Ignite Phoenix

Ignite Phoenix started out of a conversation I had with Josh Bancroft, one of the people behind Ignite Portland. There were a few cities doing Ignite around the country, and it sounded like a fun thing to try in Phoenix. I then connected with Roger Williams for the first Ignite, and from there we grew to now having a whole bunch of people helping to make Ignite Phoenix #2 a reality.

So I knew how fast Ignite could catch on, but I had no idea how fast it was spreading globally until I visited the main O’Reilly Ignite site this weekend.  On their calendar they now have (among others):

• Ignite Boulder
• Ignite Baltimore
• Ignite Denver
• Ignite Des Moines
• Ignite Corvallis
• Ignite Columbus
• Ignite Salt Lake
• Ignite UK North
• Ignite Spatial (Sydney, Australia)
• Ignite Bangalore (India)

The whole planet is getting the Ignite groove on, and I’m thrilled to be part of it!  Especially because I think Ignite Phoenix has some of the best lineups and speakers.  I may be just a little biased, but only a little. :D  If you didn’t make our first event, come on down October 29th and see what the buzz is all about.

I was just stunned to learn of the passing of Don Mock, Jr., from the community relations team at Jobing.com. Don was a huge part of the Valley community, helping make events like Social Media Club and Ignite Phoenix happen.

He supported Ignite from the first time we mentioned it to him, immediately understanding the connections Ignite was trying to make in the community. He went above any beyond helping us promote the event, providing ideas for the content, and ensuring the entire thing was a success. But that wasn’t anything special for Ignite… that’s just how Don was. I don’t recall the words “we can’t do that” ever coming out of his mouth.

Our thoughts go out to his friends and family.  Don will be sorely missed.

We had an unbelievable 31 submissions across a wide range of topics for our second Ignite Phoenix event! Deciding the final lineup was an oh-so difficult task that our diverse group of technical, entrepreneurial, and artistic megalomaniacal judges argued and fought over. Ultimately, we ending up with what we thought was a great cross-section of topics for all to enjoy.

Admittedly, there were a lot of presentations that each judge wishes made the cut, which just goes to show you the quality of submissions that we received; you can see the entire list of submissions by clicking here. The Ignite Phoenix crew would like to extend a huge “Thank You” to all those who submitted an idea for a presentation and stepped up to support the community that Ignite Phoenix is trying to bring together!

Ignite Phoenix Part 2 will take place on Wednesday October the 29th at the Jobing.com Phoenix offices; please RSVP at Upcoming if you haven’t done so already! Also, we will be doing a special three presentation “mini-Ignite” in conjunction with PodcampAZ which is being hosted at the University of Advancing Technology (UAT) on Nov 1st and 2nd.

We hope you’re as excited as we are for Ignite Phoenix Part 2, and please take a moment to check out the final lineup below!

Sincerely,
~Tomas “Electric Boogaloo” Carrillo and the Ignite Phoenix Crew