Austin is on fire! The first Ignite Austin event is tonight, January 13th at The Phoenix from 6:30 to 10:00 p.m.

If you aren’t familiar with the Ignite brand and style, then you’re in for a crazy, fun night. The event begins with an opening activity and then the main event – quick fire presentations.
Presenters are given five minutes to speak with only 20 slides to help them along. Each slide is displayed for 15 seconds and moves on to the next slide, whether you’re ready or not.

Ignite events began in 2006 in Seattle, Washington as the brain child of Brady Forrest, tech evangelist for O’Reilly Media, and Bre Pettis, founder of MakerBot. What’s particularly great about these events is that they are organically grown and organized at the local level. Because of their popularity, they have spread to more than a dozen major metropolitan areas ranging from Boston to Bangalore.

Listed below are all 16 presenters and their topics:

Jason Cohen
How to Achieve Spectacular Greatness in 100,000 Difficult Steps

How are the truly amazing works of art, business, or “viral media” created? What is the role of luck versus work? If there’s no roadmap, how do we seek greatness?

Matthew McCabe
Non-profits are Dead, Long Live the Social Business!

What is a social business? An L3C? What are some examples of successful social businesses? The primary goal of a social business is to “do good” and, at the same time, make a profit, which will be reinvested into the company to “do more good.” In this talk, I will discuss some of the fundamentals of a social business, the new L3C business structure, and give a few examples of e-commerce and conventional social businesses.

Jason Pratt
Ten Percent

Five interesting ten-percent stories, myths, and statistics explained. Do you really use just ten percent of your brain? What was Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan? At what age does the average male’s productivity drop to just 10% of its peak? And finally, why every one of us should give away 10% of what we earn, as a lifelong habit.

Dan Rumney
Why All Companies Should Improvise

Good Improvisational Theatre requires skills and techniques that can be effectively applied in the workplace to create an environment of trust and creativity. Explore these and learn how to apply them and the benefit they can bring.

Lorin Rivers
How to Open a Beer with Anything

If you have pry-top beer but no opener, WHAT DO YOU DO? My presentation will answer that question, and probably no others.

Bijoy Goswami
The Austin Equation

What is Austin’s unique equation? This is (distilled!) result of over a year’s worth of conversations and research distilled into a simple expression: experience + community = scene.

Jonas Lamis
The Story of Paal Payasam

According to legend, The Lord Krishna once appeared in the form of a sage in the court of the king who ruled Ambalappuzha and challenged him for a game of chess. Their contest over a few grains of rice sets the stage for an exploration of Moore’s Law, the exponentially accelerating power of technology, and some thoughts on the future of humanity.

Thom Singer
How to write a book

According to surveys, 87% of Americans want to write a book in their lifetime. Few ever do it. In this talk I will share a simple process on how to tackle writing a book and completing the project for those who have the dream.

Jon Lebkowsky
Future Social

Human communication has evolved from simple symbols to spoken and written languages to print media to broadcast to network many to many communication, and as communication evolves, so do social systems and experiences. What it means to be social changes. How will we be social in five years? Ten years?

Trey Ratcliff
Seeing the Light – Photography Evolves

It will be a five-minute non-stop eye-candy-fest. I’m not trying to sell a thing — just here to expose the world to a new type of photography that is one of the coolest things to come along since sliced JPEGs.

Matt Manroe
The Age of Creativity: revival or survival?

In the new global economic age how can we as America stay differentiated? Should we be entering the age of creativity as we look to the future. Can the old industrial America re-invent itself? Can we all be encouraged and taught that the right answer is the more creative answer. That the less-in-the-proverbial-box answer is where America’s true strength lies. Can we be less about fitting in and more about letting it out.

Steven Collier
Is the Smart Grid the next Internet?

The 100+ year old electric utility grid is in for a revolution and a remake. Whether your interest in the Smart Grid is motivated by economy, reliability, sustainability, climate change, renewable energy, national security, customer service, or high tech wizardry, the Smart Grid is something that you want to watch. Austin Energy and neighboring Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative are leading the way to keeping the lights on in the 21st century!

Lani Rosales
Etymology of Curse Words

For fun, I’d like to spice the night up with the etymology of some of America’s favorite curse words- we should know the history of the expletives we use so freely, especially those of us online, right?

Chris Fancher
How Technology and Pirates Make a Better High School

I teach at Manor New Tech High (MNTHS) one of 4 New Tech Foundation schools in the Austin area. Teachers use Project Based Instruction (teaching concepts rolled into a storyline) and we use technology to enhance that teaching method. There is a 1:1 computer/student ratio, and classes are small. Our schools are not “Magnet” schools in the classic sense but are open to all students within the school district. At MNTHS we’ve had success even with our low economic level and English as a second language students. I want to share one of our recent math Projects, featuring a pirate theme, and talk about what you, the tech community, can do to support the New Tech schools near you.

Whurley
The Reality of Being ‘Open’; 20 Things You Need to Know

Open source and open innovation all the rage these days. However, there are a few things you should know before diving into these “open waters”. Why do open projects fail? How does a corporation become open? Just two examples on the path to the real question…where the hell are all of the people that make up this “community” thing and why aren’t they participating in ours?

Joshua Baer
Why I’ll Never Buy Another Gas Powered Car

Comparing an electric car to a gas powered car is like comparing an iPhone to a cellular phone. Once you try it, you realize that its not just incrementally better, but a whole new experience. I’ve been driving an electric car for almost a year now and I’m convinced that this is the future. Find out why I’m never buying another gas powered car and see the Tesla Roadster up close.