You know what I hate about conferences? I hate when presenters come up with creative titles for their sessions, but when you get there they just drone on and on. It’s dullsville and you’re not learning a thing. You sit there discreetly checking your watch and kicking yourself for not checking out a different session.

But there’s a free upcoming conference-esque event that promises not to fall into that trap: Ignite Raleigh.

Ignite Raleigh is billed as a “technology variety show” because it’s a two-hour event packed with quick, engaging presentations. The goal is to educate and spread ideas.

How quick? Each presenter will get five minutes to go through 20 slides.

I know what you’re thinking: “If there are 20 slides, there is NO WAY these presenters are going to stick to the five minutes they’re allotted.”

Not true. One of the coolest things about the event is the slides will change automatically, whether the presenter is ready or not. Five minutes and your time is up, get off the stage, it was nice listening to you. Buh-Bye!

How engaging? You decide. The presentations are being decided by votes. You have until July 20 to vote, and you don’t have to attend the event to cast a vote.

The topics range from “19 Reasons Why the Triangle is Better than Silicon Valley” (I’m biased on picking this one b/c my dear friend Wayne Sutton is pitching it) to “When is Green not so Green? How sustainable is your coffee?”

There are a variety of topics to choose from (not all tech related). You can see and vote on all the topics here, and you can vote on them even if you don’t plan to attend.

Ignite Raleigh is from 7 to 9 p.m., Wed. Aug. 5 at Lincoln Theatre in downtown Raleigh. As of this writing, registration is still open. It’s free, but reserve your seat soon because I’ve been told 350 have already registered.

Need more reasons to sign up? Here are a few:

  • Rhett and Link will provide entertainment. They’re the self-billed “Internetainers” who recently gained national media attention for their viral video “Black and White People Furniture.”
  • 30THREADS is a blog media sponsor. And since 30THREADS is run by me and is part of my day job, it would be so cool if you supported me by supporting 30THREADS by supporting IgniteRaleigh.

OK. Enough already. Now you know more about what promises to be a kickass event in a few weeks. Questions, comments, suggestions? Leave them below and I’ll get them answered.