what is Ignite and why did so many Missoulians have such a wonderful experience?

Did you know we all have a bellybutton but only a few of us are using it correctly or that Moms really rule the earth?

How many of us didn’t realize we don’t really know how to steer a motorcycle correctly or that poetry was a valuable cornerstone of education and a possible solution for the successful future of the world?

What would you talk about and how would you say it if you had only 5 minutes and 20 power point slides that rotated every 15 seconds?

On a warm summer night, 12 Missoula folks accepted the challenge and evoked cheers, laughter, applause and more than a few moments when the audience of well over 100 had to sit back and think deeply about what they were learning during the inaugural Ignite Missoula http://www.ignitemissoula.com .

It’s amazing that, with preparation and guidance, it’s possible to give a truly compelling presentation in only 5 minutes. The first Ignite Missoula has set a standard that is going to be hard to top but Ignite Missoula organizers are up to the challenge.

The first of what Missoula hopes will be many Ignite Missoula’s came off without a hitch through the support and contributions from Pyron Technologies http://www.pyrontechnologies.com/, Missoula Children’s Theater http://www.mctinc.org , Medical MultiMedia Group http://www.medicalmultimediagroup.com/ , Bayern Brewery http://www.bayernbrewery.com/ , Worden’s Market http://www.wordens.com/ , Culligan Water http://www.mtculligan.com/ and many volunteers.

And a big thanks to emcee Mayor John Engen who made the evening "official" as he entertained, encouraged and enlightened the audience between speakers with his wit and charm.

You should have been there… but if you weren’t…

All presentations were taped by Red Umbrella Media http://redumbrellamedia.com/ and will be available at both the Ignite Missoula site as well as on MCAT. When we have an MCAT broadcast schedule, we’ll post it on the Ignite site.

Here’s a brief introduction to Ignite Missoula and the speakers from the first event. More events are planned so start thinking about what you’re going to say during your 5 minutes of fame.

topics & speakers

AskNature – The World’s First Catalog of Biological Design Solutions
Tim Greiser

Will young poets save the world?
Geoff Badenoch

Create an Effective Adwords Campaign
Andy Commons

The Physics of Steering a Motorcycle
Walt Max

Everybody’s Belly Button – Going to the Core of Connection and Community
Karen Marsolek

Drinking Your Coffee in Peace: How to Defend Yourself on Foreign Networks
Eric Fulton

Fitness Myths of Today’s Workout World
Kayla Johnson

You say “mom-jeans” like it’s a bad thing…moms defy the recession. How to harness the power.
Elke Govertsen

Top 10 Mistakes Made by Gym Go-ers
Jamie Beeson

Where Web Surveys and Forums Fail
Steven Sundheim

Started by Brady Forrest, Technology Evangelist for O’Reilly Media, and Bre Pettis of Etsy.com, formerly of MAKE Magazine, Ignite was inspired by Pecha Kucha Nights, where speakers are given 20 slides, each shown for 20 seconds, giving each speaker 6 minutes and 40 seconds of fame. The first Ignite took place in Seattle in 2006, and since then the event has become an international phenomenon, with gatherings in Helsinki, Finland; Paris, France; New York; and many other locations.

Ignite has two parts: the Ignite contest, where people make things or compete, and Ignite talks, where presenters get 20 slides and five minutes to make their point.

Ignite Missoula v.1 is the first Ignite event in the great state of Montana. Ignite Missoula v.2 is scheduled for First Night and v.3 is scheduled for March 3rd, when Ignites will be held on all 7 continents. These will be announced on the http://www.ignitemissoula.com website and through other media.

Speakers

5 minutes; no more, no less

slides auto-forward every 15 seconds

Speak your passion; no selling

Attendees

Cheer the story

Be respectful, except when being sold to 😉

Get enlightened

This is your event. Make it great!

See you at the next Ignite Missoula!

***

Pyron Technologies would like to thank the following people who volunteered to make Ignite Missoula v. 1 a success:

Teresa Arens

Mike Birnbaum

Brandy Cheff

Mayor John Engen

Russ Fletcher

Luke Hawkins

Shana Hawkins

Deb Hypolite

Dori Johnston

Don Kukla

Kevin Leavell

Krista Pyron

Randy Sechrest

Robert Suthers

Jason Tonn

….and especially, all of our Speakers!

***

Hi Everyone,

First of all, I want to extend a huge THANK YOU! to everyone that made the event last week happen. We had over 110 people attend and everyone (that I spoke to at least) wants to see another Ignite event. We’ve received numerous emails congratulating us and inquiring as to when the next event happens. To all of the speakers – you made this happen. I hope all of you will submit another presentation for the next Ignite.

With regards to videos – Jason Tonn is editing and posting them to http://www.blip.tv. He’s been slammed with work, but is working hard to get everyone’s presentation online – he has the first two completed (see links below) and should be posting the rest over the next 5 – 6 days. Once they’re all posted, we’ll update the http://www.ignitemissoula.com website with the links for everyone to see. Jason is also submitting the videos to MCAT so we’ll hopefully see the event on our local tv station some point in the future.

For our next Ignite Missoula event, we haven’t scheduled a date yet, but we want your suggestions on venue. Please visit http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1974173/

and let us know where you think we should have the next Ignite.

Finally, please let me know if you have questions, suggestions, critiques, etc. I think the show was a great success, but I’m certain we could make it even better.

Check out the first two speakers vids below. And again, thank you for helping us make this show a great success.

Tim Greiser – http://www.blip.tv/file/2583859/

Geoff Badenoch – http://blip.tv/file/2583170

Sincerely,

Dave Pyron

PYRON TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

228 West Main Street, Suite C | Missoula, MT 59802

phone 406.543.9211 | cell 406.544.9828

[email protected]

http://www.pyrontechnologies.com