Ignite (event)
Ignite (Ignite Talks) is a series of events where speakers have five minutes to talk on a subject accompanied by 20 slides, for 15 seconds each, automatically advanced. Ignite started in Seattle, and it has spread to at least 350 organizing teams in cities, universities, governments and companies who have hosted thousands of events.[1][2][3][4]
Ignite Talks uses a similar format to PechaKucha, which was founded three years earlier. Ignite presentations are a type of lightning talk.[5]
The first Ignite was held in 2006 in Seattle, Washington by Brady Forrest and Bre Pettis, and was sponsored by O'Reilly Media and MAKE magazine.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12] O'Reilly continued to support Ignite until November 2015 when the franchise was handed off to its founder, Brady Forrest, who formed Ignite Talks PBC, a Public Benefit Corporation.[13] Ignite Talks PBC was formed to be an independent organization focusing on supporting Ignite events around the world and promoting public speaking.[4] The organization was originally sponsored by PCH International, the parent company of Highway1, a hardware startup accelerator that Forrest led.[13]
The Ignite format has been used by educators to help students build public speaking skills, including to teach students about presenting research in concise and engaging ways.[14][15][5]
References
[edit]- ^ "Ignite co-founder Brady Forrest acquires the popular speaker series from O'Reilly Media - GeekWire". GeekWire. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
- ^ "Ignite has a new home - O'Reilly Radar". radar.oreilly.com. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
- ^ "A New Start for Ignite". Medium. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
- ^ a b Buhr, Sarah (16 November 2015). "Community Speaker Series Ignite Gets A Reboot". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
- ^ a b Kinkead, Joyce (2015-07-21). Researching Writing: An Introduction to Research Methods. University Press of Colorado. p. 128. ISBN 978-1-60732-479-9.
- ^ Salkin, Allen (August 3, 2008). "Night Life Reprogrammed". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
- ^ Guzman, Monica (April 16, 2009). "A Seattle geek fest spreads its wings". Seattle Post Intelligencer. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
- ^ Neznanski, Matt (November 14, 2008). "Sharing ideas quickly". Corvallis Gazette Times. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
- ^ "Testing How-to Layout". igniteshow.com. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- ^ "Ignite Lights Up Web 2.0 Expo". VentureBeat.
- ^ Oppenheimer, Laura (February 5, 2008). "Attention Deficit theater". The Oregonian.
- ^ Guzman, Monica (February 19, 2008). "Ignite Seattle 5: Big ideas and really fast talking hit Capitol Hill". Seattle Post Intelligencer.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Yeung, Ken (November 16, 2015). "Highway1's Brady Forrest acquires Ignite event series from O'Reilly Media to promote public speaking". VentureBeat. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ^ Madda, Mary Jo (2016-04-14). "So You Want to Be a Better Presenter and Pitcher? The Power of the Education 'Ignite Talk'". EdSurge. Retrieved 2026-04-14.
- ^ D'Agostino, Mario A; Vanguri, Star Medzerian; Concannon, Kelly A. (2019-02-16). "Not Your Typical Research Essay: Digital Alternatives for Presenting and Visualizing Research". NSU Florida.