What is Ignite Phoenix really?
TweetSo really, what is it? Is it a social event, like a big party with entertainment? Is it just a fun show that travels around Phoenix? Or is it an opportunity for the community to come together and connect in a way which, despite the change social media has brought, still isn’t possible electronically?
I think it’s the last one. But I’m confused by the community lately. When Ignite tickets went on sale, they were the hottest ticket in town, for about 30 minutes. Now, contests to give away tickets (redPear, Wes Novack) get barely any interest. I’ll bet that Ignite Phoenix 6, just like Ignite Phoenix 5, will occur with more than a few open seats, despite the wild frenzy of interest when tickets went on sale.
What’s the deal, Phoenix? Do people get tickets just because it’s the hot thing to do and they’re cheap, not really caring if they actually attend? Would Ignite get more interest if tickets cost more and created a feeling of greater value?
C’mon people, Ignite isn’t about watching a show, it’s about participating in the community and being changed by the experience. That’s the value of Ignite. Mingle and meet new people before Ignite and at the after party. Get inspired to explore a presentation topic further and discover a new interest.
That’s all you have to do. You don’t have to get so fired up that you go home and send in a submission for Ignite Phoenix 7. It doesn’t matter if you ever submit a topic. Maybe you don’t want to speak on stage, maybe you don’t have time to create a presentation. At least show up and participate in the community, because participation is important.
Will I see you at Ignite tomorrow?
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Interesting point about the ticket cost. What's a tougher barrier to entry, high price or amount of work (entering a contest, etc.)?
High price. If you want to raise the apparent value, contests and such aren't it. If the monetary cost of a ticket isn't already viewed as high, contests just trivialize the value.
I can see your point about raising the value by raising the price, but I think the idea of contests around ignite tickets is counter productive. To me, contests cheapen the value of the ticket and make Ignite just another promotional tool on the radio. The hype around the tickets selling out so quickly also concerns me. Are we going for popularity or quality?
I recently attended a “sold out” Ignite Indianapolis and was surprised when the seats were only about 80% full (however, tickets were free). Raising the ticket cost might work, but I don't know. Is the event live-streamed on ustream or are videos posted afterwards of all the presentations? This might make people choose, at the last minute, to skip the event and just watch the presentations online. But you're right, it's not about the presentations (at least not fully) – it's about the connection with other attendees.
Part of the issue with Ignite has been that it has become a show. Entertainment not participation. For proof of this look at the buzz or lack thereof in two weeks after the show. Nothing comes of it – no ideas arise from it that take flight.
That's totally ok of course if that's your expectation (it is mine), but there is a subset of people who praise Ignite as the next big thing in making things happen. Those people are naive at best and delusional at worst.
Stop promoting it as something that will spark change (no pun intended) and start admitting that it is 90% entertainment and all of this will go away.
I think you described Ignite Phoenix very nicely. I hope people didn't take my little contest the wrong way. I certainly don't have the opinion that everyone should submit a talk in order to be considered a contributor to the community. I realize there are many people who find it very daunting to talk in front of a large audience or just have no desire to do so. But that, in fact, is one reason why I thought more people would enter my blogging contest, as it only requires text and makes a person write about what they would present on IF they were forced to…
Does the value of the ticket change if the initial cost is high, but the amount of discount is as well?
Think $100 ticket, given at a 90% discount.
Seems that the presentations, while mostly skilled and always fun, are a small part of the overall experience. As long as you experience them with people you can later discuss with, the magic that Ignite could be is barely touched.
The problem with Ignite tickets selling out so quickly is that it made it hard for people not already involved to stumble into the tickets.
And because Ignite has been marketed through fairly digital-only means, the reach is somewhat limited.
Perhaps it's time for me to adjust my expectations about what Ignite COULD or is SUPPOSED to be and focus on what Ignite is: a small group of people looking to entertain a large group of people.
The value is based on the public view. If 600 tickets at $100 apiece sold out, the value is high, so 1 ticket at 90% is a total bargain, because the public view of the value is high. If you sell all 600 tickets at 90%, the initial face value doesn't matter, because the public will view the tickets as cheap.
As long as I can still find my way to a ticket, I'll be there tomorrow. That is a bum deal that people buy tickets and don't show up, though. They might be keeping people from going who really want to attend.
The ticket hype is a case of Ignite being a victim of its own popularity. People wanted tickets because of the hype, not because everyone who bought one wants to be an engaged member of the audience and community.
I truly think the organizers of Ignite are trying for quality, both in the presenters, presentations and audience. Unfortunately, they don't have very much control over the audience composition.
The last Ignite Phoenix was very similar. Tickets sold out in hours, but the balcony had ample seats left during the event.
Previous events have been live streamed on Ustream and this one will be too. You may be right that people just choose to watch from elsewhere, but you're also right that it's about connecting, not just watching.
In the end, I guess it's better that people who just want to watch the show do it from home; it leaves more room for those of us who want to really be engaged.
Do other cities' Ignites trigger big changes or have a lot of buzz during the weeks afterward? I'm wondering if the lack of post-Ignite buzz is a Phoenix-only phenomenon or a general symptom of Ignite events.
This gets to the root of the debate which Tyler started: the Phoenix community isn't passionate about change. Are we in this city unable or unwilling to deal effectively with passion and change, or is this a general phenomenon which is common to all cities?
The only other Ignite people I have spoken to treat there event as primarily an entertainment medium. That makes the rest of it irrelevant.
They do have control over how they market the event though. If you only market through twitter/fb/social media then you'll get the same people who are already following you and their immediate network. Its slow growth at best.
I think your contest was well-intentioned and I would have thought that more people would have entered it. I thought that there would have been much more of a hue and cry for tickets, given their scarcity by 10:30AM on March 13.
I'm sure there's plenty of people who are passionate about something. Maybe they just need help in getting in touch with that. Maybe they're just too busy to sit down and write about it. Why do people have so much trouble turning their passion loose and doing something as simple as writing about it? I wish I had an answer.
Good point.
Here's a scenario to consider: Ignite Phoenix starts charging a small amount for tickets (say $10, bringing total ticket cost to $15 including service fee). They use the money to promote via traditional media, rather than relying only on social media. Do you think this would a) change the composition of the audience and b) increase the public view of the value of attending Ignite?
So Ignite, while starting as a well-intentioned idea, has become a show and fallen far short of its billing as a way to light a fire under the creative community.
Anyone want to refute that, or is Conrey right?
I'm glad you're excited to actually attend, and I hope you're able to get in. Have you asked if anyone on Twitter has a spare ticket?
a) absolutely
b) maybe
Yes, we do have control over how we market, but the budget limits us in the ability to go beyond digital channels, more traditional media relations and word of mouth.
That being said, we have done several informal surveys of our audiences over the last 2 or so years. Those again have been promoted through various digital channels, but they have yielded some interesting results. More than 50% of those surveyed heard about Ignite offline, through either word of mouth, a newspaper story or at another event. That's encouraging for our team given the limitation that our budget puts on marketing-related activities.
While I agree with you that we do have control over how we market, that doesn't necessarily mean that we have the same social media crowd sitting in seats. I've been closer to ticket sales for 6 than I wanted to be, but have been privy to see the mix of people that know about and attend Ignite. From my perspective, it isn't the “same people” as you mention. Sure, it's about 50/50, but we have moved beyond the social media audience well considering the budget limitations. Can we do more? Yes. And, we intend to.
For a few people at least, they were frustrated that they couldn't get tickets and felt they were cut out by others buying more than they needed for contests. I know the intention was to help support Ignite, but not everyone viewed it that way.
One thing I've learned about Ignite is everyone views it their own way – including me. I think that is one of its strengths, but it also means none of us really know how something is going to play out.
I agree, but don't think it's beyond saving.
The problem is Failed to one is Success to another. For example, many people thought the talk about bats at Ignite 5 was just fun, but I know several people who went out and looked into or bought bat homes like she suggested. They didn't make any posts about it that I know, but happened to mention it to me over the past few months.
Who else connected with the ideas there? To what extent? We had close to 1/3 of the people at the last Ignite who were brand new, and are totally outside the online channels we're talking about here. I know someone from each Ignite where it has somehow – great or small – impacted their life.
Bottom line Ignite is about opportunity to connect with people and ideas. How people react to that is their own decision, nobody can do it for them. Sadly, if you are attending tomorrow you will have to hear me talk about this again as this is the very thing I selected for my opening talk.
So in your view, Ignite is a success not because it lights a gigantic bonfire in Phoenix, but because it triggers numerous small fires in individuals across the valley.
I agree with this as the truest representation of what Ignite is. That's what it has been for me, anyway. My first Ignite was Ignite Phoenix #2 and I came away thinking, “Wow, that was cool, but what in the world would I ever present on?” It took a while for me to figure it out, but I have. Would I have come to this point without Ignite? Maybe, but probably not this soon and without the focus creating an Ignite presentation requires.
Never quite put it like that, but I wouldn't disagree. It gets people talking who don't normally talk, and talking about things they don't normally talk about.
Even discussions like this, while I think this is all valid and good, are generally among people who know each other. I hope you all get a chance to talk with 10 people you never met tomorrow night. Or get involved and help drive the way Ignite is going. We're trying some new things this time due to new input on the team, and even newer things for Ignite 7. I'm very curious to see where things go from here.
Quality, which is why I've steadfastly resisted a bigger venue, which is the only thing that would prevent ticket pressure at this point. It's also why we balance outreach to new groups and ideas with the knowledge it just increases that pressure.
I'm hoping some smaller Ignites, like Ignite Developer and Ignite @ ASU will help with that, as well as the satellite locations. Small groups of people having fun and talking about the event around town are, to me, much better than having it in a larger theater.
You do bring up a good point about satellite locations. If they're well enough attended, they too can provide the mixing of different people from different backgrounds who don't know each other.
I'm not sure how many people were at the satellite location for the last Ignite, but I'll be interested to see how Dave's Electric Brewpub goes this time.
Not exactly what I meant, but I'm not sure if I understand what I was
trying to get at.
So, is the value of the tickets very low of very high right now?
Now that there's a last minute scramble for tickets, the value seems to be going up. Maybe the lack of interest in the contests was because people are inherently procrastinators.
[...] been some debate about what Ignite is. For me tonight, Ignite is all about passion: the passion of the presenters, the passion of the [...]
I'm not the kind of person to seek out radio stations, scalpers, and friends' friends' friends for tickets (whether the ticket is for my favorite band or a small social function.) When I hear “sold out” I think “oh well.” If “sold out” really means “sold out for now, but remember to X” then by god say so. If contests and regifting aren't allowed, say so. If ticket non-use is a problem, I suggest either increasing the price, making it easy to refund and reissue a ticket, or both.
Economists would say that if your event is selling out within hours at $5, then you aren't charging the right amount for the market– depletion of the commons, just like driver's ed class. It's cheap and affordable, thus everyone is forced to wait for months or years before they can get in (or, even less fair, choose via lottery so some people may never get in.) If you want to be fair, but can't afford to give every single person who wants a ticket a ticket, then you should charge as much as you can while still ensuring 99% occupancy.
Of course I'm not a big fan of $300 Ignite tickets, but we're talking about this problem of quick snatch-up and lackluster residual sales here. So it's either high prices, returns/reissues, or something else creative like first come first serve the day of.
I didn't get a ticket in time, but fortunately there was a satellite viewing party. I went to that, and officially missed my first Ignite Phoenix due to technical difficulties.
I would've paid money to go. Take the nominal $3-5 and bump it up to $20-40 so people are actually committing to going and there isn't such a flailing land grab for tickets. They could take all that extra cash and benefit a local charity!
I hope to make it to the next Ignite, but I'll try not to get my hopes up.
It sucks that you got totally hosed by the technical difficulties.
I still think that increasing the cost of the ticket beyond the nominal fee would make for more committed ticket purchasers and avoid the “flailing land grab”, as you put it. The concept of giving extra money to charity concerns me, though. Ignite has always been an independent entity, relying only on sponsors and not getting involved in charity or anything which has a particular point of view.
Tying Ignite ticket purchases to charitable donations might discourage people or upset those who may not like or agree with the charity chosen by the Ignite organizers. I think that would do far more damage than the ticket issues we've seen for the past couple of Ignites.
It sucks that you got totally hosed by the technical difficulties.
I still think that increasing the cost of the ticket beyond the nominal fee would make for more committed ticket purchasers and avoid the “flailing land grab”, as you put it. The concept of giving extra money to charity concerns me, though. Ignite has always been an independent entity, relying only on sponsors and not getting involved in charity or anything which has a particular point of view.
Tying Ignite ticket purchases to charitable donations might discourage people or upset those who may not like or agree with the charity chosen by the Ignite organizers. I think that would do far more damage than the ticket issues we've seen for the past couple of Ignites.