So this post is your chance - post a comment below, let us know what you thought of the event, 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. So let us have it!

Tonight, I revealed the “big” news that I had teased about - Ignite Portland 5 will happen on February 19, 2009, at the Bagdad. Save the date! More details will be coming, but the other big news is that submissions are open now for talk ideas at IP5. Head on over to the submission page, and give us your talk idea. Who knows? It could be you up on stage next time.

We figured there are lots of people who are inspired by the talks they see at Ignite, and think to themselves “hey, I could do a talk about *whatever*”. My wife Rachel and I were talking all the way home about what cool ideas we could submit. We (the organizers) figured that NOW was the time to let people get their ideas out there, on “paper”, and start thinking about what *they* would say if they had 20 slides and 5 minutes.

What would YOU say? Share that burning idea!

We’re already looking for sponsors for IP5, too. If you would like to help make it happen, and get your company up in front of 500 of Portland’s smartest, most engaged community members, let us know now.

• DO bring your camera, your phone, your sketchpad, or any other way of capturing the event.

• DO tag anything and everything #ip4 and/or igniteportland. That way, we can find it.
• DON’T forget your ticket or a device that will allow you to show your ticket electronically.
• DO get there early. Really early. I’m serious. Early. Did I say “Early”?
• DO be prepared to give everyone and anyone your Twitter name. (Don’t use Twitter? Get on it.)
• Now that you’re on Twitter, DO try to tweet about the event and hashtag it #ip4. That way, we can see what you’re saying.
• DO be nice to all the Legion of Tech folks and volunteers. (They’re all volunteers, actually. And they’re doing this in their free time.)
• DO be especially nice to the Adam DuVander who has been the lead organizer on the event.
• DON’T be the assholes who were heckling presenters last time.
• DON’T be a wallflower. Talk to people in line while you’re waiting to get into the venue. Talk to people while you’re waiting in the food line. The Bagdad is a great venue for presenting, but talking to folks at breaks will take some doing.
• DO try to get in front of Aaron Hockley and his camera. I swear, that guy even makes me look good. If not him, Kveton will make you look good too.
• DO take the chance to introduce yourself to Rick and tell him about the cool side projects you’re pursuing.

Tonight’s the big night! I hope everyone has a terrific time. We owe a HUGE thanks to all of the volunteers, speakers, and sponsors who made this fourth edition of Ignite Portland possible. This event would be nothing with the community behind it, and their love and effort.

Let’s light it up!

• If you have a ticket, it is only good from 5:30 - 6:15pm
• Arrive early (even if you have a ticket). Seating is limited. Doors open at 5:30 (maybe earlier if we’re ready). Food & drink lines get crowded, come early to beat the rush.
  
• The name on your ID must match your ticket (tickets are not transferable). Tickets displayed on a mobile device (phone, PDA, etc.) will be accepted, along with dead tree paper printouts.
• We will start general admission at 6:15
• Parking is scarce to non-existent near Hawthorne. We highly recommend taking public transportation!
• Leave the valuables, big backpacks, etc. at home. We expect a pretty full house, and we are not responsible for lost or stolen items.
• Feel free to bring a camera to take pictures or video - tag it “igniteportland” so we can all find it!

Frequently Asked Questions:

Where is the Bagdad? How do I get there? The Bagdad Theater is located at 3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland. For more detail on how to get there, see our Directions page.

What time should I arrive? The earlier you arrive, the better your chances of getting a good seat. We are suggesting that people arrive no later than 5pm if you want a good seat.

Can I get in without a ticket? Yes. You can wait in the general admission line to be admitted without a ticket at 6:15pm.

If I RSVP’d on Upcoming.org does that mean I already have a ticket? No.

What if I lose my ticket? You can retrieve it online here.

What if I leave my ticket or ID at home? You will have our profound sympathy and be directed to the VIP General Admission line.

Will food and drinks be available? Yes. The Bagdad will have their normal menu available.

Can kids come? What if my kids don’t have an email address? Kids are welcome but all minors need to be out of the building by 9:00pm per OLCC rules (the event ends at 9:00 so they won’t miss any of the presentations). Children without tickets will be admitted with ticketed adults.

If you weren’t one of the lucky 550 to nab a ticket, do not despair! You can still come to Ignite Portland 4. Chances are, you’ll get in just fine. Here’s what you need to do:

First, any IP4 tickets that aren’t claimed within 24 hours go back in the “pool”, meaning that tomorrow morning, a bunch of tickets will probably appear at http://tickets.igniteportland.com. Check there over the next couple of days, and you might get lucky.

If you just can’t obtain a ticket, you’re welcome to come and wait in the General Admission line. Here’s how it’s going to work. Ticketholders will be admitted at 5:30PM, and at 6:15PM, we’ll open up for General Admission, and let people in until we reach the fire code occupancy limit at the Bagdad (which is north of 700 people). That means there’s room for a couple hundred General Admission attendees, even if every single ticketed person shows up (and that never happens - there’s always a percentage of people who don’t/can’t come). At Ignite Portland 3, every single person in the General Admission line got in, no problem.

You may want to come a little early if you go for the GA line, but we hope it won’t be TOO long - that’s the whole reason we’re doing this ticket thing in the first place (to keep you from having to wait in a long line for hours in the rain/cold/heat).

In short, if you want to come to Ignite Portland 4, then please do. You’ll probably get in, no problem. Don’t be turned away by a lack of ticket. We hope that it will be worth it to you!

Update: Wow, those went fast! 550 tickets were requested in under 3.5 hours. But you can still come to Ignite Portland 4! Read that post to see how.

Tickets for Ignite Portland 4 (next Thursday, November 13) are now available! Go to http://tickets.igniteportland.com to get yours.

Tickets to Ignite Portland will always be free. So why have them in the first place? To try to keep lines small, and reduce your anxiety about getting in. If you have a ticket, and you arrive at the Bagdad Theater between 5:30P and 6:15P on the night of Ignite Portland 4, you can stroll right in, and you’ve got a seat. No worries. At 6:15P, we open up to General Admission.

Some important things to remember about the ticket process:

• You’ll be sent an email with a claim code, and you must “claim” your ticket within 24 hours, or it goes back into the pool.

• Check your spam bucket if you don’t get the claim email right away - it might be hiding in there.
• Print out and bring your ticket with you to the event, along with your ID.

Tickets made the whole admission process a LOT smoother at the last Ignite Portland, and our goal is to make it as easy as possible for everyone who wants to attend to get in. Last time, there were plenty of seats for everyone (ticketed and GA), the lines were minimal, and a good time was had by all. That’s what we’re shooting for this time around. We’ve made a larger number of tickets available this time (last time, they were all spoken for in less than 24 hours), based on the “no show” percentage from IP3, and even if every single ticketholder shows up before 6:15P, there would still be room for plenty of general admission. We’ll only close the doors and turn people away if we reach the fire code limit at the Badgad (somewhere North of 700 people).

If you have any questions about the ticket system, post a comment here, and we’ll get you an answer. IP4 is little more than a week away. Who’s excited?

Without further ado, here, then, are the 14 talks that will make up Ignite Portland 4. Follow the links to read the speaker’s description of their talk:

• What is Ignite? - Josh Bancroft
• Five Things Portland Can Learn From Kentucky in Five Minutes - Jeff Hardison
• A Short Introduction to Cyborg Anthropology - Amber Case
• Spirituality in Community: It’s not just for religion anymore - David Kominsky
• How to Bluff Your Way Through Life or a 5 Minute Presentation - Cami Kaos
• Cooking with the Seasons: The Garanimals Method - Katherine Gray
• Dating Rules for the Actual World - Alexis Rehrmann
• Story as Bloodsport: Battling to craft narrative - Melissa Lion
• How To Make People Think You’re a Portlander - Without Actually Living in the State of Oregon - Carolynn Duncan
• 7 One-Night Stands with a Baseball Fan - Nova Newcomer
• Divided We Win: 5 Reasons Why FOX News is Saving Our Media and Democracy - Abraham Hyatt
• Juice Up any Conversation or Presentation with 5 Impressive-Sounding Theories that Apply to EVERYTHING - Eric Anderson
• How to get people to do what you want them to do… - Betsy Richter
• 10 Karaoke Commandments - Alex Williams

There you have them. The talks that are going to light up the stage at the Bagdad Theater on Thursday, November 13. Speakers, get working on your talks (the deadline to turn in your slides should have been in the acceptance email you received). Everyone else, stay tuned for information on tickets to come to Ignite Portland 4 - they’ll be free, as always - and get ready to be blown away at IP4!

I wish we could see ALL of the talk ideas at IP4. Maybe someone needs to propose a talk on how to build a time machine so we can fit all of them into one evening. Pending such a device, we have to narrow it down to about 14 talks.

The selection team has that difficult task, and is already reviewing the submissions. We’ll announce the Ignite Portland 4 lineup next week, on Monday October 20, right here on igniteportland.com.

HUGE thanks to everyone who submitted a talk idea for Ignite Portland 4! You’ll be hearing from us soon. Ignite Portland wouldn’t be possible at all without you. You rock!

There’s only 1.5 days left to get your Ignite Portland 4 talk idea submissions in. The window officially closes at 12:01 AM Wednesday 10/15 (that’s the hour after 11PM on Tuesday night 10/14, just to be clear). If you’ve got a talk idea you’d like to share on stage at Ignite Portland 4, now is the time to get it in.

We’ve got a great selection of ideas submitted so far - 31 as of this morning. You can view them all if you’re looking for inspiration, or to size up the competition. We’ll be picking about 14 talks to be presented onstage at Ignite Portland 4 (Nov. 13 at the Bagdad Theater), and announcing the lineup of selected talks on October 20.

In the past, there’s been a “surge” of submissions in the last day or so that submissions were open. I’m not saying that the creative-type people who present at Ignite are procrastinators, but… What I mean is, it’s definitely not too late to think up a talk idea and submit it. All you need is a idea - NOT a finished presentation (that comes later, if you’re selected).

Honestly, just like the past 3 Ignite Portland events, the quality of the submissions we’ve received so far is high enough that we could have a couple of Ignites with just these ideas. So why beat the drum and try to get more? Past events have set the bar pretty high. We want IP4 to be amazingly, mind-blowingly, life-changingly good. And that can’t happen without your ideas. We never know which talks are going to be smash hits, but there are always a few that take EVERYONE by surprise. Maybe this time around it will be yours? We’ll never know unless you submit! Hurry up! The clock is ticking!

An Ignite talk is 20 slides that appear for 15 seconds each, for a total of 5 minutes. Use those minutes to tell a story, fix a problem, make us laugh, or cry. In short, share your burning ideas.

Some past Ignite talks:

• How To Run A Startup And Not Lose Your Mind
• A Short Course On How to Ride Freight Trains
• Boiling Water in Five Easy Steps
• A History of the Stick Figure
• Open Source Rockets
• How Keeping Chickens Will Save Your Life
• The Complete and Utter History of the Numa Numa Dance

If you want to share your passion with some of the most brilliant minds in Portland (at least, as many as we can fit into the Bagdad), here’s your chance. Submit a short description of your talk idea, and a little about yourself, and you could be chosen to share that idea on stage at Ignite Portland 4.

We’re going to close submissions at midnight on October 14, and announce the selected talk lineup on October 20.

Itching to get tickets? Subscribe to the feed, and we’ll let you know when it happens.

We can’t wait to see what amazing talk ideas you come up with this time!