Tonight I took the stage with 18 other folks in front of +700 other folks for Ignite Raleigh at the Lincoln in downtown Raleigh. My presentation was “The Redneck Guide to Silicon Valley”.

I had a lot of fun and kept up with the pace of 15 seconds per slide pretty well even if I did trip up a few times. The format is a challenging one but that’s the fun part too.

This was my slide deck….

Controlling the mic most melodic was MC Zach Ward (@zachward). Let’s just say that MC Zach Ward touched us all in ways that ranged from appropriate to slightly more appropriate while exhibiting the grace of a man in tights. On the assist was the #OurHashTag team keeping it nailed down for all involved. They even streamed it live and saved it for posterity (my presentation is at the 1:43 mark but watch em all!).

The other Ignite presenters were an absolutely amazing bunch and it was an honor to share a stage with them. They were in no particular order based on my mental notes:

Charlotte Goodman-Smith and Christine Fawley (@LearnPleasure) boldly went where no man has gone before… but probably should. And often.

Janet Kennedy (@jkennedy93) gave us all pause to think about what a few cents mean and could mean to others.

David Millsaps (@eyevariety) of New Raleigh made the case for hitting the books again and thinking about social with that in mind.

Jess Commins (@renewabelle) made sure that everyone would think about caulk in ways that make a old man blush and a young man squeal.

Henry Copeland (@hc) made sure we all knew that warts can kill startups.

Lisa Creech Bledsoe (@glowbird) rocked the stage and convinced everyone to consider becoming a woman… a boxing woman.

Ryan Boyles (@therab) detailed his plans to avoid skateboarding zombies along a post-apocalyptic path on the way to SxSW.

Evan Carroll (@evancarroll) explored what happens to your digital self when your real world self ends up in a flower pot.

Natasha Crawford (@natashacrawford) convinced us to dip our pens in the home ink instead of the company ink.

Jay Dolan (@jaydolan) made the case for shutting the laptop, turning off the iphone, and following dreams instead of avatars.

Elizabeth Gardner (@WRALweathergal) humbled everyone attending with her relentless nap-free day serving up the new of localized precipitation and average kinetic energy.

Nadia Moffett (@missncusa2010) showed us what it means to change lives by building relationships and being Miss NC!

Chris Moody (@cnmoody) highlighted where customer acceptance begins and bias ends in how you form a team of rock stars and the crucial entourage of dumb.

Charlotte Moore (@cavaticat) put forth the argument that a five letter word synonym for woman is cylon and there should be a massively multi-muliebrity meeting of minds.

Laurie Ruettimann (@lruettimann) finished strong with a hard hitting expose on the intricacies of gaming business social networking sites using tomcat tomfoolery.

George Smart (@georgesmartTMH) showed us homes that created by artists for artists in residence and those that host them.

Bethany Smith (@bethanyvsmith) opened strong with a second slide that said it all made everyone that followed her question the decks yet to be shared.

Dan Wilson (@danwilson) delivered dry humor with a heaping helping of health wisdom and confirmed that 30 minutes is actually 30 minutes while confirming he should be run for State Treasurer.

Last but definitely no least — a huge thanks to the VENUE, SPONSORS, and the VOLUNTEERS that made the night possible!

More added as I think of it… :)

Thanks Raleigh! Thanks Ignite!