Review Of IgniteNOLA: Knowledge, Laughter, & Good Times

With all the hype around IgniteNOLA I expected it to be a solid event.  But once I got sucked into the experience, I found it to be one of the most entertaining nights I’ve had in a while.  Hosted in the grand ballroom of the beautiful Roosevelt Hotel, the crowd was a mix between participants of the Engage2010 conference and locals.

IgniteNOLA Crowd - Courtesy of @tdavidson

During networking and cocktail hour, we were treated to local cuisine, drinks, and some good jazz music. Then the real fun began! IgniteNOLA presented twelve speakers who’s topics ranged from The Art of Internet Stalking To Failing as an Entrepreneur. The best part was the fast pace of the presentations: Each speaker had five minutes, twenty slides, and each slide advanced every fifteen seconds. For someone who sits in alot of workshops and meetings it was refreshing to get all that information quick.

The best part of it all was the mix of funny and informative topics that made each speaker flow together. I enjoyed the first speaker, Ann Bernard who talked about failing as an entrepreneur. She talked about how she started off with many dreams and finally got a point of understanding that failing is not always a bad thing. Jameson Quave also had a cool topic: eUser Experience in Games and Software. The geek in me loved hearing about user interfaces and design.  Christian Howes presented a witty topic entitled: Inappropriate terms to use in an American business meeting if you are a Brit. I never laughed so hard and I’m not going to repeat some of the things he had on his slide.

Benjamin Diggles - Courtesy of @tdavidson

After a brief intermission, we got another round of speakers who brought it home. Vera Lester, The Art of Internet Stalking was very funny….but it made me go home afterward and lock down my privacy settings on Facebook. Neel Sus talked about CareBack for the Indigent and Thomas Pickral made me want to find ways to save electricity in my house with his speech on What Is A Smart Grid? The fun didn’t stop after IgniteNOLA because there was also an IgniteKaraoke. Think of it as karaoke + drinking + Powerpoint.

To wrap it up, the first IgniteNOLA was great! I say the first because the organizers hinted to the fact that there would be more of these types of events happening in the future. The second IgniteNOLA is slated to happen sometime in April and should be as good as the first one.