[HTML2]Sometimes this content is so easy, it practically writes itself. Especially when I’m just repeating stuff I’ve written before. But it bears repeating.
So you’ve reached that special time in your life. And you’re headed to Ignite Portland 6, tonight. Exciting isn’t it? You may be experiencing some funny feelings about Ignite. That’s natural.
Rest assured, we want your Ignite experience to be as fun and rewarding as possible. So whether this is your 23rd Ignite event or your first, here are some tips and tricks for getting the most out of Ignite Portland 6.
First, the venue info:
3702 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd.
Portland, OR 97214
7:00 – 10:00 PM
Doors open at 5:00 PM.
Admission is always FREE.
Tips and tricks
Here are some “Do”s and “Don’t”s that will help you get the most out of your first, second, third, fourth, or fifth Ignite Portland experience:
- DO bring your camera, your phone, your sketchpad, or any other way of capturing the event.
- DO tag anything and everything #ip6 and/or igniteportland. That way, we can find it.
- DO get there early. Really early. I’m serious. Early. Did I say “Early”? 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 #ip6. 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 try to get in front of Aaron Hockley and his camera. I swear, that guy even makes me look good. If not him, look around for other people hauling around big unwieldy rigs and try get in front of them. Pro tip: Pay particular attention to the people who like to look at the back of their camera after shots, because they will likely keep taking shots of you until they get a good one.
- DO take the chance to introduce yourself to anyone and everyone.
- DON’T forget how hard it is for some of these folks to get on stage.
- Still DON’T be the assholes who were heckling presenters and sponsors that one time. The presenters are taking a nerve wracking risk and the sponsors are paying for your ass to be in that seat for free.
- 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.
- DON’T claim to be tired and skip the after party. You’d be amazed at the cool discussions you’ll miss. And of course, the after party is always much better for socializing than standing in the aisles at the Bagdad.
- DON’T have so much fun at the after party that you wander home and submit some crazy Ignite Portland 7 proposal. I mean, that’s why half of those people are up there, tonight.
Need more tips? Right this way, my friend. The Legion of Tech has a list as well.
Here are some of my favorites:
- Overflow at Back Stage. Just in case we do reach capacity at the Bagdad, and for people who want to hang out and watch in a more, um, bar-like atmosphere, we have overflow seating at Back Stage Bar, literally right next door to the Bagdad, which can hold about 150 people. You’ll be able to watch the show and avail yourself of all the services Back Stage offers. Back Stage opens at 5PM. Some people are so excited about this option, they’ve said “I’m going straight to Backstage.” They’ll have a head start on the after party…
- 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, there’s plenty of room in the balcony, and next door at Backstage. Thanks for understanding.
- Live Video Stream. We experimented with a live video stream at the last Ignite Portland, courtesy of Joe at Blaze Streaming Media, and it worked great. So well, in fact, that we’re doing it again. 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.
Luck, luck, break a leg, and luck
Best of luck to tonight’s presenters:
- Tips on How to Be a Gentleman From a Guy Wearing Jeans and a Tee Shirt by Chris Alan
- Derailing the Train: How to stop Ignite Portland in its tracks by Reid Beels and Amye Scarvada
- My Updated and Revised Commencement Speech to the Graduating Class of 1989 by Andrew Berkowitz
- The Webcomic Age or, A Young Geek’s Illustrated Primer by Ben Bleything
- Massage 2.0: Myofascia-The Real Interweb by Megan Bradley
- The Scandalous Lies I’ve Told My Children by Michael Buffington
- DIY Healthcare in Portland by Sandra Clark
- Everyone needs a little space by Noel Franus
- How to build and program a multitouch display by Todd Greco
- Critical life lessons learned from my four years as a hooker by James Keller
- The death of authority: a kind of elegy by Eva Miller
- You can stop S#$%#y Little Dog Syndrome by Bridget Pilloud
- The History of Magic and Technology by Seth Raphael (Seth will also be speaking at TED, so it’s like your free ticket is a $6000 value for this one alone)
- Sauna Etiquette: Proper Decorum Amongst Naked, Sweaty Strangers by Miki Tokola
- 10 Vegetables that Could Improve Your Sex Life by Jeanne Turner
- Seven lessons learned while trying to reinvent television news by Aaron Weiss (that’s @TheSquare, right there)
- It’s the End of the World As We Know It, and It’s About %#$@& Time! by Uriah Zebadiah
NEW! (sort of) Tips for presenters
No no no. I’m not writing new content, silly. I’m recycling recycled content. It’s all thanks to Jeff Hardison, who presented during Ignite Portland 4.
Last but not least: Party Party Afterparty
What’s a huge event without an afterparty? Well, it’s Ignite Portland 1 and 2, I think. But now, the afterparty is part of the fun.
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 IP6 talk, and start rustling up ideas for the killer talk idea you’re going to submit for IP7. Or, just come hang out and have a drink. Back Stage closes at 12AM. Also, odds are that a few folks will make their way for a fried pie nightcap down at @Whiffies on 12th and Hawthorne.
And now for the sad news: Looking forward to seeing you there!
I’m sad to report that—after attending the first five Ignite Portlands and sponsoring every Ignite since number 1, which I sort of sponsored by buying and donating the igniteportland.com domain name—I will not be in attendance at Ignite Portland 6.
Yes, it’s a bit sad. But my loss, as they say, is your gain.
How you ask? Well—he says resisting the urge to make some self-depricating comment—you see, sponsors of Ignite get four golden tickets. Okay they’re not really gold. And they’re not really tickets. They’re in a PDF. And… I’m sorry where was I? Ah yes, I have four tickets each of which enable the bearer to skate past the line of would-be attendees and saunter right in the door. Furthermore, those sponsor tickets assure you a seat in the reserved seats area down front—so you’ll have a great view to boot.
Now, I was going to build this chocolate factory and line up distribution to a bunch of stores in Portland and put the golden tickets in there. But, quite frankly, I had some problems with the Oompa Loompa visas.
So here’s what we’re going to do instead: comment below.
Yes, that’s it. If you would like a golden ticket, just comment below. This afternoon, I’ll select four lucky winners who will each get a ticket. Should anyone decline their ticket, it will go to the next randomly selected person.
Winners will receive a PDF ticket to the email address they used when submitting a comment.
Sound good? Good. And good luck.
UPDATE: And the winners are…
And to all the rest of you, have a very, very happy Ignite Portland. I hope to see you for Ignite Portland 7.
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Thanks to all of you for commenting! Closing the comments while I throw the names into the ticket-o-matic 5000 to draw the winners.
Like so many other commenters, this will be my first Ignite as well. Planning on arriving early but not looking forward to the line. But I suppose spending the evening hanging out at Back Stage wouldn’t be so bad either.
Are there still any of those VIP tickets available? If so, I call dibs!
But seriously, though. I want one. I’ve never been to an Ignite before and this would be a great introduction.
Email me, or hit me up on Twitter, @benkelley
Looking forward to attending my first Ignite Portland! Wish I could win two of them since I’ll be there with a friend, but I’m sure I could find someone to give the ticket to (if they’re transferrable). 🙂
P.S. Couldn’t get the OpenID authentication working for commenting. When being redirected back here from myOpenId after authenticating, the page at /openid/consumer doesn’t finish loading or completing the redirect to this post (as if the connection were dropped).
Well I know what I’m doing tonight! Thanks for the write up! I was on the fence about going, am firmly off it now and will see everyone there!
I’m in. Is this like the craps table, should I ask you to blow on the dice (or whatever randomizer you use) or be hoping for ‘snake eyes’ or something?
Wow, I thought there would have been more commenters clamoring for free golden tickets. Hmm . . . here are the Top 10 reasons why I should get all (or some) of the free tickets:
1. I am made of pure light and energy.
2. I constructed @stephelhajj from one of my ribs (I didn’t need it).
3. I got drunk and suggested to PortlandOnline that they hold a contest . . .
4. I disagree with most things people do and say.
5. I work “That’s what she said” into client facing conversations daily.
6. Bob’s my uncle.
7. I have tattoos.
8. My nickname in college was “The @sshole.”
9. I can walk on water at 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
10. I run into you occassionally and so far I’ve been nice.
Looks like fantastic fun! It will be my first IP, but if the presentations are as good as their titles, I’m sure I’ll be back for more!
I vote for @alain to get a ticket. First off – he’s awesome. He’s contributed so much to the Makerlab group and Bram and Reid and Paige and Anselm and many others enjoy. He and is an amazingly positive and innovative guy, and he definetly needs to see his first Ignite in style.
If that’s not persuasive enough, here’s one more thing: I was about to move to Seattle, but felt really bad about it. Alain was actually the person who sat down and rationalized with me for an hour before I had to make my final decision of staying in Portland instead of moving to Seattle.
If not for @alain: 1. I’d be in Seattle and away from all of the amazing connectivity here, and 2. I wouldn’t have had a cool DJ for the CyborgCamp pre-party. 3. I wouldn’t be writing this. He deserves a front row ticket.
Who else? Davy should have one! Jason Grigsby and his wife should have one!
And as for me: I’d like a front row ticket because I want to be able to Tweet all the action as quickly as possible. And take lots of pictures. And cheer people on. And not miss a moment. You know, the usual excuses for wanting a good seat. I have a laptop with longer battery power this time. It could potentially be pretty awesome.
We’re going to miss you dearly. Can’t we have a webcam on your face live broadcasting your presence next to us to a laptop in a VIP seat? 🙂
Missed the last 2 Ignites, planning to attend this one. VIP tix would make it that much sweeter! Thanks.
Looking forward to my first Ignite Portland. Anyone have any ideas how early I should show up?
Good article, Rick… Thanks for giving the unwashed masses a chance at Ignite ticket glory! – t
was just wondering how early i should get in line, maybe i’ll be lucky and win one of your tickets Rick
thx
@fekaylius
This would be my first Ignite, and I’m stoked. A front row seat would make this even better!
Thanks for the list! Fun read since it’s my first Ignite. Just for the record I do not want your tickets, I have my own ;).
As much as your absence will leave a large hole, I am willing to try to fill part of it 🙂
This will be my first Ignite – I couldn’t go to the one in Sydney earlier this year – so I’ll be there either way!
This could be my first Ignite! Tickets sold out early but maybe the SiliconFlorist can help 🙂
Great list of info! I would definitely be down with a front-row ticket =)
Thanks for the info on Ignite. I think I’ll check it out.
Hi Rick,
I’m very sad you can’t make it. Would it help if we promised to not force you to speak?
I’d be interested in golden tickets, but it is date night for my wife and I unless I can win two of them, I think we’re just going to have to see how we do in line. 🙂
Hope to see you around town again soon.
-Jason
Looks like an awesome time. Seems like a good enough excuse to get out of my cave for a while and interact with other humans. 🙂
OH.. and yeah, I can bend my schedule to be a lucky wiener!
What a long strange trip it’s been…. I wonder if anyone is tracking IP in terms of a sampling that captures the big picture development of a community segment, as nurtured by a group.
Many years ago academies and leagues of sorts, comprised of thought leaders of the time, used to target and promote businesses, efforts, talents, and education. It is woven into the fabric of the country’s growth, and especially in the West. The location being so remote from culture, communication, and settlement and so full of opportunity that it drew such as John Astor, Toulouse Lautrec and Sam Hill. Their marks remain.
Great advice for Ignite. I am looking forward to my first Ignite ever. Sorry you can’t be there, but I would gladly take your seat. 😉 Thank You Steph
A great intro to Ignite… thanks…