Ignite Boulder 8 and why it’s important to be passionate about your brand

Thanks to you wonderful people, I have been selected to present at Ignite Boulder 8 on February 10. My presentation entitled “Minimize Your Hangover & Maximize Your Awesomeness: How to Thrive at a Beer Festival” came in second in the fan voting, so I’m starting to put together my presentation. This presentation will focus on how I’ve learned to get the most out of your beer festival experience. There will be some right ways to do it, some wrong ways to do it, and some potentially scandalous pictures that may rock your socks off.

What I love about Ignite is that you get to hear all about things people are very passionate about. I’ve learned about some great stuff by people who are advocates for a diverse range of topics. The same rings true for building a strong brand. Find a passionate group of employees who buy into your brand and they will in turn advocate your brand to others, who will also in turn advocate to their friends, and so on. Just look at the I’m With Coco Facebook group created by pro-Conan O’brien fans.

The beer industry is something I’m passionate about, and I want to present to a bunch of folks about something I love. I’m really looking forward to presenting about beer. Hope you can make it, buy your tickets here.

Each Ignite presentation is only 5 minutes, so it’s like a crash course in somone’s passion. See these fine examples for some of my favorites:

Vote for me to speak at Ignite Boulder 8

Ignite is a event full of diverse presentations held in locations all around the world on a variety of topics. Speakers get to build a PowerPoint deck containing 15 slides that automatically advance after 15 seconds. Here’s a great one from Joel Gratz at Ignite Boulder 7 about how to call in sick for powder days (which I haven’t done since I lived in Vail, sadly):

What I love about Ignite is that a wide variety of very passionate people present on a wide variety of topics that they’re passionate about. There are three different Ignites in Colorado within an hour of my house (Ignite Denver, Ignite Boulder, and Ignite Fort Collins). I’m submitting presentation topics to each of the next Colorado Ignites. First up:

The topic submission for Ignite Boulder 8 is open. I felt inspired and was the first to make a suggestion. Having just been to the Vail Big Beers Belgians and Barleywines fetsival this weekend, I decided that I knew a lot about beer festivals and how not to destructify yourself. So that’s what I want to talk about.

The rub: I can’t speak in this unless you vote for me and I make it into the top group. So go to the Ignite Boulder voting website and vote for me (I think you can use up to three votes).

So get out there and VOTE FOR ME AT IGNITE BOULDER 8!

Here’s what I’m wanting to present on at Ignite Boulder 8. Even if I don’t make it, you should still come to it. It’s February 10th from 6 – 9 pm at the Boulder Theater.

Minimize Your Hangover & Maximize Your Awesomeness: How to Thrive at a Beer Festival

A hoppy mecca for American Craft Beer, Colorado also is the location for a great number of beer festivals, including one of the biggest beer festivals in the world: The Great American Beer Festival. These festivals, while fun, are often no walk in the park. If you’re not prepared, you’ll end up with a wicked hangover and your friends will end up with photos that will be used as blackmail should you ever happen to run for public office.

I’ll teach you how to maximize your awesomeness at these bad boys and how avoid some embarrassing moments (some of which you might need to eventually get annulled).

I’ve worked as a Craft Beer marketer and designer for the last three years and have been to about sixty beer festivals in that time. So you could probably consider me an expert.

“The Sabbath; I’ll roll not, God-a-mercy.”

If you’re like me, and am constantly worrying about what the world would be like these days if William Shakespeare had released a play based that is mimicked in The Big Lebowski? Well, worry no more, folks. Ok, if you were actually worrying all this time, I’d be worried about your sanity.

Enter “Two Gentlemen of Lebowski” – the brainchild of Adam Bertocci. The Lebowski story transmogrified into Shakespearean.

I haven’t read it all, but I think I’m going to try.

Check out this rad dialogue about Walter being Shomer Shabbos:

WALTER
On our most holy Sabbath I am sworn To keep tradition, form and ceremony. The seventh and the last day rests the Jew; I labour not, nor ride in chariot, Nor handle gold, nor even play the cook, And sure as Providence I do not roll. Hath not a Jew rights? Hath not a Jew hands, Organs, bowling-balls, Pomeranians? If you schedule us, must you not do right? If we step o’er the line, do we not mark it nought? The Sabbath; I’ll roll not, God-a-mercy.

So go download the PDF and get reading.

(via @alyssa_milano and @thatdrew)