Ignite Portland

The 20 Talks You’ll See On Stage At Ignite Portland 8

Josh Bancroft — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:45:10 +0000

After 75 idea submissions, and long, hard toil to narrow the field down to the 20 talks we can fit on stage, we’re proud to present you with the 20 amazing talks that will be burning your mind at Ignite Portland 8 on March 3:

We want to extend a big thanks to all of you who took the risk of sharing your burning talk ideas with us, especially to those of you whose talk idea didn’t make it this time. Don’t be discouraged! Competition is fierce, and time is short. We’d love it if you submit your talk idea next time!

We hope you’re as excited as we are about the lineup - it’s going to be a great night!

IP8 Idea Submissions Closed, Talks Announced on 2/8

Josh Bancroft — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:12:56 +0000

Wow. That “last minute effect” is really something. We’ve received 75 great talk ideas for Ignite Portland 8. Now we have to whittle it down to the 20 or so that will be appearing on stage. A daunting task. But you can help - have a look at the proposals, and leave a comment on the ones that you’d really like to see. Comments are private, insomuch as only the event organizers can see them (not the general Internet public), and we definitely weigh community feedback as we decide which talks to select.

The organizers will be meeting this week to decide which talks will make the cut, and if you submitted a talk idea, you should get an email notification of your status, one way or the other, by the weekend. We’ll announce the talk lineup publicly here on Monday February 8, 2010.

Thanks again for coming through with all these great talk ideas - IP8 is going to be awesome! (as if that was ever in doubt )

Ignite Portland 8 Needs Your Talk Idea Before EOD Sunday 1/31!

Josh Bancroft — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:11:11 +0000

Just one last reminder - you’ve got about 1.5 days left to submit your talk ideas for Ignite Portland 8. Talk submissions close at 11:59PM tomorrow (Sunday) night, January 31, 2010. Every time we’ve done this, there’s been a rush of ideas submitted at the last minute (you bunch of procrastinators, you!). So we’re not surprised that we haven’t received a large number of ideas yet (about 30 as of this writing). But time is running out.

In other words, the odds of your talk idea being picked for the 20 or so that we’ll see on stage at IP8 are pretty good right now. So get in there, give us a short description about who you are, and what you want to talk about. What makes you tick? What do you obsess over? We want to hear about it.

Have you submitted a talk idea for a previous Ignite, and didn’t get selected? That’s rough. We know. Just because your talk idea didn’t get selected before doesn’t mean we didn’t like it! Competition is stiff, but don’t give up - we’d love to see you throw your idea into the ring again. This could be your chance!

Do I sound sufficiently desperate in begging for your talk ideas? Good. Because we recognize fully that Ignite Portland would literally be nothing without you. Poof. Nothing. So we’re counting on you and your burning ideas - get them submitted before 11:59PM Pacific Time Sunday January 31, 2010 (yes, that’s tomorrow night)!

See you on March 3!

Get Your Ignite Portland 8 Talk Ideas In Before Jan. 31

Josh Bancroft — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 04:35:04 +0000

Can you believe that we’re a mere six weeks or so away from Ignite Portland 8? I know, right? But the time is upon us. And that means you’ve only got about ten more days to submit your talk idea, and have a chance at being selected to present on stage March 3 at the Bagdad in front of 600 or so of your closest friends.

“But Josh,” I hear you say, “What kind of talk idea should I submit?” That’s a good question. Fortunately, I have an answer. Think about the things that keep you up at night. The side projects you work on out of sheer love, outside your day job. Think about the kind of stuff you’d do if you never had to worry about holding down a real job to pay the rent - the stuff you dream of. Maybe a quick viewing of Liz Grover’s Ignite Portland documentary will inspire you. We know you’ve got a burning idea inside.

Want to let it out, and inspire a whole bunch of people (or at the very least, teach them something, or make them laugh), using 20 slides and 5 minutes on stage? All you have to do is hit the talk submission page and give us a brief description of who you are and what you want to talk about. Give us enough info (links, videos of you being smart/funny/persuasive, etc.) for us to make a decision, and who knows? You could be one of the twenty or so talks that light up IP8.

You have until 11:59 PM, Pacific time, on Sunday January 31, 2010 to submit your idea. Tick tock. We know it’s in you. Let it out. Share your burning idea with us, Portland!

Liz Grover Made an Awesome Documentary About Ignite Portland

Josh Bancroft — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 04:00:39 +0000

Do you know Liz Grover? She’s @lilbutterfly on Twitter, an Ignite Portland alumnus, author, and all around awesome creative person. And she’s a filmmaker, too.

Liz has made a terrific short documentary about Ignite Portland - what it’s all about, how it started, and what about it inspires so many people to get involved. It debuted on local community television and the web last month, and here we present it for your viewing pleasure:

Ignite Portland, A Documentary Short from Liz Grover on Vimeo.

Did you enjoy it? Post a comment or drop Liz a note to let her know what you think, and thank her for sharing her time and talents to document this crazy thing called Ignite that we all get so excited about.

On behalf of the Ignite Portland organizers and Legion of Tech, thanks, Liz - you totally rock!

Save the Date and Submit Your Talks - Ignite Portland 8 is March 3, 2010

Josh Bancroft — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:16:56 +0000

By now, it’s tradition. Even before the flames die down, we wonder when the next Ignite Portland will be. So mark your calendars and save the date - Ignite Portland 8 will take place on March 3, 2010.

Of course, we can’t have an Ignite without *your* burning ideas, and if you attended Ignite Portland 7 in person or vicariously, you probably have lots of great “I should do a talk about *insert topic on which you have passion and authority*” ideas floating around in your head. Now is the perfect time to submit your talk idea - you could get 20 slides and 5 minutes to share your thoughts at Ignite Portland 8!

Open Thread: What Did You Think of Ignite Portland 7?

Josh Bancroft — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:45 +0000

Now that the event is over, it’s time to tell us what you thought about it.

After we do an event, we like to have a thread where you can comment and tell us …

What worked well? (We’ll try not to change those)

Where were the rough spots that we should improve for next time?

So this post is your chance - post a comment below, let us know what you thought of the event, what you liked and give us your suggestions for how to make it better. Just like everything else about Ignite Portland, we need you, our community, to contribute here to make the next one the very best it can be.

Watch Ignite Portland 7 LIVE!

Josh Bancroft — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:48 +0000

Here’s the live stream for Ignite Portland 7, courtesy of video streaming powerhouse and local Portland legend, Doc Normal of Strange Love Live, memePDX, and 30 Hour Day fame. Hang out in the chat, and check out the tweet stream as it flows by (use #ip7 or #igniteportland in your tweets). Enjoy the show!

(player was here, removed because it’s not live anymore, and we’d like the page to load within an hour or so

How To Enjoy Ignite Portland 7

Josh Bancroft — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:17:39 +0000

Ignite Portland 7 is upon us! This Thursday night, November 19, the Bagdad Theater is *the* place to be in Portland. The talk lineup is awesome (with bonus talks!), admission is free, and you know you want to come. Whether it’s your first Ignite Portland or you’re a grizzled veteran of all seven, here are some important things to know to get the most out of the evening:

Doors Open at 5:30PM - No Ticket Needed. Just like last time, there’s no ticket system this time. Too complicated. Just come on down, and we’ll let people in until the Fire Marshall says we can’t anymore. At IP6, we tried this for the first time, and it worked really well. Plenty of room for everyone, no long lines, and improved peace and harmony. So don’t stress about getting in - just come.
Bring Some Food and Toys in Support of 30 Hour Day. There are a lot of big-hearted people here in Portland. And we’re proud to be working with the great people at Small Society and the 30 Hour Day project to collect toys for Toys for Tots and food for the Oregon Food Bank. So bring some non-perishable food, or new, unwrapped toys, and drop them off in the lobby. It will do your soul good (or at the very least, make you feel all warm and fuzzy. )
Please, No Seat Saving. We know you’re excited to watch the show with all your friends. And maybe they couldn’t make it down as early as you did. But it’s not fair for one person to squat on a whole bunch of seats with coats, etc. so their friends can saunter in late. Please don’t be a jerk about this. We’ll have ushers milling about to help you remember. We want everyone to have a fair chance at getting a good seat. It’s fine to hold a seat for yourself, so you can get up and order drinks/food, but if your friends come a little later, they’ll have to find their own seats. It’s only fair. Thanks for understanding.
Live Video Stream. As has become tradition, we’re planning to have a live video stream of the night’s proceedings, this time courtesy of Doc Normal and Strange Love Live. Come back to this site, IgnitePortland.com, on the day of the show, and you’ll see a streaming player where you can watch LIVE and hang out in the chat with the other cool kids who are watching. This is for our friends who couldn’t make it in person to the Bagdad, and for any Ignite Portland fans outside of Portland.
Keep the Beer/Food Lines Moving. One of the awesome things about the Badgad Theater is ordering your favorite beverage with a slice of pizza, a burger, or some tots in the lobby, and having them bring it right to your seat inside the theater. Please do order as much food and drink as you’d like. Just try to keep the lines moving smoothly. Doors open at 5:30PM, but the show doesn’t start until 7PM. The smart cookies will get their victuals squared away with time to spare, or grab some food before the show at one of the many nearby restaurants (hint hint).
After Party at Back Stage. Everyone loves a good after party. And you’re all invited to Back Stage Bar, right next door to the Bagdad Theater to compare notes with your friends about your favorite IP7 talk, and start rustling up ideas for the killer talk idea you’re going to submit for IP8. Or, just come hang out and have a drink. Back Stage closes at 12AM. Also, odds are that a few folks will make their way for a fried pie nightcap down at @Whiffies on 12th and Hawthorne…
Follow @IgnitePortland and Tag Your Stuff “ip7″ or “igniteportland”. Make sure you’re following the @IgnitePortland account on Twitter - we’ll be using it for real time updates on things like how much seating is left, etc. And tag your tweets, pics, videos, and whatever else with ip7 or igniteportland to make it easier for everyone to follow the backchannel, and find the bits that you generate.

Here, in the order in which they’ll appear on stage, are the 19 talks (yes, we lost one of our 3 out of town presenters to travel difficulties) that you’ll see at Ignite Portland 7:

The time is almost upon us! The organizers are stoked, volunteers are ready, and the speakers are probably nervous. But we know it’s going to be great. So come join us at the Bagdad Thursday night, and let’s Ignite Portland for the seventh time!

The Sponsors That Make IP7 Possible

AdamD — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:06:11 +0000

Ignite Portland is a community event. It’s organized by volunteers and the costs are covered by generous contributions from within our community.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been over two years since the first Ignite’s quaint beginnings. We are lucky and thankful to receive continued contributions from these repeat sponsors:

We’re always looking for new sponsors and we’re grateful the following stepped up to support Ignite for the first time:

It may sound trite, but these folks truly make Ignite Portland possible. When you see them at the event, be sure to thank them.