Ignite Des Moines 2008 HUGE Success

Last night Impromptu Studio hosted the first Ignite Des Moines in their coworking space. It was a HUGE success at around 70 people. There was free beer provided by Olde Main Brewery. There was an Egg Catapault contest and in the end “150 second” mock presentations.

If you are unfamiliar with the Ignite platform it is meant to be a fun gathering of tech/entrepreneur community. These events are held all over the country so you should look into attending one. The premise is to have a group of presenters perform what I call “shotgun” presentations. Basically you get 20 slides that are rotated automatically every 15 seconds. It’s a lot more difficult than it sounds.

Here I am presenting on building hyperlocal communities… And, yes - I am drinking a beer while presenting… So what?

photo courtesy Justin Carlson

There were presentations about a broad range of topics, including…

• 20 Things Des Moines Needs Now!, Nathan T. Wright
• Hyperlocal Localization, Andy Brudtkuhl
• 10 Legal Issues That May Shut Down Your Website, Brett Trout
• Networking for Nerds, Justin Brady
• Nerd Herding, Tony Bibbs
• Homelessness in Des Moines: Why You Should Care, Claire Celsi
• How to Keep Your Business Out of Court, Rush Nigut
• Position Yourself for Success, Brant Ausenhus

More media coming soon… Pictures and videos are being uploaded as I type… Tune back into this post or this bookmark feed for more coverage on this kick ass event.

I also want to let everyone know if you are in Des Moines, Impromptu Studio is offering *FREE* coworking for the entire month of November.

Pictures
- Juice Coverage
- Justin Carlson Flickr Set
- Impromptu Studio Flickr Set

Video
- Ignite Des Moines Video Experience - CreateWowMedia

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Upcoming Events and Presentations

There are some kick ass events coming to the midwest this Fall and I get the opportunity to join some great minds on stage for presentations…

First up is the inaugural Highlight Midwest conference on October 29th. I, along with 25-ish very smart people will be giving a wide range of talks around technology, entrepreneurship, social media, and other cool trends revolving the business and the web. I’ll be giving a talk about “hyperlocal localization” of which I’ll be posting here when it’s all said and done. Other speakers include Mike Ferrari of SmartyPig, Mike Templeton of Microblink, Dan Shipton of Impromptu Studio, Brett Trout on Online Legal Pitfalls, and Nathan Wright and Hillary Brown of Lava Row fame.

It’s on October 29th in Kansas City. There are two sessions and two tweetups. Should be some great parties and great speakers. Take that SXSW!

Next up is Ignite Des Moines on November 6 starting at 6:00pm. If you’ve never been to an Ignite event you should definitely attend this one. Hey, there’s free beer - how could you pass it up? Ignite consists of what I call “Shotgun presentations”. You have 5 minutes to present 20 slides, while each slide automatically rotates every 15 seconds. It’s a fun challenge! I’ll be giving a similar talk on creating “hyperlocal” communities. The initial speaker list is growing so be sure to get your talk proposal submitted!

Oh, and we will be presenting the 2008 Iowa Web Awards in between presentations (winners to be announced this week btw).

Last, but not least, I’ll be joining some great minds on November 20 for a “Using Social Media for B2B” panel with Dave Kurns of Meridith, Nathan Wright of Lava Row, Brianne Sanchez from Juice, Jill Haverkamp from Olde Main Brewing, and Mike Templeton from Dosovo.

Sidenote: Here is my Ignite talk from two years ago… I was not very well prepared :)

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