoes ...", and I think this is very analogous to the state of many web developers own sites. Well, I decided to do something about it. Annette again applied her amazing design skills, with the result being a huge improvement while retaining key aesthetic elements. I used this as a chance to try out the 960 grid system, which I found simple to use and very effective. Please let me know if you notice any problems or have some suggestions.

It's been a wonderful year in the Rocket Building at E Burnside and 11th, but the time has come (again, I know!) for me to make a move. I'm very excited to be moving Level OS global HQ to NedSpace,

Co-working for startups, innovative technology companies, non-profits, artists and social entrepreneurs.

NedSpace was recently started by my friends and colleagues Mark Grimes and Josh Friedman. They have managed to pool their talents and connection to bring together a diverse and exciting array of startups, most with a tech focus. Some of the companies and individals calling NedSpace home include Journey Gym, PayDici, PheedyYou, Rhapline, Attensa, CCSync, and Better World Media, Mark and Josh's latest venture. Those are lots of "shiny objects", and I just couldn't resist the pull! But in all earnestness, being part of a vibrant community is what co-working is all about, and while I love the friends I've made at the Rocket, there is no one else in the tech field for me to collaborate, commiserate, and celebrate with. NedSpace is also focused on helping startups climb to the next level, whether that means coaching from Portland Ten, or getting VC introductions. It could help porpel MomHub, GreenRenter, or a new venture to the next level. I move this weekend and hope to start calling it home next week.

I'm very pleased to announce that Level OS has officially become an Acquia Silver Partner.  Acquia is a fairly new commercial company started by Drupal founder Dries Buytaert and Jay Batson.  It aims to expand the reach of Drupal by providing a fully supported distribution of Drupal made up of the latest versions of the core platform along with select contributed modules.  It does this via the Acquia Network, an operations portal to deliver technical support and site monitoring services to maintain trouble-free Acquia Drupal websites.

For anyone familiar with RedHat in the Linux space, this is an analogous concept.  One of the main barriers to the adoption of open source software in the enterprise space is a lack of support; who do you call at 2 am when your mission critical application is experiencing trouble?  Well, if you're using Drupal, Acquia provides an answer to that question.  Acquia doens't aim to provide consulting and development services, which is where their partner network comes in.  It's a mutually beneficial relationship, where Acquia provides qualified leads along with training and access to support and reference materials to its partners.  In exchange, they encourage their clients to use Acquia Drupal and enroll in the Acquia Network when applicable.  I am honored to be accepted into this program and look forward to the exciting opportunities it will bring.