Talk Submission Closing on Monday

If you would like to speak at the next Ignite (Sunday, August 18th), you’ve got a little bit less than a week to submit your talks. The talk submission form will be closing at 11:59pm on Monday, July 8th. That should give you plenty of time over the holiday weekend to finish up your best talk proposal.

This is our annual outdoor Ignite, and we’d love to make use of the outdoor space. If you have any suggestions for somebody you might like to see on-stage (acrobatic, fire eater, etc), the please fill out the nominations form.

Surviving as an Introvert in an Extroverted World – Jonathon Colman

What exactly *is* introversion? It’s commonly misunderstood as shyness or a misanthropic desire to be left alone. Many extroverts mistakenly assume that introverts hate them. And that’s simply not true (well, most of the time). And many introverts think that there’s something wrong with themselves, something broken that they can’t seem to fix. And that’s not true, either.

We can do better. In this talk from Ignite Seattle 19, Jonathon Colman dishes on what introversion is, what it isn’t, and specific tactics to hack ourselves and our interactions with others in order to survive in our extroverted world.

Jonathon Colman is a content strategist, SEO & Internet marketer, speaker, and Returned Peace Corps Volunteer living (and drinking coffee) in Seattle, Washington. For over 15 years he’s helped people and organizations build, find, and use the best stuff on the Web.

You can reach him at www.jonathoncolman.org.

Networking: The RPG – (or Everything I Need to Know About Networking I Learned From Playing D&D) – Adam Philipp

Are you a geek? An Introvert? Afraid of the crowds? Not sure what they will make of you? But you still want to connect with people? Then you want to play: NETWORKING, The Role Playing Game.

On your very first dungeon/networking event you can go out and:

  • slay kobolds (meet technical recruiters)
  • fend off orcs (accountants and lawyers)
  • drink healing/mana/attribute potions (wine/beer/whiskey)
  • collect loot (contact information!)
  • equip your character (get dressed up and ad props)
  • form parties (agree to meet up with someone again)
  • level up (move on to talking with speakers or higher level dungeons)

    • If you apply all the skills you honed with years of playing: D&D, GammaWorld, Top Secret, etc., you will find that networking is just another great RPG except the characters are really well developed and the GameMaster is not so scary. Let’s go out and play!

    Adam Philipp (@MyPatents) is tech-savvy patent attorney and the founder of ÆON Law (), a high tech IP law firm in Seattle. Adam has a penchant for connecting with the tech community and does not hide his love of meeting smart people. He can usually be picked out at events as the lawyer with the glowing name badge.

    Announcing the Ignite Seattle 20 Talks

    We’re excited to announce the lineup for Ignite Seattle 20 on May 16th. Join us at Town Hall, talks start promptly at 8pm. Get your tickets here.

    Madeline Puckette – 7 Things You Never Knew About the Most Expensive Wines of the World
    Wine is no longer just a drink, it has become a commodity like stock. Learn seven of the more interesting facts about the most expensive wines in the world and what ties them together. Never drink wine the same again.

    Diana Vergis Vinh – My Life of Poo
    Learning kale recipes that don’t make my family gag, thinking my goat was pregnant when she was just plain fat and being surrounded by endless piles of poo – who knew that backyard urban farming could be so darned engaging? Hear from a long time urban farmer the ups and the downs of this manic pursuit.

    Jeffrey Hicks – Welcome to the Psych Ward
    This is a talk about what it actually feels like to lose your mind. It is an insiders look into madness and recovery.

    Nathan Kaiser – From Bits to Booze and Not Quite Back Again
    What I learned going from bits to booze and what I hope to bring back with me.

    Nicole Steinbok – Everyday Pitches
    Learn how to get people to like and trust you, give you time, do boring shit, reply to an email, provide great feedback, buy into plans, hire you and much more!

    Sally James – Small words
    Why keeping it short, even using shorter words, may help people understand you.

    Theresa Harris – I want to teach your child to fail
    Kids become less creative as they grow and Theresa Harris, founder of Thrive Art School, says this is due to how they experience failure. She’s on a mission to teach kids to fail enthusiastically.

    Dave Zucker – Sir Mix-a-Bot, the Robot Bartender
    In October of 2002, I picked up a surplus PUMA robot arm from a local university. I was sad to discover it didn’t work, and have spent the past 10 years bringing it back to life and transforming it into a robot bartender, dubbed Sir Mix-a-Bot.

    Whitney Mongé – Busking in Pike Place Market
    My talk will be about the basic know how’s of street performing in Pike Place Market. It will also be a short but detailed outline of how to be successful at busking virtually anywhere.

    Jack Bennetto – The Moral Clarity of Killing Ivy
    In a world of ambiguity and complexity, we can find moral clarity in killing English ivy and other invasive plants. Jack Bennetto outlines his journey as an anti-invasivist and explains how you can achieve peace and happiness through wanton destruction leading to restoration and rebirth.

    Nancy White – S#*!, is it time to think about a legacy?
    What happens when you wake up and realize you are a certain age,a grandparent, your husband is retiring and people start calling you an “elder” in your field? When you can’t even DESCRIBE your field? Come peer with me over this deliciously scary edge of considering my future. Regardless of our ages, is it time to think about our legacies?

    Joe Ludwig – The second coming of Virtual Reality
    Back in the early nineties everybody thought that virtual reality would be the next big thing. Now, twenty years later, that might actually be true.

    Frank Rogan – How Are You Not Dead?
    Everyone has a superpower, and apparently mine is “not getting killed.” I’ve escaped embarrassing death and painful dismemberment several times. It all makes for a great story, and it’s your stories that make you human.

    Randy Stewart – How to Pitch Ignite Seattle
    After reading and voting on hundreds of Ignite proposals, I can tell you about the ins and outs of what will get you considered before anyone else. I reveal the inner most workings of the secret machinations of the Ignite selection committee.

    Carmen Hudson – I Stalk Strangers Online
    Software engineers and other highly sought-after talent: you can run, but you can’t hide. Employers will go to great lengths to find in-demand talent; that’s where I come in. Armed with a few search engine commands, tenacity and a telephone, I can find anyone. People like me — known as “sourcers” — use the internet to find contact information, hobbies and interests, and other personal data in order to silver tongue our way into the lives of top talent. I’ll show you how we do it.

    Gina Phillips – The Ultimate Mistake
    Gina has competed at the highest levels of ultimate frisbee, including US Nationals 7 times. In a talk that has turned into a very different talk than the one she set out to give, she shares a look at identity, shame, and self-worth.

    Submit a talk for Ignite OSCON in Portland

    From time to time we like to collaborate with other Ignites and help with promotion and sharing talks. In July, O’Reilly is running their Open Source Convention in Portland Oregon, with an Ignite on the first night to kick things off.

    O’Reilly is looking for submissions to speak at the Ignite event. If your talk is accepted, you’ll get a free pass to the conference on Tuesday (the day after Ignite), and a 50% discount if you wish to attend the rest of the conference.

    This is a great opportunity to do a more technical talk that wouldn’t be suited for the usual Ignite Seattle crowd. Talk submissions are due by May 2nd. Follow the link to submit your talk idea.

    20% Discount to 360|intersect on Creativity + Technology at the Triple Door April 27-28

    Our good friend from Ignite Denver, John Wilker, is bringing the 360|intersect gathering to Seattle’s Triple door on Saturday April 27th and Sunday April 28th.

    360|intersect is focused on the intersection of creativity and technology. Speakers are technologists from around the world, talking about the things they do away from the keyboard, that make them awesome at the things they do at the keyboard.

    You can see the schedule and great topics at http://360intersect.com/schedule

    John’s given us a special 20% off discount code for anyone who’d like to attend – Just use the code “SeattleLocals” for a 20% discount.

    Ignite Seattle 20 is another Town Hall double feature

    Ignite Seattle 20 is another double feature at Town Hall Seattle – Your $5 admission gets you into Ignite and a reading by psychotherapist and author Gary Greenberg.

    Gary will kick off Town Hall’s May 16 double feature at 6 pm (one $5 ticket gets you into see him and Ignite!) with an entertaining expose of the new, fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — the DSM — the American Psychiatric Association’s compendium of mental illnesses “Bible.”

    Gary Greenberg

    Since its debut in 1952, the DSM has been frequently revised and, with each revision, so has the “official” view on which psychological problems constitute mental illness. Homosexuality, for instance, was classified as a mental illness until 1973, and Asperger’s gained recognition in 1994 only to see its status challenged nearly 20 years later.

    Each revision created controversy, but the DSM-5, the newest iteration, has shaken psychiatry to its foundations. The APA has taken fire from all corners — and now from Greenberg — for extending the reach of psychiatry into daily life by encouraging doctors to diagnose more illnesses and prescribe more therapies — often medications whose efficacy is unknown and whose side effects are severe.

    Get tickets over on the Town Hall Seattle event page.

    We Want YOU to speak at Ignite 20! Get your submission in by this Friday

    Ignite Seattle 20 is Thursday May 16th at Town Hall Seattle, and we want YOU to speak!

    The submission deadline is this Friday, April 5th, and all you need to do is fill out this handy dandy ‘Submit Talk!’ form to throw your idea into the ring.

    So what are you waiting for?

    Enlighten us, but make it quick.