Ignite Boise | Boise’s best ideas in 5 minutes, 20 slides

What’s the speaker order for tonight you ask?  Oh.  Well, I’ll tell you anyway:

1. Ignite Introduction
2. How to Win 1-ups in Super Mario and Influence People
3. Consider Design
4. Weasel Words: How to Keep from Committing to Anything (Without Even Trying)
5. “Mad (Wo)Men”: The Women of ‘Mad Men,’ the Modern Women Who Love Them, and How to Know Which Mad (Wo)Man You Are
6. A $1 Trillion Loaf of Bread; or Backup Your Brain
7. Every Springfield Needs a Shelbyville
8. A Quick Primer on Slow-Cooked Barbecue (then Intermission)
9. How Eating Guinea Pigs Can Save the World (Or At Least Part Of It)
10. ADD-tastic
11. Science Quickies
12. Don’t be lazy, SAVE THE PLANET!
13. Draining the Swamp
14. The Farmer Who Went Postal
15. Hate What You See On the News? Well… It’s Your Fault.
16. All Aboard the Soul Funky Train (a.k.a. Fundamentals of Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication)

Answer:   See “How to Enjoy Ignite Boise 01.”

To get “early admission” tickets you needed request a ticket at this web page a few weeks ago.  The 600 “early admission” tickets were all snatched up within a couple hours.  If you are one of 600 who requested “early admission” tickets, this post on the blog discusses what you need to do next.

Most of the remaining 150 tickets were set aside for speakers, volunteers, and sponsors.  These tickets were emailed to the speakers/volunteers/sponsors already.  There is no “will call.”  If you don’t have a printed Eventbrite ticket…you don’t have a ticket.

Remember:  you will need the print-out of your ticket to get in the door.   If you are a greenie, you can show us an electronic view of your ticket on your smartphone.  If you forget…you’ll need to get in the “general admission” line.   Sorry.

If you do not have an “early admission” ticket or a sponsor/speaker/volunteer ticket, you will need to wait in line at the door to get a seat.  When 6:30 arrives, all tickets are null and void and we’ll open the doors for general admission (until we reach capacity).  We don’t know if we’ll reach capacity or not…so the closer to the front of the line you are, the better your odds of getting a seat.

It’s gonna be a great show! See you there.

Follow the Ignite Boise 03 speakers on Twitter:

• A $1 Trillion Loaf of Bread; or Backup Your Brain – Jason Denizac – @jdenizac
• Don’t be lazy, SAVE THE PLANET! – Holli High Woodings – @hollihigh
• How To Start a Company in 52 Hours! – Andre Nosalsky – @an
• Draining the Swamp – Jeff Almeida – @npja
• “Mad (Wo)Men”: The Women of ‘Mad Men,’ the Modern Women Who Love Them, and How to Know Which Mad (Wo)Man You Are – Lisa McGrath – @tweetmcg
• Weasel Words: How to Keep from Committing to Anything (Without Even Trying) – Brian Harrison – @brharrison
• Consider Design – Justin Kuntz, Ryan Lascano, & Steve Norell – @justinkuntz @ryanlascano @stevenorell
• Hate what you see on the news? Well… it’s your fault. – Thanh Tan – @uscthanhtan
• Every Springfield Needs a Shelbyville – Kevin Richert – @KevinRichert
• ADD-tastic – T.J. Anderson – @tjsonofander
• Science Quickies – Woody Sobey – @twsobey
• How to win 1-ups in Super Mario and influence people – Ryan Donahue – @donapuke
• How Eating Guinea Pigs Can Save The World (or at least part of it) – Matt Miller – @eatguineapigs
• The Farmer Who Went Postal – Colleen Kohler – @IPsecretary
• A Quick Primer on Slow-Cooked Barbecue  -  Sherman Leibow  – @ShermTV
• All Aboard the Soul Funky Train (a.k.a. Fundamentals of Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication) – Tony Harrison – @tonystweets

Or, follow our IB3 Twitter List:  http://twitter.com/IgniteBoise/ib3

As we’ve mentioned before, Ignite Boise would be nowhere without its sponsors. We owe a special thanks to the gang at Valitics for coming aboard as the venue sponsor for IB|03. As the venue sponsor, they are covering the base costs of us renting the Egyptian Theatre — by far the largest expense of holding an Ignite event.

If you don’t know them, Valitics is (as they put it) “an interactive communication studio in beautiful Boise, Idaho. We are design junkies, analyzers, problem solvers, techy-tinkerers, and creative thinkers.”

Bottom line? They build cool, functional web sites and other useful interactive stuff. Please support them and let them know you appreciate their sponsorship of Ignite.

We recently posted the full speakers list to “The Speakers” page. Here’s a formal post covering the same information:

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A Quick Primer on Slow-Cooked Barbecue

“Barbecue (barbeque/bar-b-q/BBQ)” is a universally beloved—-yet frequently misunderstood—-concept. Whether you think it’s a method of cooking, a type of cuisine, a party with grilled burgers and dogs or a hunk of metal containing fire and a cooking grate is a matter of culture, perspective and breeding. I will inform the audience on what barbecue is and–equally important—-what it is not, including discourse on barbecue’s:

• global origins
• etymology and meaning
• science (smoke penetration and achieving the coveted smoke ring)
• regional styles and preferences
• techniques, equipment, rubs and sauces
• competition circuit
• many ludicrous exemplifications

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Every Springfield Needs a Shelbyville

Much as we celebrate our sense of community, we are a valley defined by differences. Ada vs. Canyon. Red vs. blue. Native vs. newcomer. Cyclist vs. motorist. Costco vs. Co-op. Bronco vs. Vandal.

We spend a lot of our energies pointing out what’s right about us and wrong with our neighbor — and frequently, this is counterproductive and self-destructive.

Yes, this is a serious flaw. But can an animated sitcom show us the path forward? For all its many quality of life shortcomings, even Homer Simpson’s Springfield boasts a rival. (Springfield also has a tire fire, but that’s beside the point). Who says rivalries are trivial, junior high school stuff? Not me. A great city deserves a great rival. For therapeutic reasons, we need to kick the habit of self-rivaling. Some community must take the scorn we now direct at our neighbors.

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How To Start a Company in 52 Hours!

How do you start a company in a 52 hours? How do you go from an idea to a money making product in one weekend? Is it even possible? These are the questions that I had before attending my first nonprofit Startup Weekend in Los Angeles. I was so blown away but what is possible, that I decided to go to the Startup Weekends in Seattle and San Francisco. My talk will focus on the actual process of going from an idea to a final product or company. What steps should be taken. Who should be involved. What traps to avoid. What shortcut to take. I will cut out specific references to any Startup Weekend event and just focus on the steps involved, if somebody wanted to do this for themselves.

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“Mad (Wo)Men”: The Women of ‘Mad Men,’ the Modern Women Who Love Them, and How to Know Which Mad (Wo)Man You Are

I’ll ignite a discussion of the psychology of the 1960s women characters of Mad Men, why modern women are mad about them, what the madness all means, and how to know which one you are. And, of course, I’ll be dressed as my 1960s counterpart.

• Joan Holloway: Proud Office Manager, Red-Headed Hell-Raiser
• Peggy Olson: Independent Ad Maven, Success-Torn Woman
• Betty Draper: Model-Turned Discontented Housewife

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Weasel Words: How to Keep from Committing to Anything (Without Even Trying)

Weasel words. You hear them every day. We use them without even thinking about it. But it’s these weasel words that keep us from really committing to anything, often without even realizing it. It’s these words that also keep us from doing anything, because we really haven’t committed to anything.

With a conscious effort, we can recognize these words and phrases, stop using them out of sheer convenience, and find the action and decisiveness that is missing in today’s society.

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Hate what you see on the news? Well… it’s your fault.

I’m a journalist who LOVES her job. I know I’ve had to do awful stories and stereotypical live shots in front of empty buildings, but I want people to know why there was a time I was willing to embarrass myself like that. I want people to appreciate our work– and to understand their responsibilities as news consumers. I hate it when people lump us all into the simple “media” category. If you hate what you see on the news– make fun of us all you want. Just know it’s your fault you’re getting crappy news. Learn to watch/read the differences between factual reporting and commentary. Demand good journalism from your local TV stations and newspapers. Understand the difference between journalism that’s for profit versus the public interest. Be skeptical within reason. I want people to leave this presentation understanding why it’s important to support and pay attention to thoughtful reporting about our culture and our political process. Help me keep my job– and help me do it right.

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Don’t be lazy, SAVE THE PLANET!

It is possible for everyday folks to help save the planet. I will show Igniteans practical ways to do so, and give impractical solutions to strive toward.

“I don’t have time,” and “that’s too inconvenient,” are common excuses when it comes to really effecting the earth in a positive way. To call the bluffs those lazy whiners is my mission. It really takes little more time and effort to do good things rather than the easiest possible thing.

This presentation will include ways to reduce your carbon footprint, cut electricity use, slash solid waste output and more! It will also highlight the ease of implementation. I’ll also propose more challenging solutions, since the Ignite crowd is generally up for those types of things.

It’s the how-to for those who want to do-good by our planet!

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Consider Design

20 engaging slides and 3 sporadic presenters take you through a world of bad design and its impact on everyday life. In the end both you and our fateful protagonist will appreciate the importance of design in everyday things.

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All Aboard the Soul Funky Train (a.k.a. Fundamentals of Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication)

An exploration of funk music. Consider it a Funk 101 crash course that briefly explores the origins of funk, what characteristics distinguish it from other types of popular music, and funk genres and subgenres. Interesting observations about the style, two-dozen must-have funk records, local and online resources for building a killer funk music library, and festivals that truly give funk a good chunk of the bill will also be discussed. Ideally a mix of the two namesake songs for the title (by The J.B.’s and Parliament, respectively) will be playing in the background throughout the presentation.

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The Farmer Who Went Postal

Rural letter carriers appear to have such nice jobs: traveling down country roads delivering mail to people who are happy to get it. That’s the exterior appearance, but the true experience is something else. I did a summary of the postal worker frustrations that helps illustrate why those postal workers “go postal”. The exaggerated, humorous drama comes to a righteous end.

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ADD-tastic

5 minutes that will give people remarkable insight into the world of Attention Deficit Disorder. Having lived with, and researched ADD my entire life I have frequently had to explain what it is like to live with ADD to everyone around me. Not in search of special treatment, but to better help others communicate with and understand myself and others with ADD. I will present very usefull information regarding ADD, what it’s like, how to deal with it, and how to interact with those who have it.

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How Eating Guinea Pigs Can Save the World (Or At Least Part Of It)

A recent poll showed that most people considered environmentalists their least desirable choice for a dinner guest. People fear that environmentalists will critique their food choices and buying patterns. But what if environmentalism could be more innovative, more creative, more…tasty? Matt Miller explores a place where bizarre foods, household pets and conservation meet. He’ll travel to a place where the world’s largest rodents may provide a future of hope in a violence-torn land. It’s a side-long view of conservation–and one that can be applied right here in Boise.

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A $1 Trillion Loaf of Bread; or Backup Your Brain

It’s about understanding really, really big numbers.?Given the compound, inexorable growth in both economic markets and technology, numbers have long ago surpassed the human scale and entered the realm of the absurdly huge. I’ll talk about how to relate to a trillion dollars, so that a rational argument can be had around what a trillion dollar stimulus actually implies. I’ll talk about huge units of measuring data, such as exabytes, and show just how soon the information will be relevant. People are scared of numbers. They’re big, abstract, and often used to manipulate. But just as with learnng anything, there are certain heuristic tricks that will give you a leg up on understanding the meaning behind the numbers.

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How to win 1-ups in Super Mario and influence people

Using Super Mario Bros. as a metaphor, we’ll discuss how to collaborate more effectively with co-workers and produce better results.

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Science Quickies

Science experiments are often long, drawn out processes done in the classroom or lab, but there are so many opportunities to do quick bits of science in our daily lives. We will conduct a science experiment on stage that can be done the next time people go out to eat while also encouraging others to look for and experiment with the science that’s all around us. This will involve audience participation.

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Draining the Swamp

Bringing my three-plus decades of local backstory to bear on some barriers to local development/success (particularly in internet industry), not all of which are even obvious, and talking about which ones can be solved, which ones can be skirted, which ones require BIG interdisciplinary solutions, and which ones are impervious (and what that means!).

We love our sponsors. It’s their support (and not just financially) that makes Ignite Boise happen. They are the reason we can keep Ignite Boise free. They are the reason we can print t-shirts. They are the reason for Ignite Boise.

Here are our sponsors for Ignite Boise | 03. Please support them. And let them know you appreciate them supporting us.

OK, so picking presos is taking a lot longer than we thought it would.  The full list is coming soon, but here’s a taste of the line up.  Congratulations to these five superfly  Ignite Boise 3 presenters:

All Aboard the Soul Funky Train (a.k.a. Fundamentals of Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication)

by Tony Harrison

A Quick Primer on Slow-Cooked Barbecue

by Sherman Leibow

Every Springfield Needs a Shelbyville

by Kevin Richert

Weasel Words: How to Keep from Committing to Anything (Without Even Trying)

by Brian Harrison

Don’t be lazy, SAVE THE PLANET!

by Holli High Woodings

Today, we started accepting presentation topics for Ignite Boise | 03. See: Submit a Talk.

To submit a talk, you don’t need to submit a copy of your completed presentation or even an outline. All we need is a “presentation description.” While you could submit a single sentence “presentation description,” we highly recommend that you “pitch” it to us in that “presentation description” space.

Why? We try to have a diverse set of presentations for the audience.  Thus, you aren’t necessarily competing for 16 spots, you might be competing for 2 spots (e.g., we might decide that we only want two presentations on food topics).  You need to write a pitch that sells us on what you want to speak about.  Make us believe that your presentation will really ignite Boise.  Make us see your passion for the topic.  First impressions are important.

If someone did the same topic (or a similar topic) at the last Ignite Boise…you’ve got a HUGE uphill battle in getting us to have a same/similar topic again.  Consider picking a different topic.

If you pitched the exact same topic last time (and didn’t get picked)…you might consider either rewriting your pitch or choosing a different topic rather than merely resubmitting the exact same pitch worded the exact same way.  If what you submitted didn’t work the first time…it’s probably not going to work the second time.

If your presentation is about what you do for a living, is about your business, or is about your product/service…it’s probably not Ignite material.  On the other hand, if your presentation is about what you are passionate about (or passionate against) in your free time…now we’re talking!

If we sense that your presentation is a sales pitch (e.g., you should hire me, you should invest in my company, you should buy my product), you won’t make the first cut.  Guaranteed.

Finally, here is a link to an excellent Ignite presentation (Ignite Seattle) on how to give an Ignite presentation (including how to pick a good topic):   Scott Berkun on Why and How to Speak (at Ignite).

Tentative schedule:

• September 8, 2009 – Presentation submissions open
• October 9, 2009 – Presentation submissions close
• October 23, 2009 – Tickets released
• November 12, 2009 – Ignite Boise | 03