Ignite Waterloo

Ignite Waterloo 6 is a go on June 15th!

Posted by Mark Connolly in Ignite Waterloo 6, Upcoming Events on April 30, 2011

UPDATE: Due to a conflict with DemoCampGuelph (another excellent local tech event that we recommend attending), we’ve moved Ignite 6 to the following week.

We’ve finalized the two most important details for Ignite Waterloo 6: the date and venue!

The event will be held on June 15th at Whistle Bear Golf Club just outside of Cambridge. We’re thrilled about this location for a few reasons.

It will easily accommodate 300-400 people.
It’s a lovely location and event space.
For the first time we’ll be sharing the fun of Ignite in a new Waterloo Region location.
The folks at Whistle Bear are excited to have us there and are working hard to help us make it a great event.

If you’re not car-enabled and it’s a concern that the location doesn’t fulfill our desire for access via public transit, fear not! We’ll have free shuttle buses available for the evening, and we’ll soon announce details on how Ignite devotees can be delivered to Whistle Bear in comfort and style for the event.

We’re continuing to receive fantastic speaker applications – our speakers committee is going to have a hard time with the selection process! However, there’s still time to apply, so if you have a passion or an idea, head over to our Be a Speaker page for all the info.

We’re also finalizing details for our second speakers’ workshop in May, and will publicize that information shortly.

More details to come, including ticket information, so stay tuned, and start spreading the word!

Cambridge, Ignite 6, ignite waterloo, IW6, June, Whistle Bear

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Ignite Followup: Matt Scobel

Posted by David Yoon in Ignite Waterloo 5 on April 16, 2011

Matt Scobel presented “Ideas, Action and Evils of Planning” at Ignite Waterloo 5, held at the Tannery February 5, 2011. We’ve been following up with past presenters and asking them to share their experience and see what they’ve been up to since. Matt was kind enough to forward this piece. You can check out his full presentation on YouTube.

When I arrived in Waterloo in 2010 I actively sought out events and opportunities to connect with others. That’s when I came across Ignite and so decided to attend Ignite 4 at the Conrad Centre for Performing Arts in downtown Kitchener. After a night of inspirational talks and great conversations with other attendees, I thought it would be a great event to share my story.

Earlier in the year I traveled to Africa to setup a Macintosh Computer lab at an orphanage in Eldoret, Kenya. I wanted to share this story and inspire others towards action. I expected the talk to be both challenging and rewarding. What I didn’t expect from my experience was the incredible connections and opportunities that opened up afterwards. I was approached by several people after the event offering their advice, help, and connections. One of those individuals was Popy Dimoulas-Graham from Charity Republic. Popy ended up introducing me to James Flint from Agape in Action who was in the process of building an all-girls high school only 45 minutes from the lab I established in Eldoret. After a few lunches, James and I decided to work together to equip this high school with Project Macfrica’s second computer lab.

We’ll be announcing a fundraising campaign in the next few weeks, and be documenting the journey through photo and video. You can checkout @ProjectMacfrica on Twitter for all the latest updates.

If you’ve considerings speaking at a future Ignite Event, I can offer simple advice. Do it! It’s an incredible experience to use your creativity, fine-tune your public speaking skills, and you never know what type of doors it could open.

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Ramp up your Ignite Waterloo 6 game with our speakers’ workshop

Posted by Melanie Baker in Speakers' Workshop, Upcoming Events on March 21, 2011

Planning and preparations are well under way for our sixth event, tentatively scheduled for June. As with previous events, we’re holding a speakers’ workshop for those planning to speak, or who are just interested in speaking and learning more about presenting at Ignite Waterloo.

The first speakers’ workshop will take place at 7pm on April 6th in the boardroom at The Barley Works (upstairs at the Huether Hotel). The boardroom is at the top of the stairs (and there may be snacks…)

We will also be adding second speakers’ workshop that will take place in May, and we’ll publicize those details a little closer to the chosen date.

This workshop is a casual get together to meet and greet, discuss ideas, and for those who’ve been on the stage before to share tips and tricks and whatnot to help in presenting. Are you interested in giving an Ignite talk? Then come on out and get to know everyone. Your presentation will benefit from the tips, tricks and conversation. And, of course, don’t forget to submit your presentation application.

We’ve had some fantastic presentation submissions to date, and we can’t wait to see what you’re passionate about!

Speakers’ workshops are also an opportunity for those selecting the presenters to get a feel for the applicants and their talks in person. Sorry, but we can’t just wave a magic wand and approve everyone; there’s a bit of a process! Help us get to know you and your talk and we’ll be that much more likely to add you to the lineup. (And if we have concerns about your topic or style we can work on them right there in person.)

If you have any questions, please let us know in the comments, or send us an email. If you know others who’d be interested in giving an Ignite talk, do pass along the speaker info page and invite them to join you at the speakers’ workshop.

Additionally, we’re looking for a new and bigger venue, so if you have ideas about a new home for Ignite Waterloo, we’d love to hear them.

applications, Barley Works, Huether, Ignite, presentations, speakers, talks, Waterloo, workshop

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We’re looking for a venue

Posted by Mark Connolly in Organizing, Upcoming Events on March 15, 2011

One of the challenges that Ignite Waterloo faces is the growing popularity of our events. We try to accommodate as many attendees as possible, and we still sell out. As a result, some people can’t get in, while many attendees find the events too crowded. We’re trying to address these issues, and this post is a way of asking the community for help.

For our first five events we’ve enjoyed some wonderful spaces: The Museum, The Conrad Centre, and the event space at the Tannery. We may well have outgrown their capacity, though. Where in Waterloo Region should we hold our next event?

Here’s what we think we need in an ideal event venue, in order of priority:

Seating for all attendees
Space for socializing/mingling for all attendees
Clear sight lines to the speaker, and to screens showing the visuals that accompany a talk
Room for our Ignite Contest
Comfortable access to food and drinks
Easily accessible via public transit
Capacity for 300–400 attendees

If you’ve been to any of our events, these requirements shouldn’t be a surprise. Note that the capacity is the lowest priority requirement in the list above. That is, we need to address the other issues, and if we can’t do so in a larger venue then we’ll need to somehow manage with a smaller venue.

Please let us know about any venues that you think we should be considering. You can let us know by contacting us via Twitter, or by sending an email to info@ignitewaterloo.ca, or by commenting on this post. Those of you who know any of the organizers can, of course, approach us directly.

9 Comments

Get your oral fix

Posted by David Yoon in Apply to Speak on February 24, 2011

Ignite wouldn’t exist if not for the many speakers that have graced our stage. We’ve had everything from roller derby girls and readying yourself for the zombie apocalypse to global climate change and high altitude medicine. Common to these is the passion in which they were presented. These aren’t polished orators working the speaker circuit, they’re co-workers, neighbours and friends. Everyone has got five minutes in them and you couldn’t ask for a more invested audience to present to.

Talk to any one who has spoken at Ignite and they’ll tell you what an exhilarating experience it was. There hasn’t been a single talk that didn’t resonate with someone in the audience. So whether it’s the distillation of countless late nights over beer, wrestling with the sexual politics of the Smurfs or your work building schools in Latin America we want to hear from you. Shed your inhibitions and share your story. Trust me, it’s a blast.

Even though we have the best audience in town we don’t just throw you to the wolves unprepared. We hold speaker workshops prior to every event. Attended by past speakers and ignite volunteers it’s all about honing your talk, sharing what works and what doesn’t and offering encouragement. Talking it out with like minded individuals over food and beer does wonders for your confidence. Even if you’re just toying with the idea of speaking at a future Ignite, come on out and learn a thing or two.

Shake off your fears and suck it up. It’s time you jumped in and filled out the speaker application form. We look forward to seeing you at our next workshop! Still not convinced? Use the form to tell us who you’d like to hear talk, nominate a speaker or topic for discussion. We’ll see what we can do.

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Guest Post: Tequila Popular with UW Students at Ignite Waterloo5

Posted by Mark Connolly in Ignite Waterloo 5 on February 23, 2011

Ignite Waterloo hosted a class of University of Waterloo students at our fifth event on February 8. The feedback that we got back suggested that it was an enlightening experience for them, and we asked their professor, Jill Tomasson Goodwin, if she would provide a blog post on the experience. Working with her class, Jill has provided the text below for us to share with the broader Ignite Waterloo community. Enjoy!

Tequila Popular with UW Students at Ignite 5

Our students attended Ignite Waterloo 5 with a very particular goal in mind: to prepare for their own, in-class Ignite event, staged as part of a university course in digital presentations.

In a follow up class, the students reviewed presentation best practices and lessons learned, and voted on their favourite presentations, awarding ‘first prize’ to David Yoon for his presentation on Tequila, with close runners up, Robb Farago’s ’Five Days for the Homeless,’ and Matt Scobel’s ‘Ideas, Action and the Evils of Planning.’

Why Tequila?

Not just for the content! Applying course principles, the class identified some classic hallmarks that contributed to all three presentation successes:

Practice, practice, practice. Each presenter was smooth and polished, synching their message with the 15-second march of the slides.
Audience, audience, audience. Each presenter tailored their message to connect with us – the audience of 250 Waterloo Ignite urban professionals ready to hear something new, and something inspirational.
Simple, simple, simple. Each presenter made great design choices – little text, compelling images, single message.

Real-World Models

Ignite is a great format for real-world presenting – fast-paced, networking-focused, and public-facing (via the Twitter wall). Students noted what was inspiring: the positive atmosphere was positive, the supportive crowd, and the networking with the ‘neighbours’ beside and around them. At its best, Ignite can truly ignite the community. One of our class members has been in touch with Robb Farago to start a UW version of Laurier’s ‘homeless awareness’ campaign.

Tips for future Igniters

We’d like to offer a few thoughts for presenters and audience members:

Tweet thoughtfully – build on the presentations with relevant and useful comments
Remember Ignite’s byline – “enlighten us,” don’t market yourself
Speak with confidence and passion – it’s inspiring!

We had a great night. Many thanks, from Jill Tomasson Goodwin, and students from Digital Arts Communication/ Speech Communication 329, University of Waterloo.

presentations, Summary

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And the survey says…

Posted by Mark Connolly in Organizing on February 21, 2011

In the days following our fifth Ignite Waterloo event on February 8 we asked for feedback from our Ignite Waterloo community, initially via a couple of Twitter tweets and then via an email sent to all people who have previously signed up for an Ignite Waterloo event. The response rate was amazing, and we received a great deal of thoughtful and insightful input from people. It’s gratifying to see just how much people have come to care about Ignite Waterloo events, and how willing you are to share both kudos and criticisms.

So what have we learned from you?

We confirmed the obvious, that people attend to hear the talks, and to meet and converse with friends old and new about interesting topics old and new. Here are a few comments to help give the flavour of what you told us:

“I come for the talks. I want to see people doing interesting things and sharing interesting ideas and telling great stories.”
“Its everything. Its entertaining, interesting, amusing, provides great perspective about our community dynamics. Its great networking and one of the best things about it is that it is very inclusive for all age groups – the cross section of attendees is amazing. I have loved every event I have attended.”
“I love hearing about the variety of things people are passionate about. I’ve learned about a lot of different things going on in and around Waterloo because of the people who present at Ignite.”
“I like the idea of having a large variety of talks on different subjects all in one place. There’s plenty of events that have great speakers on a particular topic, but it’s quite a bit more rare to have an event which gathers together many different disciplines in one place at one time.”
“The talks, the cool venue, something different to do, and the friendly, busy atmosphere. Also, I like that I don’t choose the topics so I’m not self-filtering for what interests me; I’ll learn something I didn’t know before.”

You also told us what you think we can do to make Ignite Waterloo events even better. While there were a great variety of suggestions on how to do that, there are a few main themes that emerged.

You want the talks to be less obviously “pitchy” than some that you saw at the fifth event.
You want a space that isn’t too crowded and that supports the kind of socializing and conversations that make Ignite Waterloo events such a valuable experience for you.
You want us to ensure that there are seats for everyone who attends.

We’re already working on ways to address these issues for our next event. You’ll see more about our progress in the coming weeks and months. In fact, as we move forward we’ll be coming back to our community with some specific requests for help with making Ignite Waterloo better.

Thanks to everyone who responded to our request for feedback, and thanks to everyone for your continued support of Ignite Waterloo.

organize, reviews

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Ignite Waterloo 5 has gone to a farm in the country

Posted by Melanie Baker in Ignite Waterloo 5, Past Events, Uncategorized on February 17, 2011

For those who couldn’t join us, or who just want to re-live the glory, here’s how Ignite Waterloo 5 on February 8th went down…

6:00pm – The doors opened and the crowds came (and came… and came…)

6:45pm – The marshmallows and toothpicks sculpture contest began.

7:30pm – The first group of presentations kicked off.

Kevin Sutton – Slam Poetry
Neal Moogk-Soulis – Choo Choo Choose to Reuse
Ryan Consell – Making a Monster
Kirk Zurell – Suffr
Kyle Mackie – Cranially Endowed
Warren Spires – The KW Humane Society: A Centre of Animal Welfare Excellence
Sean Zister – Social Entrepreneurship: Creating Social Values
Matt Scobel – Ideas, Action and the Evils of Planning
Scott Chantler – The Genesis of Two Generals

8:30-ish – Intermission and announcement of contest winners: Rob and Jen Drimmie and Shahira Esmail.

9:00pm-ish – The second group of presentations kicked off.

Simone Panziera – The Beautiful UnBrandables
Susan Koswan – In Defense of Dandelions
David Yoon – Tequila
Andrew Coppolino – A Waterloo Region Eats Smorgasbord
Jason Dykstra – What the $#%@ is Mediation?
Robb Farago – 5 Days for the Homeless
Paul Carvalho – Congruent Software Testing
Karen Cecile – Fun With Demographics

10pm – And that’s all she wrote! Have a great night, try not to freeze…

Once again, super giant thanks to our hosts, Google, and our sponsors: Communitech, Bingemans, Schlueter Automotive Group, Niche Decals, and Phillip Bast. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Big thanks, too, to the volunteers who make Ignite happen, both in the planning stages and at the event itself. And to the attendees who helped us sell out so quickly and make this the rockin’-est Ignite yet!

We sent around a survey right after the event, and were blown away by the response, both in quantity and the fantastic and constructive things you had to say. A blog post summarizing those learnings is coming.

And, of course, if you were jazzed up and inspired by the talks, apply to do one of your own! Everyone has an interesting story to tell…

Coverage and commentary on the internets:

Erica Waugh: Ignite Waterloo 5
Pictures from Kwartzlab: Ignite Waterloo 5 & Tuesday Open Night in Pictures: 2011-02-08
OpenFile Waterloo: Ignite Waterloo sparks imagination

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Ignite Waterloo 5 is tonight! How will it go down?

Posted by Melanie Baker in Ignite Waterloo 5, Upcoming Events on February 8, 2011

For those who are new to attending Ignite, or who have schedules to juggle, the plan for the evening goes more or less like this:

6:00pm – Doors open and folks start arriving. Mixing, mingling, and networking like the wind take place (hopefully). We are sold out this time around, so while there’s a small possibility a few folks won’t show and we’ll be able to allow walk-ins, it won’t be til right before things get going, and I wouldn’t hold your breath. It’s really cool that the event is so popular, though!

6:45pm – The contest gets going. (Don’t forget to submit your entry — we have cool prizes!)

7:30pm – The first group of talks begin. The full speaker list is here.

8:15pm-ish – Intermission. Have a drink and a snack while we judge the contest entries.

9:00pm-ish – The second group of talks begin.

10:00pm-ish – We’re done! Hopefully we’ve made you laugh, made you think, and blown your mind just a little bit.

Typically there’s an after party at a local pub, which gets announced before everyone heads out. Feel free to check it out if you don’t want the magic to end just yet.