The second version of IgniteLansing will be in a new place, have new food offerings, and be greener. And organizers expect to draw nearly twice the number that attended the first event.
Created by high energy techies in the Capital region, the one-night, open mic-type event hopes to crank out new ways of thinking and stimulate new partnerships..
The first Ignite 
event in April drew a capacity crowd where people first made things in a group project, and then watched and listened to five minute talks, fueled with slides changing every 15 seconds.
The talks at the first Ignite ranged from "How to Schmooze Like a Professional and Look Good Doing It" and "Community Gardening in Flint" to a treatise on adoption and a description of the construction of the huge eyeball at Impression 5 Science Center.
“Most of us involved with IgniteLansing are using technology to do our jobs,” says Jennifer Middlin with TechSmith, one of the planners.
Rather than paid advertising, Ignite does promotion via Facebook and Twitter. Awards given that night will be based on votes tallied by Twitter and SMS Voting. A Tweetdeck will allow the audience to watch attendees’ messages pile in, and the event will be streamed live on the website.
“This is the format people of my generation want,” says 29-year-old Middlin. And it’s just a month away.
Source: Jennifer Middlin, IgniteLansing 2.0
Gretchen Cochran, Innovation & Jobs editor, may be reached here.
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