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Not to gamble all of our new funding, but to attend the second annual Blog World Expo. We were there for the first one last year (in fact, it was our first time having a booth at a BIG show) and had so much fun talking to bloggers that we had to make plans to return this year.

There will be some changes to the Lijit booth this year. Now that we’re not a baby startup anymore, we have to kick things up a notch. There will be a new booth design and some new faces.

This also means that if you’re heading to Vegas with the desire to be turned into a widget, like this guy…

You’re out of luck. Our homemade widget will not be making the trip to Vegas with us. But we will have lots of Lijit swag, including shirts, stickers, and a little something-something to help you clean up your current search. Guess you’ll have to stop by our booth to find out more!

In addition, our VP of Business Development, Micah, will be moderating a panel on Widgetizing your blog for Profit, so if that sounds like something you might want to hear about, don’t miss this informative session.

And if you’re heading to Vegas next week, let us know. We’re excited to see friends from last year as well as to meet new publishers who have yet to discover our search goodness. Be sure to say hi and go “all in” for us, mmmkay?

You can read more about our exploits at the Blog World Expo last year in my four-part series, which isn’t nearly as long and tedious as it sounds…

Part One: Lijit Users

Part Two: Lijit Wijits

Part Three: The Players

Part Four: The Miscellaneous

This is another in our continuing series of guest posts by Lijit employees. Jacqueline is a community catalyst who spends her days taking care of Lijit publishers and in her spare time, enjoys exploring what Colorado has to offer. She was kind enough to share her thoughts about a recent trip to Denver.**

A few weeks ago, Lijit went on a field trip (sans parental permission slips) to the Democratic National Convention. It was an opportunity to witness history in the making in Denver. History always transcends politics and we saw that firsthand. Generational and racial barriers fell to the side as people from all walks of life embraced themes portrayed throughout Obama’s campaign. It was inspiring to see.

A call to action within the Democratic Party was interpreted through an artistic lens at the “Manifest Hope Gallery.” The gallery was comprised of contemporary political art, with its star, none other than Senator Obama. Talented artists from around the country used their art as a voice in order to amplify and motivate the grassroots movement surrounding the Obama campaign. Progressive politics through art captured the core values of Obama’s campaign, “hope, progress, change, unity, and patriotism.” The art displayed has made a huge impact in the visibility of the Obama campaign.

Walking around the gallery provided a personal sense of patriotism. Collectively and individually each piece of art addressed the current challenges and struggles felt under the Bush administration, and how Senator Obama will bring about the change that is so desperately needed. The artwork captured strength, power, and intelligence as the brush, paint, and artist worked together to give Senator Obama a place on the canvas. Portrayed as an iconic symbol, it truly is an Obama nation.

As the end of the day drew near and things ended, the Lijit team headed home. Lijit has publishers from all different walks of life with different political beliefs. Today, we were lucky enough to meet and speak with some of our publishers. They expressed their opinion of the candidates and the issues important to them in this election. Separated from Denver by thirty miles, Lijit felt extremely fortunate to be a part of the Democratic National Convention and represent not blue or red but, our own color, Lijit green.

**As with all of our guest posts, Jacqueline’s views are her own and do not necessarily represent those of the entire company.

Lijit was fortunate enough to be one of the sponsors of a fantastic party that took place last Thursday, on the closing night of the DNC in downtown Denver. The Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash aimed to bring bloggers from the area together to talk about one of our shared passions: blogging. Regardless of political viewpoint, bloggers from all over Colorado (along with many out-of-town bloggers in Denver for the convention) gathered to watch Obama’s speech, eat, drink, and exchange URLs.

Since bloggers are our people, it made sense that Lijit was there. We had the opportunity to meet many publishers already using our widget and the chance to explain what we do to others. Our Lijit t-shirts and stickers were a big hit with all attendees, as were the free drinks that our sponsorship provided.

Our new friends include: Amber of Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck, Heather of A Mama’s Blog, Laura of LaLaGirl, Amy of Crunchy Domestic Goddess, Melissa of Nature Deva, Aviva of Parentopia, The Crunchy Green Mom, Hubs of Artifacting, Rosie of Rosalicious, Tessa and Michael of My Left Nutmeg, and Kath of A Likely Story.

In addition, many bloggers from the Denver/Boulder tech community showed up to attend their FIRST ever Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash, including: Aimee of Greeblemonkey and her awesome husband Bryan, Julie of mothergoosemouse, Geekmommy, Jeremy Tanner, Dave Taylor of Ask Dave Taylor, Robin from CopyDiva, Gerhard and Kary of Fling it Girl, Kit Seeborg, and the fabulous Deb in Denver.

And let’s not forget the old pals from past Blogger Bashes: Molly, Wheels, Left off Colfax, and Andy of The World Wide Rant (pictured above) who, unfortunately, is no longer blogging.

A big thanks to the organizers of this fantastic RMBB: Mr. Lady and Zombyboy, who pulled off a great event on what some called “a crazy day to have a party in downtown Denver”.

You can read other recaps of the event here, here, here, and here.

Jill writes a food blog about eating gluten-free, Hey, that tastes good!, and as soon as I saw that she had a recipe for making marshmallows from scratch, I was hooked. In addition to beautiful photography, Jill posts gluten-free product reviews, recommendations for gluten-free restaurants in both Europe and America, and instructions on how to make her favorite rice flour mix. And don’t even get me started on the recipes: jalapeno poppers, pizza, spring rolls, and, my favorite, chocolate overload cookies.

(Plus, she has a cupcake tattoo on her foot. Can you argue with that?)

When I saw her on the recent sign-up list, I wanted to know more about Jill and her passion for food blogging. She was kind enough to take time out from her cooking adventures to answer some questions I had for her.

How long have you been blogging and what got you started?

I started my food blog 2 years ago. Originally I started it because I was bored at work all day (although I couldn’t access the blogger page from my work computer, I could type posts at work and then post them when I got home) and because I was relatively new to being gluten-free. It was around then that I figured out how to bake/cook a lot of things that I’d had pre-gluten-free that I missed, and I had been calling my mom (who is also gluten-free) every day to tell her what I was eating because I was so excited. I stumbled upon a few other gluten-free blogs, and decided that was a good way to share with my mom what I ate, and anyone else who might be interested.

What’s the greatest thing you’ve received or the best lesson learned from blogging?

I think the greatest thing I’ve received are comments from people who say thank you for the recipes I post, that they never thought they would be able to taste whatever it was I was writing about again. Getting a comment like that makes me feel that I’m helping people realize that being gluten-free isn’t terrible, it’s just a different approach to thinking about your food. It’s a challenge!

I know it’s a hard question to answer, but do you have a favorite post?

I think maybe my Thanksgiving post from last year. It was the first year I hosted a Thanksgiving party, and my sister, my roommate and I did all the cooking ourselves. Everything was gluten-free, except for some bread that we got for cheese and pates. My sister did the photography, it has a number of recipes, and I think it really captured the spirit of the party.

What tips do you have for people looking to go gluten-free?

First, and most important, DON’T PANIC. Don’t spend a lot of time dwelling over the things you can’t eat anymore (I’ll never have pizza! I’ll never have cake! I’ll never have lasagna!) and instead think about the things you eat every day that you can still eat. Fruits, vegetables, meats, and many grains are naturally gluten-free.

Also, don’t settle for something you don’t like. If you buy a loaf of gluten-free bread that’s gross (and chances are you will), grind it up in the food processor and use it for bread crumbs, and don’t buy it again. Read gluten-free blogs (I have a big list on the side of my site) and get a good gluten-free cookbook or two. Read the introduction, most have a chapter or two about how to be gluten-free, and tips, and flour mixes and ideas. Also, read Shauna’s book. And, contact me or any other gf blogger, we’re (probably) happy to help.

How has Lijit helped you as a food blogger?

I’m new to Lijit, but hopefully it will give me a sense of what people are interested in so I can focus more on those topics (or ingredients!)

I appreciate all the hard work that Jill puts into her blog and the fact that she has chosen Lijit as her trusted search tool. Be sure to visit Jill’s blog to find out more about eating gluten-free and to read about her delicious kitchen experiences!

[All photos are from Jill's blog.]

We are excited to be one of the sponsors for the upcoming Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash, taking place on Thursday, next week in downtown Denver. In addition to having the usual suspects gang of bloggers from the area, because of a certain little event that will be taking place at the same time (ahem, the DNC, cough, cough), there will be MANY more bloggers in attendance that night. The response from attendees has been overwhelming and it’s shaping up to be a bash to remember.

If you’re interested in joining us, you can find out more details and RSVP here.

And if you’re worried about missing Obama’s speech, don’t. The RMBB has reserved the only room in the bar with a TV.

Finally, if thinking about the parking in Denver stresses you out, don’t. (As in don’t even think of driving!) The organizers of the RMBB have put together a useful guide to help you navigate Denver’s public transport system.

We look forward to seeing you in the Mile High city and yes, there will be many comfy Lijit t-shirts at the party as well. So, whatever your political leanings, remember that this party is for the bloggers, by the bloggers, and booze has no party affiliations.

Big thanks to the organizers, Shannon and David, for making this happen and thinking of Lijit as a worthy sponsor. (Funny that they asked around the same time we got our recent funding…)

**The RMBB numbering scheme is as mysterious as the recent sightings of Sasquatch. Less hairy, but still unexplainable.

Once the gauntlet was thrown, there was no looking back. Micah pulled off a friendly competition that brought together all those with big appetites in the local tech community. 12 guys showed up to compete and after deciding on the rules together, the contest began. But not before the spectators put their predictions in for who they thought would win. Jenny from Boston thought that Danny Newman was the one to pick, mainly based on the fact that he came dressed to play…

Brad Feld was honest when he said that he would stop eating when he was full…because Amy, his wife, told him to and we all know what a good husband he is. (Additionally, Brad kept making the competition harder by adding in his own rules, like drinking a beer between each round and attempting push-ups as well.)

Spectators took turn ordering the rounds of sushi so that the competitors didn’t have any unfair advantages. The first few rounds were easy, but the sushi got progressively worse as the night wore on. Plates of the hard stuff (quail eggs, smelt roe, fermented soybean, and the like) began appearing in the later rounds, knocking out weak-stomached competitors along the way.

After 14 rounds of sushi, one competitor puking, and many others looking like they were going to puke, the first Sushi Regurge champion was crowned. To the surprise of no one, the same guy who organized the entire event (and talked the most trash) was the one who was left standing at the end of it all.

Many thanks to the employees of Hapa, who put up with our screaming and cheering, and to everyone who showed up to support the competitors. And of course, thanks to Micah…

without whom, none of this disgusting gorging would be possible. Thanks for pulling it together, calling everyone out, and putting your best stomach forward! We look forward to another equally unappetizing gathering like this again next year.

This Wednesday, Frank Gruber and Eric Olson bring their traveling techie road show to Boulder for a second appearance. If you’ve never been to a TECH cocktail before, you’re in for an evening of fun. Imagine a bunch of tech enthusiasts, VCs, bloggers, and entrepreneurs drinking together, watching demos, and sending the geek quotient of the Boulder Theater through the roof. Yes, it really is that good. (And I’m not just saying that because Lijit is a sponsor…)

• Where? The esteemed Boulder Theater
• When? August 20th, from 6:30-9:00 PM (although the TC site says that it’s taking place EST, I wouldn’t bet on that, or we’re all going to be early…)
• Why? Duh…because geeks and beer are a great combination.
• How much? Totally free, but you must RSVP

Last time the boys brought the show to town, we found out that as a sponsor, Lijit was supposed to be one of the demos. We hadn’t really thought about that and, at the last moment, grabbed our homemade widget to bring with us to the party. People loved being turned into widgets, as Frank Gruber can attest…

While we’re not sure if the widget will make an appearance this time, the TechStars are coming out to play and they will be demoing their wares. TECH cocktail will be the conclusion to their day-long investor presentations, so you can imagine the relief these teams will be feeling. The TechStars have been working hard all summer and honestly…the least you can do is to come out and support your local tech community by drinking some beer. Is that too much to ask?

In conclusion…

What more could you want? (Unfortunately, due to the limited supply of Lychee liqueur, there will probably NOT be any Lijitos made at this event.) You can RSVP here and we hope to see you on Wednesday night!

This is another in our ongoing series of guest posts written by different employees around the office. Charlie was kind enough to help out this time and in case you couldn’t figure it out, he loves his bike. And now, with his bionic knee, he’s an even better rider.

Sure, that sounds too much like a box of chocolates, but, well, nobody would ever accuse me of being original.

1. The more skill you have, the more fun you have. The more challenging a trail, the more satisfying it is. If search was easy, it wouldn’t be fun.
2. You don’t always know *exactly* where you’re going.
3. Sometimes there are crashes, and you have to fix your bike or the web servers:
4. You have to keep moving and be able to improvise to get through the most difficult bits.
5. You have to suck it up for some long, brutal climbs sometimes.
6. Beer is good at the end of the day.

I’ve been riding seriously for 7 or 8 years or so, and over the years have fallen in with a group of people that are great riders, and great friends. We all ride regularly and go on weekend trips together, with different combinations of people every time. I’m not the best rider in the group, but we all like the same kind of difficulty, and are willing to work on the technical sections until we ride them clean.

I’ve known some of the people at Lijit for 15 years. These are among the most technically competent people I’ve ever worked with. We’ve worked together for a variety of different companies, in different product domains and different combinations. We all like to have a tough problem that’s worth solving, and are willing to work on it until we get it done.

That is why I ride with those guys, and that’s why I’m at Lijit.

Sure, that’s a pretty short post, but, well, nobody would ever accuse me of being too vocal. And beer is good at the end of the day.

Micah and I attended BlogHer this past weekend, held in San Francisco. This was my third BlogHer event and they’ve all been unique. With a thousand attendees, the BlogHer organizers did a fantastic job of logistically insuring there was an ample amount of activities scheduled in order to have lots of opportunities to meet other bloggers and learn from them. As a representative of Lijit, it was helpful knowing some bloggers going into the event. On top of that, Lijit was mentioned on two different panels as a useful tool for bloggers. (Yippie!) And to round out our good Lijit vibes, when I told people where I worked, I was greeted with looks of recognition.

From attending a session on why mommyblogging is a radical act (shhhh…it’s because women are telling the truth) to a session on how to pursue your passion, there were intelligent and dedicated bloggers all over. I know that some women were concerned with the high school/sorority aspect of the conference, but for me, it was all about thanking the publishers who are currently using Lijit and following up with those who have yet to install. Building relationships is a HUGE part of my job and BlogHer presents a wonderful space to do just that.

I would never have started blogging if it weren’t for taking a job with Lijit and I love that because we make a blogging tool, it’s a no-brainer for us to have a presence there. (I’m thinking that next year, we might even have to get a booth!) It’s amazing how being social, striking up conversations, and meeting people can take it right out of you. I never realize how hard I work at a conference until I come home, sleep-deprived and with a three-inch stack of business cards.

Micah wrote a post about his experiences as one of the few BlogHims in attendance, while I posted some personal highlights of the trip over here.

In order to share the link love, here are some of the blog publishers that I ran into at the conference who are currently using Lijit:

Schmutzie’s Milkmoney Or Not, Here I Come
califmom
Everyday Goddess
Greeblemonkey
electromute
Send Chocolate
Whiskey In My Sippy Cup
Dirt to Dish
PHAT Mommy
Average Jane
Pause
This Mama Cooks! On a Diet
Scheiss Weekly
Greek Tragedy
Table for Five
contentious
CityMama
Queen of Spain
Mommy Needs Coffee
SecondHand Karl
MOMocrats
A Mommy Story
POP! PR Jots
Her Media

And then, if that isn’t already a great list, we’ve also had some blog publishers sign up as a result of Lijit being at BlogHer. We’d like to welcome these new users…

bad mom
Elkit in Wonderland
Oh, The Joys
happykatie
Alex Year Two
Glossed Over
Moms In The Right

Thanks to all those who gave us great feedback and shared their thoughts about Lijit. We loved having the chance to listen to what you had to say and appreciate your continued support!

This guest post was written by Dan Jones, our VP of Engineering Chief Architect and one of the original “fantastic” four to start Lijit.

Lijit celebrated its second birthday on Saturday, and like a proud parent, it seemed only appropriate to force people to look at pictures and listen to endless stories about our wonderful child. Actually, if you think in terms of “internet years”, Lijit is probably more like a 30 year old than a child. But I’ll still take this opportunity to get a little nostalgic and talk about how things have changed over the past 2 years.

The idea…

Lijit was founded on the idea that we were going to do something cool around trust networks. This was an area of expertise of our original CTO, Stan James, and was the basis of his Master’s thesis–the Outfoxed browser plug-in. However, like most startups, the original idea changed along the way. After a few months of building the service, a slightly different idea began to emerge which involved creating trust networks for publishers (bloggers) and making those networks searchable. Along the way we have continued to refine this concept but the core idea is to create search based applications that can make publishers better.

The name…

The company was originally incorporated as Outfoxed Corporation, named after the browser plug-in that Stan created. However, it was decided early on that we needed a new name that was fresh, hip, and available (sounds like we were looking for a relationship). Anyone who has ever tried to come up with a name that is available as both a .com and .net domain knows that this is a hard and frustrating process. All the cool names you come up with are taken, and you quickly digress to considering silly names that have marginal relevance to what you actually do.

Our group was no different, and we spent several weeks thinking of names and promptly rejecting them. This was all supposed to culminate with a meeting at the Old Louisville Inn, with a notebook containing several pages of potential names, where we all voted for our favorites. Fortunately no consensus was reached because shortly thereafter, Leslie had a flash of brilliance while in Las Vegas, and came up with Lijit. It was the first name that everyone seemed to like and it didn’t take long before we were officially Lijit.

The office…

For the first couple of weeks of Lijit’s existence, we met in Todd’s basement, hatching plans, and figuring out what needed to be purchased to actually move into an office. Todd found some office space in Louisville that was a good deal and had nice views of the mountains. We moved in and decked out the office with cool Ikea furniture and an old foosball table that Stan bought on craigslist, and hunkered down to build a kick-ass service. Then last summer, with the continued addition of new people, we outgrew the Louisville office and needed more space.

Sing the following to the tune of the Beverly Hillbillies:

Well the next thing you know Lijit needs some air…

The investors said Todd move away from there…

Downtown Boulder is the place you oughta be,

So they loaded up a truck and they moved to Walnut Street…

Boulder, that is…

Coffee shops…

VC’s downstairs.

Todd, Stan and Colleen found a great office and had it built out with all the standard high tech startup amenities (cool colors and cubes, brick wall with skylights, umbrellas to keep the developers from getting sunburned under the skylights, a new foosball table and a couple of game consoles–and of course, Rockband). Boulder is a really cool place to work. It’s a great town in a beautiful location, with lots of places to eat, etc. But even better, there is a very tangible tech/startup energy here that I don’t think you’ll find elsewhere in Colorado.

The infrastructure…

One of the tricks to starting an internet based company is figuring out how to scale your infrastructure. It is usually not too difficult to set up a few web servers and a database in a hosting facility to get you going. We started out with 3 web servers and a couple of database servers in a half rack with me acting (and I mean that literally) as the system and database administrator. However, the challenge is figuring out how and when you need to buy lots more hardware and hire professionals to manage it so that you can scale to the next level.

We were very lucky to attract two of the best Systems and Network guys we know (Mike and Zach) to build out our infrastructure. Mike wrote a great post about it, so I won’t go into details here. Suffice it to say that they have built some cool stuff that will allow us to continue to scale incrementally as we grow.

The people…

I saved this one for last, because I truly believe that it is the people that make Lijit special. Lijit has grown over the past few years and we have managed to attract and hire a lot of sharp people that work well together. But while the number of employees has changed, I think that the culture has been a constant. It’s a culture that promotes doing a great job that you can be proud of and having fun doing it. And one that values the individual and the contribution that they make to the success of the company as a whole. I hope this never changes.

As you can see, Lijit has gone through many changes over the course of its young life and we continue to grow and mature as we go. Fortunately, we have a great group of people that have the experience and the willingness to adapt to the changes required at each stage of this growth. There are still lots of challenges that we will face, and lots of things that we would like to do better and faster, but I really believe that with the team of dedicated people we have, we will be up for meeting these challenges at each step along the way.

So thanks for sitting through the tales of a doting parent. I hope I didn’t bore you too much (and I hope you’re not thinking “Man, that is an ugly baby…”). It’s been a fun ride and I’m looking forward to the next 2 years to see where we go from here.