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Posted on Thu, Jan 13, 2011 : 1:30 p.m.

Ignite Ann Arbor 5 set for Feb. 9: 20 slides, 5 minutes, what would you say?

By Edward Vielmetti

Ignite Ann Arbor 5 will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. at the Blau Auditorium at the Ross School of Business on the University of Michigan campus. The deadline to apply to speak is on Monday, Jan. 17; speakers will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 20, and 20 pages of slides from speakers will be due on Tuesday, Feb. 1.

Apply here to speak at Ignite Ann Arbor 5.

The previous four Ignite Ann Arbor events have had 58 speakers and more than 1,300 audience members, according to event organizer Ryan Burns.

running-with-lasers.png

Mike Gould’s talk on Running With Lasers was a hit at Ignite Ann Arbor 3.

Jim Deakins | AnnArbor.com

How it works

If you’ve never heard of this format before, Scott Berkun’s talk on how to give an Ignite talk is an elegant example of the style. Talks have exactly 20 slides, and slides advance automatically every 15 seconds. Five minutes after it begins, the talk ends, and the next presenter goes on stage. This fast paced format is remarkable for inspiring people to be concise, and unlike many public talks with lots of speakers the event tends to run on time.

The Ann Arbor District Library roundup of previous Ignite sessions includes links to previous presentations. Some Ignite presenters have given longer versions of their talks at the library, including Suzanne Fischer’s talk about Early Mechanical Television, and Jack Zaientz’s talk about The Silver Age of Jewish Music.

Video

Erik Hofer at Ignite Ann Arbor 4 on Having a great time in bed. This talk will describe what I’ve learned about achieving mindblowing sleep through the help of a suite of personal informatics technologies that help me better understand my sleep patterns and provide me with information that helps me perform like Rip Van Winkle in the bedroom.

I spoke at Ignite Ann Arbor 3 about how to organize lunch.

Similar events

Ignite Chelsea is based on the same Ignite format. The next event is on Feb. 11, 2011 at the Clocktower Commons building.

Brian Wecht and his collaborators from The Story Collider are coming to the Ann Arbor District Library on March 11 to present entertaining and personal stories about science.

TEDxUofM is April 8 at the Michigan Theater.

Pecha Kucha is a similar talk format, as concise and visual. Speakers present 20 slides for 20 seconds for each slide. The format was invented by architects in Tokyo in 2003. There is no Ann Arbor group, but the Detroit organization will be hosting Pecha Kucha Detroit 8 in Dearborn at the Arab American National Museum on April 14. The deadline for proposals is in February; check the site for details.

Edward Vielmetti writes for AnnArbor.com. Email him at EdwardVielmetti@annarbor.com.

Comments

Renee

Thu, Jan 20, 2011 : 8:39 p.m.

I've heard of these! I'll definitely try to make it this year.

Ryan

Fri, Jan 14, 2011 : 2:09 p.m.

Wanted to take this chance to give a shout-out to the great organizing team that puts on this event with me; It's a treeroots effort! * Roger Rayle * Rob Caplis * Amanda Szot * Mariah Cherem * Tom Brandt * Amy Milligan * David Bloom * Dug Song * Mohan Kartha * Eli Neiburger There's still three days to sign up to speak at this Ignite!

Roger Rayle

Thu, Jan 13, 2011 : 7:11 p.m.

Go to the official Ignite site to view all individual Ignite Ann Arbor #4's videos: http://igniteshow.com/events/ignite-ann-arbor-4 More of the past videos will be available there in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check the Ignite Ann Arbor website http://www.igniteannarbor.com/ The official Ignite site only posts the actual talks. To see the Introduction, Juice Halftime Show, and the End/Wrapup, respectively for IgniteA2 #4, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3-scxQp0vs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yXLXbQIJyk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr8Ryp2l2Xk At Ignite Ann Arbor #3, we had two video streams... one of the screen and one of the speaker. To see a prototype of these videos side-by-side, visit: http://sites.google.com/site/ignitea2video/home/ignite-ann-arbor-3-3-4-2010---all-talks Follow the instructions above the screen view.

Patti Smith

Thu, Jan 13, 2011 : 2:34 p.m.

This is A LOT of fun...I've done it twice and have had a blast both times. I'd encourage folks to apply!!!! :)

Linda Diane Feldt

Thu, Jan 13, 2011 : 2:05 p.m.

There will be an Ignite themed event this summer, in June or July "Celebrating Co-ops" in honor of the People's Food Co-op 40th anniversary. We will invite a variety of speakers to talk about the international cooperative movement, co-op history, and a number of co-ops local to Ann Arbor. Exact date and place TBA. If you'd like more information, want to help out, or have ideas for this event, you can reach me president@peoplesfood.coop