Enlighten Us But Make It Quick: Ignite Google I/O 2011

MAY 09, 2011

By Brady Forrest of O'Reilly Radar

Ignite takes place at Google I/O, Tue. May 10, 5 PM PDT in Room 11 at Moscone West. If you can’t be there in person, you can watch live on the I/O Live site.

Geeks like to share. At Ignite events, we've found that a speaker can impart a lot of information to a curious audience in just five minutes. So we went out and found ten geeks to each share some slice of their life. The talks are going to range from life hacks and online experiments to histories of technology. They each get 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds for a total of five minutes on stage. We find that the constraints make the event a lot more energetic than you'd expect.

Ignite events have spread around the world helping geeks share their ideas. Google has been a big supporter of getting the word out about Ignite and is hosting its third Ignite at I/O. For the first time ever we are going to be in a keynote room and will be streamed live - so tune in from 5 - 6 PM PDT on 5/10.

Here are the speakers for Ignite I/O 2011.

Kyle Machulis (Nonpolynomial Labs) - This is your brain. This is your brain on bugs.

What do our biometrics say about our code quality, and vice versa? Can health hardware be a debugger for more than just health?

Matt Cutts (Google) - Try Something New For Thirty Days

What happens when you try a bunch of 30 day experiments? Many succeed, and even the failures are over in 30 days."

Pamela Fox - No, Really, I'm Shy

People are often surprised to find out that I am really, really shy. I figured that out when I was a kid and have spent my life coming up with workarounds for my shyness, and now I want to share those hacks with all of you.

Monica Rogati (LinkedIn)- Tiger Moms, Ninjas, and Chips, Oh My! Uncovering the Story in the Data

100 million LinkedIn profiles. Career histories going back to the '70s. The data tells stories - how do we hear them through all the noise?

Patrick Davison (Know Your Meme)- Avril Lavigne; or How Global Warming Taught Me Why YouTube's Important

The study of global climate change has created a number of techniques for making sense of the incredible amount of data available. To what degree can the same methods of statistical analysis be used to make sense of another data dump: every comment ever left on Avril Lavigne's YouTube videos?

Kevin Marks (Salesforce) - Ownership is the Enemy of Control
The history of technology is strewn with examples of attempts to make software behave like property. Some are temporarily successful, but all are ultimately fragile.

Jamie Wilkinson - HackerDad on YouBeMom

YouBeMom is a message board run by and for Moms. How does a new Dad fit in?

Joseph Pred (Burning Man) - Risk Management at Burning Man or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Risk.

Fun has become sanitized by amusement parks but a sense of risk is key part of vivid experiences. Risk Management, if done right, can mitigate danger while preserving the essential participant experience.

Annalee Newitz (io9) - Social Media Is Science Fiction

In science fiction, social media spawns hive minds, thought control, privacy mutation, and secret revolutions. Do you want to live in the future you might be building with your platforms and apps today?

John Adams (Twitter) - Speak into the Mic: A History Lesson

"The microphone has been around for nearly 200 years, yet people still have problems using them. Where did microphones come from, how can you use them to sound great, and where can they take you?"

If you've never seen an Ignite talk before you can watch hundreds on the Ignite Show site. If you can't make it to Ignite IO then you should find a local ignite or start your own. If you've always wanted to give an Ignite talk (or really any other talk) then listen and learn as Scott Berkun explains How and Why You Should Give an Ignite Talk:

Brady Forrest is co-Chair for O'Reilly's Where 2.0, Web 2.0 Expo and cofounded Ignite, the geek event, back in 2006. Brady lives in Seattle, where he builds robots and cars for Burning Man, competes for Mayor of finer establishments and is about to host Ignite Seattle 14 on 5/18.

posted in: