Ignite Portland

Wow. I’m exhausted. Tonight was a blast! (Ha! See that pun there! ). There will be a more detailed wrap up post tomorrow, but I just wanted to post something tonight to let the world know that the first Ignite Portland was a smashing success, and to say “thank you” to everyone who made it possible - the speakers, the volunteers, everyone who attended, and my fellow organizers. I’ve never been part of something like this before - it’s been an amazing experience, and the future looks bright!

In the next few days, I’m sure blog posts and photos will trickle onto the web. In fact, they already are. I’ll have the videos posted in a couple of weeks (some have asked why so long - it’s partly because it takes a long time to edit down 2 hours of video, and partly because I’m leaving on a 2 week trip this weekend ). And there are some funny stories to tell (like how we were so worried about the number of attendees, and how we ended up with the EXACT right amount). All in time.

Right now, I’m just full of gratitude, and I want to say thanks to everyone to made this what it has become. You all rock - get ready to do it again in Janurary!

Besides the whole fire code thing, where we have to close the doors after we get 297 people (doors open at 5:30 PM - be there early, and you’re almost sure to get in), there are lots of people I know who would have liked to attend Ignite Portland, but can’t make it for various other reasons. This post is for you!

Since it’s being put together by a bunch of raging internet geeks, there will be lots of electronic ways to “attend” Ignite Portland from afar. Or at least keep updated on what’s going on there.

First, follow IgnitePortland on Twitter. We’ll be sending important updates throughout the evening (like “OK, we’re closing the doors now!”, etc.). Make sure you have Twitter set to send notifications via SMS, since unfortunately, there won’t be open wifi at W+K. If you don’t use Twitter, or don’t know what it is, just go to http://twitter.com/IgnitePortland (or subscribe to the RSS feed on that page). You’ll see short updates from the Ignite Portland team as they’re warranted. Extra Special Twitter Tip: check out the “with others” page for Ignite Portland on Twitter. It will show you updates from all the people that have followed us - sort of an instant, impromptu backchannel chat. It’s loads of fun. Or at least interesting to watch.

We’re looking for a volunteer to do some live streaming of the event, a la UStream.tv, etc. All it takes to do live web video these days is a webcam and a browser. If you’re able and interested in doing a stream for Ignite Portland, let me know. We can probably get you wifi access to do it, but if you have your own self-contained connectivity (like EVDO), so much the better.

Space is going to be tight (not a lot of room for laptops, plus the whole “no wifi” thing), so I don’t expect a lot of “live” blogging, but for everything written/posted after the event, the official tag for the event is “igniteportland”. If you write a blog post, upload pictures to Flickr, or put whatever else online about the event, make sure it has that tag. Likewise, if you want to check out photos and posts from people who were there, look for the “igniteportland” tag on Technorati, Flickr, etc. We’ll be monitoring that tag, too, and we’ll post up anything that’s particularly cool here. You can also just do a good old fashioned search for “ignite portland” in your favorite blog search/feed tool and subscribe to the resulting RSS feed.

Finally, the presentations are being video recorded (by more than one person, it sounds like). I’ll be recording in HD, and the W+K folks will be, too. I plan to post video of each of the Ignite Portland sessions on our “Watch” page (featured prominently at the top of the site) within a couple of weeks (video takes time!). So, check out that page in a little while, or add this RSS feed to your favorite video podcatcher (like iTunes), and you’ll get the videos automagically as soon as they’re posted. We also plan on posting the slides themselves at some point, though without the presenter, they won’t make much sense.

That’s it for now. If you can think of another way to participate virtually in Ignite Portland, post a comment, and I’ll update this post. Thanks to everyone who’s expressed interest in our little event - this has grown into something WAY bigger than I ever imagined, and it’s awesome!

Update: RSVPs at Upcoming are now closed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t come to the first Ignite Portland! Unfortunately, it also means that just because you RSVP’ed, there’s no guarantee you’ll get in. See this post for details - we had to make admission “first come, first served”.

I can’t believe how fast the RSVP list for Ignite Portland has been growing. This morning, we crossed over the 250+ mark for people who have said “I’m Attending!”, and that doesn’t count the 26 more who are “watching”/tentative. We’re thrilled and a little freaked out that so many people want to come!

There’s still one week before the big night, if you haven’t already made plans to come. We might run into a problem, though - our space at Wieden+Kennedy has a fire safety occupancy limit of 297 people. I never dreamed we’d fill that place up, but here we are. I know that not everyone who RSVP’s will be able to make it, so for now, we’re doing a balancing act. I’ve capped the number of RSVP’s that Upcoming will accept for the event somewhere north of 297, to account for no-shows. But, if you REALLY want to come to Ignite Portland, you’d do well to RSVP now. It helps if you have your “real name” associated with your Upcoming account, so we can know that “beerinator” is really “Bob Smith”.

We’re not planning on being strict about checking for your name on the guest list at the door, and we don’t plan on turning anyone away. There’s overflow space at W+K that we could probably use should the atrium be completely full, but we won’t have the ability to pipe in the presentations. So help us out by making sure your RSVP info is accurate, including removing yourself if you know you can’t make it. We’ll be sad, and we’ll miss you, but accurate data makes everyone’s life better, no?

This is going to be one awesome event!

We have a confirmed date and venue! Ignite Portland will happen on Thursday, October 25, 2007, at Wieden & Kennedy (224 NW 13th Ave, Portland, OR). Exact time TBD, but it will be in the evening, around 6PM to 9PM. The WK space is AMAZING - many thanks to Renny Gleeson and everyone at Wieden & Kennedy for being willing to host us.

Ignite Portland is free to attend and/or present. If you want to attend, please RSVP here at Upcoming, so we know how many to expect. If you’d like to be a presenter (20 slides, 15 seconds each), jot your name and idea down on the Presenters page. We’ll work with you to get your presentation in the correct format and turned in before the event, so we can run them all rapid-fire, back to back.

We want to have yummy food and drinks, but we need sponsors to pay for it, so if you’re interested in helping out, check out the Sponsorships page and let us know what you can do.

Now that we have these details nailed down, we’re going to work fast an furious on getting the rest of the event planned out - presenter list, sponsors, etc. You’ll want to subscribe to the feed to keep up to date, and if you want to help out, let us know by posting a comment.

I’m so excited - this is going to be awesome!

There’s been some consternation in the comments that we haven’t announced a date for the first Ignite Portland yet. We’re not trying to be coy. We’re just waiting on confirmation from our venue. Until we get that, the whole thing is subject to change.

That said, the TENTATIVE date we’re looking at is Thursday, October 25, 2007, 6-9 PM. We haven’t found any major event conflicts in the Portland area (at least, not according to Upcoming or Facebook). If you know of a reason this date is a bad idea, please let us know sooner rather than later.

We’re actively looking for sponsors for things like food, drinks, signage, etc. If you’re interested being a sponsor, check out the Sponsorships page, and get in touch with us. Even a couple hundred bucks would go a long way. Thanks!