Author Archive for Josh Bancroft

Ignite Portland 9 is next month (Thursday, September 23rd) and as the date approaches, we are looking for a few good folks to join us as sponsors and volunteers.

Ignite Portland is paid for completely by our beloved sponsors - admission is always free. If you want to help us make these events happen with sponsorship dollars, head over to the Sponsorships page, to see what you’ll receive (a happy feeling, our thanks, reserved seats, etc.), and contact Jason Mauer to let us know you’re interested.

We’re also looking for some “super-fantabulous” volunteers, to help out on the day of the event. If you’re interested and available in helping us out, here are some Important Details:

• Ignite Portland 9 is Thurs Sept 23rd at the Bagdad Theater.
• Volunteers need to arrive at approx 4:00 p.m. for pre-event coordination.
• Another important date is the Volunteer Prep meeting & dinner on Thurs Sept 16 at 5:30 p.m. (location TBD). Attendance at this meeting is strongly encouraged.

Let us know if you want to join our elite group of volunteers by contacting our awesome Volunteer Coordinator, Anne Buckley (@pdxrox)

Ignite Portland simply wouldn’t happen if it weren’t for the sponsors and volunteers who give of themselves every time. Thanks for supporting Burning Ideas in Portland, and we’ll see you on the 23rd of September!

The talk idea submission form for burning ideas at Ignite Portland 9 closed last night at 11:59PM (we’re very sorry to those few of you who didn’t make the deadline, but we keep the close time firm to be fair to everyone). The Ignite Portland team will be agonizing this week over the 65 talk ideas we received to pick the 20 that you’ll see on stage at IP9.

And that’s where we need your help.

Did you know that you can read and comment on the talk ideas that were submitted? The comments are confidential, only viewable by the event organizers, and they’re *really* helpful in letting us know what topics and speakers you do (and don’t) want to see on stage.

So head over to the IP9 proposals page, peruse the ideas that were submitted, and if you see one that really lights up the happy parts of your brain (or gives you a stomachache), let us know. It’s really helpful when we’re trying to narrow the field down to only 20 talks.

We’ll be letting everyone who submitted a talk idea know whether they made it or not later this week, and we’ll publish the talk lineup next Monday, August 9. Thanks for sharing your burning ideas!

Thanks to the awesome folks at Blaze Streaming Media, we’ve got the videos of all the talks from Ignite Portland 8 for your post event watching enjoyment. You can check them all out in this Ignite Portland 8 playlist on YouTube, or simply enjoy them in the embedded player below:

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 9 will take place on September 23, 2010.

Of course, we can’t have an Ignite without *your* burning ideas, and if you attended Ignite Portland 8 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 9!

Ignite Portland 8 is upon us! This Wednesday night, March 3, the Bagdad Theater is *the* place to be in Portland. The talk lineup is awesome (natch), admission is free, and you know you want to come.

This time around, we’re super excited to be part of O’Reilly’s Global Ignite Week festivities. During the week of March 1-5, over 60 Ignites are taking place on 5 continents around the world, with an estimated audience of 10,000 (check out the link for a neat interactive map of all the GIW participants). As one of the oldest and largest Ignites, we’re stoked that so many people have made it possible to share burning ideas in their cities and communities, and we’re thankful that Brady and the other great folks at O’Reilly have given so much support to Igniters around the world. Rumor has it that Brady “Mr. Ignite” Forrest himself will be at IP8, so keep an eye out for him, and if you spot him, shake his hand/buy him a drink/express your thanks.

Speaking of Global Ignite Week, there’s a nifty little extra for any of you Foursquare user types that are planning on attending. A very rare custom Global Ignite Week badge is up for grabs if the GIW events around the world manage to get more than 500 checkins at their respective venues this week. For us, that’s the Bagdad Theater. So, if you have one of them fancy phone gadgets, and you do the Foursquare, make sure you check in when you arrive, and if you’re lucky, you’ll get a nice little piece of virtual bling that says “I was there for the first Global Ignite Week in 2010″ (or something to that effect).

Lastly, whether it’s your first Ignite Portland or you’re going for the record and this is number eight, here are some important things to know to get the most out of the evening:

• Doors Open at 5:30PM - No Ticket Needed. As of IP7, we’ve done away with the free ticket system. Too complicated. Just come on down, and we’ll let people in until the Fire Marshall says we can’t anymore. Last time, there was plenty of room for everyone, no long lines, and improved peace and harmony. Don’t stress about getting in - just come.

• Bring Non-Perishable Food in Support of 30 Hour Day and the Oregon Food Bank. There are a lot of big-hearted people here in Portland. And we’re proud to be working with the great people at 30 Hour Day again to collect non-perishable food for the Oregon Food Bank. Drop a few cans/boxes/MREs off in the lobby on your way into the show. 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. 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 IP8 talk, and start rustling up ideas for the killer talk idea you’re going to submit for IP9. Or, just come hang out and have a drink. Back Stage closes at 12AM. I hear there’s going to be a rollicking game of Werewolf at the after party…
• Follow @IgnitePortland and Tag Your Stuff “ip8″ , “giw” (for Global Ignite Week), and/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 ip8, giw, and/or igniteportland to make it easier for everyone to follow the backchannel, and find the bits that you generate.

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 eighth time!