Ignite Lansing didn’t involve any combustion, just some great ideas in a great venue. Ignite was originally started in Seattle, based off Pecha Kucha Nights. Speakers are given a stage and mic to talk about whatever topic they want. The catch? They only have 5 minutes and 15 slides. And the slides automatically advance every 20 seconds. Talk about a bit of pressure…
This was the second Ignite event in Michigan. The first was also in Lansing, earlier in the year. I have been to an Ignite event out in San Francisco, so I was very excited that there was finally an Ignite nearby. The event out in SF was a huge geekfest with great speakers and great conversations.
Ignite Lansing 2.0 did a pretty good job of living up to expectations. A lot of presentations seemed to be food related (I guess people in Lansing like to eat?). Even with the guidelines of 5 minutes and 15 slides, the presentations varied in design and performance – most were pretty good, a few were great and a couple were only ok.
My favorite presentation of the night was “B-Movie Survival Tips” by Steve Jencks (@losthighway). Just in time for Halloween and all those great old thrillers, Steve shared what you need to do to survive a B-Movie! Steve’s tips were delivered with flare that amused the audience, as did his slides with great images and design. Steve won one of the 3 speaker awards for his efforts.
Emily McQueen spoke about “Clearing Hurdles in a Wheelchair” about her struggles and successes in wheelchair racing. A very moving and inspirational speech about what anyone can do when they keep at it and stay positive. There were many other speakers, but those were two of the highlights. Look for all of the presentations to be posted soon on Ignite Lansing’s YouTube channel (the presentations from the first Ignite Lansing are posted there).
The crowd also got involved with a paper airplane contest to see who could create a plane that could fly the farthest. It was a lot of fun to try to come up with a design with only paper, a paperclip and a bit of tape. I’m happy to report that Aaron was one of the three winners.
So, I think it’s time for Detroit to have an Ignite event. I’ve created a Facebook group to try to get things organized (search for Ignite Detroit). I hope you’ll join me in bringing this fun and creative event to the Detroit area.
UPDATE: Turns out there is an Ignite in Ann Arbor as well. They had their first event back in June and are planning the second for Nov 2nd. Not sure how I missed the news since it’s being held at the Ross school. If you’re interested in speaking, they’re accepting presentation ideas until Oct 7th.
(photo courtesy of Ignite Lansing)