StumpTECH
The Evolution of TechlandiaMonday, April 9th 2012 by Skip Newberry
 A couple of weeks ago, we launched the beta version of the Techlandia website. There are now about 150 software and technology company profiles in the Techlandia database, and many more will be added in the coming weeks and months. I’m proud to report that we’ve garnered a healthy amount of attention, with 1.5K visits to date with an average of six page views and about 10 minutes on the site per visit. The Techlandia.org website and database is designed to help raise the visibility of software and technology firms from Oregon and SW Washington. The website showcases local software and tech firms through video, company profiles, and data about the industry. In Phase I, which is now underway, we are publishing only those profiles of companies that develop software or hardware. In Phase II, we will be publishing profiles of software and technology service providers as well. All company profiles may be created and modified at any time. Design Some people who provided feedback loved the site, and others thought the design was too informal or cluttered. We will be adding some new features to the site over time, including more interactive content. We have already started shooting video interviews of software executives from around Oregon and SW Washington. These video interviews will be visible on the website in each company’s profile. Mobile Work is already underway on a mobile version of the website, starting with a web-based solution. In Phase II, we're considering a native app that incorporates certain features and functionality of the website. Data We received a couple of comments from people who requested that data on the site be more readily accessible, without having to drill down through a number of steps. Others liked the dialog boxes that walk visitors through a number of specific questions. We’ll keep in mind the need to accommodate multiple common approaches that people use to find information in future site development. The Industry Resources page is text-heavy at this point. We intend to create a chart or two of key indicators for the industry that we can update periodically with publicly available data. Use of Calagator Techlandia.org’s event calendar page is powered entirely by Calagator. Following Techlandia.org’s launch, a number of software community members expressed concern that a visitor to the website’s event calendar page would not end up on Calagator when he or she clicked an event listing to learn more about the event. The Techlandia project team is now working to change this. Bugs A number of bugs were identified in the week after launch, but these issues have since been resolved. When using the site, if you encounter an issue, please use the site’s feedback feature to notify us of the problem. Mentor App A number of folks in the software community have been hard at work developing a mentor-mentee matching solution. This is tentatively scheduled to be unveiled in beta at the next Mentor Network Roundtable on April 17. What Else? Are there other features and data you would like to see on the site? Don’t be shy, please let us know. In particular, if you have something interesting you would like to share about the industry, a company, or group, please let us know, as we are always looking for new content for the StumpTech blog. Skip Newberry President SAO |
