What is Ignite?
Ignite is a geek event and has been held in over 200 cities worldwide, with more than half occurring in just the last year. At the events Ignite presenters share their personal and professional passions, using 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds for a total of just five minutes.
Started by Brady Forrest, Technology Evangelist for O’Reilly Media, and Bre Pettis of Makerbot.com, formerly of MAKE Magazine. Ignite was partially inspired by Pecha Kucha Nights. 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, New York; and many other locations.
Ignite has two parts: the Ignite contest, where people make things, and Ignite talks, where presenters get 20 slides and five minutes to make their point. You can opt to only have talks, but the contest is fun and can serve as a great warm-up for the talks.
Why Has Ignite Caught on so Quickly?
- Ignite is Open (to anyone)
- Ignite is Simple (to understand)
- Ignite is Short (and thus creates bite-size video snacks)
Some great examples of Ignite Presentations
Ignite Waterloo 1.0 -David Estil: Here Comes the Sun: Solar Energy as development home and abroad