In Case You Missed It! iKC: The Unconference Closing Party Recap

 

After the innovative unconference that is iKC, attendees headed over to the Alamo Drafthouse for the best part: the Closing Party by Google Fiber!

As everyone took their first sips of liquid courage and snacked on delicious appetizers, the Closing Party kicked off with the Open Mic Awards. Attendees awarded each other things like who travelled the farthest for iKC to who tweeted the most about the unconference. Winners walked away with great prizes like Chiefs tickets, bowling games, Boulevard Brewing Company swag and a Garmin watch.

After the prizes were handed out, collisions didn’t stop even though iKC was technically over. Closing Party attendees kept having meaningful conversations and interacting, just like they had been at the unconference. Party-goers snacked, sipped and continued to enjoy each other’s company, forging even more connections to create a better Kansas City.

Andrew Stanley, entrepreneur and founder of VolunteerMark, attended both iKC and the Closing Party – and he was not disappointed.

“The Closing Party was an awesome event,” Stanley said. “I had a really good time and met some really great people. I look forward to attending again next year.”

But the Closing Party wasn’t over yet! An unconference party isn’t made up of just delicious snacks, drinks and mingling. After party-goers had taken their fill, the Closing Party ended with a bang as we revealed the world premiere of the Tech Trek, a documentary made with and about Google Glass.

Thanks to support from Hallmark and Sprint, the Tech Trek took Closing Party attendees on a 30 minute journey from Kansas City to Silicon Valley and back to KC. The documentary took note of the good and bad of Google Glass, including commentary on the many reactions people had to the new technology. The Tech Trek made all of us think more about what the Glass technology means for not just the tech industry, but the implications for tech in Kansas City.

In a day filled with collisions and innovation on behalf of the great city we call home, we couldn’t think of a more perfect ending to the Closing Party for iKC2013: the Unconference.

iKC 2013: The Unconference Fosters Collisions

The decision to make iKC 2013 into an Unconference was done with one central goal in mind; to increase Kansas City's collision density. Over 250 attendees filed into H&R Block’s World Headquarters to tackle the issue head on by creating unlikely collisions in a conventional setting. 

What took place throughout the day can only be described as special & unique. After a brief welcome from Jason Houseworth, President of Global Digital and Product Management at H&R Block, the iKC 2013 Ambassadors, and Ed Wilson, Partner at Husch Blackwell, our own Herb Sih took to the stage along with event staff, Sarah Snyder and Christine Murray, to lead the live agenda creation. 

The Unconference format allowed attendees to put their day into their own hands simply by voicing their opinion on ideas for topic submissions. 

From there, attendees swarmed into the common area to vote on ideas and create the final agenda. 

The final product was an amalgamation of ideas and questions posed by iKC 2013 attendees. A conference agenda truly unlike anything else; created for the people, by the people. 

Attendees engaged in sessions that mattered most to them; resulting in mutually beneficial collisions and conversations for both individuals and the collective group. 

Thanks to #ikc2013 organizers, learned a ton and shared some knowledge too. Kudos! @iKC2013 @thinkbigKC @RyanWeberKC
— Corey Mohn (@coreymohn) October 3, 2013

The design of the Unconference format proved to be just as beneficial to fostering collisions as the sessions were. In fact, many conversations often extended past the end of a session and continued into the hallways. 

By the delayed end of session 4 it was clear that the goal of iKC 2013 was reached. Not only a high quantity of collisions took place, but collisions were extremely high quality as well. In proper Unconference fashion, the collisions continued on over to the closing party at the Alamo Drafthouse.

The Unconference was quite possibly the most valuable conference I've ever attended. Thanks @iKC2013! #ikc2013
— Mike Bosch (@mikesbosch) October 3, 2013

We are very proud of the success of iKC 2013 and want to thank our partners with The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce for the hard work and dedication they put into the unconference. We can't forget our gracious sponsors, and most importantly our team of volunteers, ambassadors, and UnMentors who made iKC 2013: The Unconference the valuable experience that it was.

Nominate Your Favorite Tweeps to Win Free Tickets to iKC!

Do you know of a startup or small business that deserves to win a free ticket to iKC, but hasn’t purchased one yet? We want you to nominate them to win a ticket to the unconference! 

We’re giving away 2 free tickets to 5 different deserving groups and individuals nominated by our Twitter followers. The contest begins Monday, September 23 and runs until Friday, September 27.

Nominating an innovative organization is as easy as 1, 2, tweet! Follow iKC on Twitter (@iKC2013) and tweet @iKC2013 in 140 characters or less who you think could contribute innovative ideas at iKC and deserves a free ticket to the unconference.

Entrepreneurs are known for their innovative ideas; the goal of iKC is to make meaningful collisions that result in ideas that make an impact on our community as a whole.  So be sure to nominate people who not only deserve a ticket, but who can help create collisions and action at iKC 2013!

Nominate the innovators in your life today! Tweet @iKC2013.