The Point of Ignite Birmingham (or any *camp really)

Considering that talking about “Community” is what made me want to really try and restart the blog for umpteen-hundredth time, I figure a post on Ignite would be in order. Hopefully this will help create a more lively discourse about the Birmingham Tech Community, and hopefully other associated communities as well. This really all began for me when I was privileged to help out with the first TechBirmingham Techmixer Event. The event’s goal was to help people in the diverse users groups in the area come together and hopefully have some cross memberships start to help grow the community. As most of you know this event was a great success and continues even today. Even though it has changed in its original purpose to some degree to me that event was one of the first real attempts to grow the Birmingham Tech Scene in a broader way and really struck a chord with me.

Along the way I’ve tried to help with a lot of events that also helped grow the community such as: Barcamp, Wordcamp, Alabama LugFest, and other events. And I have met lots of great people, lots of characters, and been continuously impressed with the caliber of people in the Metro Area. While many people are pessimistic about the area I believe we have the pieces to build a vibrant and prosperous creative community in the area. And I want to do everything I can to help the city see the possibilites.

Last year I was lucky enough to get to attend a few Ignite events in cities I traveled to due to work and it got me thinking. I had been previously exposed the the quick talk format through “lightning talks” at events like OSCON and I thought it was an easy yet powerful format. So I started to think since there are so many cool groups, conferences, organizations, and people in Birmingham that that it would be awesome to have a night once every few months where we can all get together and share all of those ideas that are burning inside us – technology, art, communications, or whatever the topic. Since most of the events I have been involved with have been very tech heavy , this would provide an opportunity to get a wider audience and hopefully get them excited about the City/Metro Area again.

The goal was for Ignite Birmingham to be a high-energy evening of 5-minute talks by people who have an idea, concept, or passion — and the guts to get onstage and share it with their hometown crowd. It is about democratizing the tech discussion, sharing ideas, and their free exchange . So in essence Ignite Birmingham was started to spark a discussion. These discussions will hopefully help the area grow and prosper by making a closer creative community. So let’s get out there and spark a discussion, share an idea, and help each other out!