Just a quick, fun item as we get things rolling towards Ignite Phoenix #6.  At the last Ignite Phoenix a few of us ran around with cameras and took video of some of the hardworking crew that was getting things ready for the night. Some were cajoled into showing their finest dance moves, while others had their own jam running already. We spliced it together with some footage of attendees and speakers, and set it to a tune from our band that night, the Surfside IV.

We hope you enjoy it, and you can be part of the next Ignite Phoenix on March 30th at the Mesa Center for the Arts!  Submissions are still open, so take 10 minutes and share what gets YOU dancing!

via sheiladee on Flickr

It seems like ages since the most excellent and amazing Ignite Phoenix #5 wrapped up, but things are gearing up again for Number Six!

We are on the move

Ignite Phoenix’s mission is to inspire the creative and technical communities across the Valley; we’ve had great involvement in Phoenix and Tempe and are now bringing the fun to Mesa. Ignite Phoenix #6 will be held at the Mesa Arts Center in the beautiful 550-seat Piper Repertory Theater on March 30^th.  We will have a date for tickets soon, so stay tuned. Or stay reading. Or whatever you’re currently doing.

Submit your talk idea now!

Submissions for Ignite Phoenix #6 are now open. Got an idea? Is it technical, creative, artistic, inspiring or just plain fun? Well, we have all the info you need and a form for you to fill out right here. Submissions close on February 26^th – don’t wait to join in.

Connect with us

No matter what your communication tool of choice is you can probably find us there. Follow us on Twitter, be our fan on Facebook or connect with Ignite by joining our email list or subscribing to our feed. The possibilities are almost endless so keep in touch.

Spread the Word

As always, we appreciate any help spreading the word about Ignite and when it will be happening. We’re a non profit group, and once again a Superbowl Commercial did not make our budget cut. So forwarding this to your friends, family, and cool people you pass on the street is most appreciated!

Most of all, we’d like to thank you for your continued support. We look forward to seeing you at Ignite #6.

image by Tyson Crosbie

Ignite Phoenix #5 went down on November 3rd at the Tempe Center for the Arts, and it was an absolute blast!  We had a t-shirt shooting robot on stage from the Falcon Robotics team at Carl Hayden High School, the Surfside IV playing on the patio, and even KWSS doing a remote broadcast.

The point of it all, of course, are the presentations, which were incredible from first to last. If you didn’t make it, you missed learning about improvised bagel holders, bat nursing, history of punctuation, ballroom dancing, the importance of the Transformers, and much more. We’re working to convert the videos and upload them to our YouTube channel, which should be done within the week.

Pictures are already up on Flickr, and more keep coming in. Please tag all your videos and images with “ignitephx”, and on Flickr add them to our photo group.

Ignite Phoenix #6 has been announced, and will be at the Mesa Arts Center on Tuesday, March 30th.  Submissions are already open.  If you can’t wait that long for more Ignite goodness, check out the Developer Ignite #2 coming up November 11th!  And of course there’s a bunch of other amazing goodness going on in the Valley this month, which you can check out as part of Geek Week.

Lastly, a big shout out to all our presenters (contact them!), our sponsors (engage them!), and our volunteers (love them!), without whom Ignite #5 would not have been such a success!

1. We listened to your requests.
2. We felt your pain.
3. Jeff got really thirsty.
4. So we teamed up with the Tavern on Mill and came through with what we feel is going to be the greatest afterparty for Ignite Phoenix ever!

Here is the deal: Once Ignite Phoenix #5 ends around 8:30pm you will exit the TCA and drive over to the parking lot south of 3rd st east of Ash. (see map below) from there it’s a short walk to the Tavern.

Once at the Tavern you will be presented with the following drink specials:

• $2 – Mexican Beers*
• $3 – Margaritas
• $2 any rum drink or shot (feel free to get Jeff four or five) #getlit

For food the Tavern has also stepped up big:
$5 – appetizer buffet featuring:

• Chicken wings
• Potato skins
• Fried Zucchini chips
• Chips and Salsa

The procedure for this is pretty simple. When you get to the buffet hand the big guy $5 and pile up!

The Tavern on Mill is just that, a tavern, and since we are in the USA that means all patrons have to be at least 21 years in age. Everyone will be carded at the door so please keep this in mind if you or anyone in your party is not 21.

Here at Ignite Phoenix HQ we are really excited to give you this as a big thank you for supporting us for the last year.

*-Corona, Corona Light, Dos Equis, Dos Equis Light, Pacifico

Here be the treasure map:

Thanks to everyone who bought a ticket to Ignite Phoenix 5 on Friday, October 16. We were so surprised to see the tickets sell out in under 3 hours. The Ignite Phoenix team, all unpaid volunteers, works year round to put on these events because we love them. It’s thrilling for us to know that you love them, too.

We know many people in the community wanted to get tickets and did not get them. If we could, we would increase the size of the theater to fit everyone who wants to attend. We are constantly working on new ideas and new strategies to let more people attend each event. But because we have a limited number of seats and a small number of available tickets, we want to make sure that everyone knows the options for getting a ticket, and a great option for viewing the event if you don’t get a ticket.

The rules have changed since the last event. Please read this blog post carefully so you have all of the information you need to see Ignite Phoenix.

Option 1: Free Walk-In Tickets

We reserved 100 tickets to hand out first-come first-served at the event. We will start handing out the tickets one per person at 5 pm. We will have a walk-in ticket table set up outside the west entrance to the TCA, the entrance closest to the theater. If you want one of these tickets, you must wait in the line outside the TCA entrance until we issue tickets.

Because there is a great demand for these tickets, we expect people to begin waiting in line well before the 5 pm hand out time. The volunteers at this table will keep a running count of the people in line. If we realize that we have more than 100 people in the line, we will use our Twitter account (@IgnitePhoenix) to announce this fact so you don’t come down if there is no chance to get a ticket.

You don’t have to have a Twitter account to read the Ignite Phoenix tweets. Click on this link to check the recent Ignite Phoenix tweets.

Option 2: Beg, Borrow or Buy An Advance Ticket

On October 16, we sold nearly 300 advance tickets to community members. Some people may have tickets that they can’t use. The TCA rules say that if someone with a ticket fails to show up the night of the event, the seat remains open. We cannot fill in open seats with people who were waiting in line for walk-in tickets.

If you have an advance ticket and you realize you can’t use it, it’s up to you to get your ticket into the hands of someone who can use it. We have seen many people successfully use Twitter to get rid of unwanted tickets. You can also bring any unused ticket to the theater that night and allow us to give it to someone waiting for a walk-in ticket. If you don’t share your unused ticket, there will be an empty seat in the theater.

You must bring your advance ticket for entrance to the theater. We don’t have any way to verify who purchased tickets. No ticket, no admission, and an empty theater seat for the show.

Option 3: Host An Ignite Phoenix Viewing Party

Can’t make it out? Didn’t get a ticket? Whatever the reason, if you are stuck at home, it doesn’t mean that you have to miss the Ignite Phoenix show. Simply go to our website (http://www.ignitephoenix.com/) and watch the event live streaming from our website front page. Invite a few friends over, plug your laptop into your plasma TV, and kick back with your friends for a great time watching the show on UStream from our website.

Please join us in congratulating those selected to present at Ignite Phoenix #5, and in sharing a special thank you to all those who submitted topics!

We had more than 100 submissions across a wide range of topics and the final decision was an extremely difficult one for our review board.  Our review board was comprised of a group of individuals with different degrees of technical, entrepreneurial, and artistic focus who reviewed all submissions; we wish there was time for all of the fantastic submissions we received but we only have room for 18.  For more information about the Ignite Phoenix selection process, please review our voting process post.

Thank You to all submitters for supporting the idea and the community that Ignite Phoenix is trying to create.  We feel strongly it is this willingness to get involved and share ideas that provides strength to the growing communities in the Phoenix-metro area.

Tickets go on-sale at 10am on October 16th, so please join us to light another fire under the Valley’s creative community!

–
Brian Carson, and the Ignite Phoenix Crew

With the event less than a month away, the Ignite Phoenix team is excited to provide ticketing information so you can attend Ignite Phoenix 5 at the Tempe Center for the Arts (TCA) on Tuesday, November 3 from 6pm to 9 pm. We have both advance tickets and a limited number of walk-in tickets available that night, and expect to sell out the 600 seat TCA main theater.

Advance Tickets

Advance tickets go on sale on Friday, October 16 at 10 am and remain on sale until Friday, October 30 at midnight (unless they sell out before that date).  To purchase a ticket using the TCA’s online box office, visit the TCA’s website and click Tickets in the upper right corner.  Scroll through the event list to locate Ignite Phoenix and click the Buy Tickets button. If you have any problems or questions about the TCA’s ticketing process, contact them by phone at (480) 350-2822 (2TCA).

For more details, see Ignite Phoenix 5 Tickets.

Free Tickets

We want to always offer an option to attend Ignite Phoenix for free, so we will hold back about 100 tickets available for free to people who show up at our registration table starting at 5pm on Tuesday, November 3. They will be given out one per-person on a first come basis.

Be There

So if you want to attend Ignite Phoenix, make sure to reserve the date on your calendar now. Get a babysitter, get a date, do whatever it takes so you can show up in style at this exciting event with 600 of the coolest, hippest, and most passionate members of the Phoenix community.

– Charlene Kingston and the Ignite Phoenix team

The buzz about Ignite Phoenix is reaching the Phoenix community thanks to the feedback and comments from fans like you. The Ignite Phoenix team is happy to have each of you talking up the event to your friends, co-workers, family, and even strangers in the grocery store!

Ignite Phoenix Submissions

Now, we need your help to make our big push for presentation ideas. As you know, the magic of Ignite Phoenix comes from the passion of our presenters who infect us all with their enthusiasm in their talk. We have received a bumper crop of submissions from the community so far. We’re asking you to help us spread the word that we are closing submissions on Friday, October 2 at 5 pm.

That’s it! At 5 pm, we take down the submission form and begin the voting process. We don’t want anyone to miss their opportunity to present because they missed the submission deadline.

This is where you can help us. Between now and Friday afternoon, would you help us spread the word about Ignite Phoenix submissions? Here are a few ideas of things you can do:

• Talk about it. Remind your friends, family, co-workers, and other passionate people you know that they only have until Friday at 5 pm to submit their Ignite Phoenix presentation idea.
• Tweet about it. You can write your own clever tweets, use one of ours (listed below), or retweet ours on Wednesday. We’ll be tweeting every hour, with other community members helping us to blast out the message.
• Update about it. Use your Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn status update message to share the Ignite Phoenix submission deadline with your online community.
• Blog about it. Why do you think Ignite Phoenix is an amazing event? What was your experience attending a previous Ignite Phoenix event? And for our past presenters, what was your experience as a presenter? You can post your blog entries on our Facebook wall, also (http://bit.ly/bDnMP)
• RSVP to it. We have information about Ignite Phoenix 5 listed on Facebook (http://bit.ly/18Jv64), LinkedIn (http://bit.ly/vcfnO), Yelp (http://bit.ly/10nL0O) and Upcoming (http://bit.ly/JAwDu).

You can use these example status updates:

Have you been thinking about being part of the Phoenix Best Bite-Size Lecture Series? Submit by Friday | http://bit.ly/4hSeX

You know that Ignite Phoenix idea you’ve been talking about forever? You’ve got until Friday to submit it | http://bit.ly/4hSeX

Attention Phoenix! The Ignite submission rocket blasts off at 5 pm Friday. Will your idea be on board? | http://bit.ly/4hSeX

Just copy and paste these into Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn status updates!

RSVP vs. Tickets

We encourage you to make an online RSVP to help to make the event prominent on each of these social media sources (listed above). We ask you to RSVP on every site that you use. However, making an RSVP doesn’t reserve a ticket for you. Ticketing is a separate process. We are finalizing our ticket plans and will have an announcement about our new and improved ticketing process very soon.

Voting Changes

Once submissions close, we will start the voting process to determine the final lineup. We will have a range of judges read every submission and make their recommendation.

We are making some changes to the voting process for this event. First, we are going to expand the judging pool to get some new faces involved. In the past, we have used community judges to supplement the core team in voting. This time, we are primarily using community judges.

Second, we are not using Uservoice to collect public voting for Ignite Phoenix 5.  After reviewing the Uservoice process and outcome, we felt it introduced some confusion and skewed the voting results. With our expanded panel of community judges, we feel that we will get the pulse of the community.

Watch for the lineup announcement by October 10th!

And thank you for helping to create the next Phoenix Best Bite-Size Lecture Series event!

Do you know a high school student that deserves to be on a stage like Ignite?  Then considering encouraging them to submit their ideas to Ignite Arizona High School!

While driving home from Ignite Phoenix #3 last February, my 12-year-old son burst out with excitement “Dad – I know what I want to talk about on stage at Ignite Phoenix!”  After listening to his passionate, Ignite-worthy idea, I let him down easy with the news that the Ignite events are only for adult presenters.  This limitation left him heartbroken – both of us really.  As you may imagine, there are complications with managing  minors through the complex processes like Ignite Phoenix.  This is why the Phoenix Innovation Foundation is so excited to announce Ignite Arizona High School.

Fredi Lajvardi – whom you may remember from his “Why every High School in America should have a Robotics Program” talk at Ignite Phoenix #4 – has joined forces with the administration at Carl Hayden High School and the Ignite Phoenix Crew to bring you Ignite Arizona High School!

Similar to Ignite Phoenix, Ignite Arizona High School is an information exchange for fostering and inspiring Arizona’s creative students. In one evening, you will hear from 18 brilliant minds from various creative, technical, and  social  backgrounds talking about their most passionate ideas. The presentations will educate and inspire you, and perhaps even make you laugh in the process; 20 slides in 5 minutes is all they get.  There will be a wide mix of PG-13 topics selected from the idea submitted from across the State of Arizona.

Check out the Ignite Arizona High School website below and see for yourself what it is all about. There is no cost! It is free to the entrants and to the public. Submissions are due Sept. 25^th! So don’t delay! Please have your students submit today!

Hoping to see you there!

–Brian Carson and the Ignite Phoenix Crew

What: http://ignitephoenixhighschool.web.officelive.com/

When: Ignite Event Friday, Oct. 16, 2009

How: Submissions due Friday, Sept. 25, 2009

Where: Carl Hayden High School, 3333 W Roosevelt St., Phoenix, AZ  85017

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143597318277

Schedule of events:

5:00 PM    Registration table opens, pick up reserved tickets

5:30 PM    Theater doors open

5:45 PM    All reservations canceled. Unclaimed reserved tickets become available for walk-ins

6:00 PM    Welcome, introductions, and preliminary presentations

6:30 PM    First half of presenters go, back to back, no commercial interruptions

7:15 PM    Break & networking. Mingle with presenters

7:45 PM    Ignite Karaoke competition

8:00 PM    Second half of presenters

8:45 PM    Final announcements and more networking

Things are gearing up for Ignite Phoenix #5, and we are starting our formal call for submissions! We have nearly 40 submissions so far already, but want to really spread the word this final month to try and get the most amazing mix possible.  All you need is a few lines about yourself and your idea – you don’t need to make a presentation unless your submission is chosen.

If you know someone with genuine passion, send them the link and tell them to submit! We’re trying to reach new groups and people, so please pass this on liberally. It’s 100% free and 99.9% painless.

Submission Deadline is Friday, October 2nd. You can submit your talk on our handy, dandy form.

Ticketing

Tickets will be available on Tuesday, October 20th. We are still working on the details, but we will post them as soon as we know specifics.

Ignite Phoenix itself will be November 3rd, at the Tempe Center for the Arts. We’re coming back here one more time before we head back out to other venues and cities, and are looking forward to filling the theater with another great show.

Sponsorship

We’re starting our call for sponsors, so if you know someone who would like to sponsor an awesome community event and get their name in front of several hundred smart, savvy, creative people please send us a note at ignitephoenix@gmail.com