What is it?

• 5 Minutes of Fame (5MoF) is an adaptation of CCC’s Lightning Talks. The idea is that we have ten 5 minute talks within an hour. Talks can be shorter, but not longer, than five minutes.

Why are we doing this?

There are many reasons:

• It’s great for people who are interested in what’s going on at Noisebridge — no need to sit through long lectures.
• Some people are working on projects that are not ready for a full 30 minute or hour long talk, but they want to get their ideas out. Maybe they need help, maybe they want to propose an idea to the Noisebridge community.
• Some people are shy to public speaking and want to practice without giving an “official” conference talk, which can be daunting. This is a great way to try it out, in a community of peers.
• San Francisco is the mecca for startups. If you’re trying to sell your idea to someone, you need to be able to explain it in five minutes or less.
• “The Law of Fives“

How can I participate?

Easy – use our contact form to submit a talk!

Include your name (or handle), talk title, your website/url, and a short description. In your email, use the subject line “5ive Minutes of Fame Submission DD-MM-YYYY” (filling in the date of the upcoming 5MoF for which you are applying.)

Slides must be in PowerPoint (.ppt) or Keynote format unless otherwise agreed upon and submitted by the Friday before 5MoF. All slides are subject to approval.

If you do not have access to Keynote or Powerpoint a good source to create presentations is http://280slides.com. We review the slides before the event to make sure that the formatting is correct for our display computer. If you are using your own laptop to present, you must arrive at least one (1) hour before 5MoF begins and notify aestetix upon arrival.

Speakers will be notified as to the status of their talks before the schedule is released. If your talk was not accepted, feel free to submit next month!

Talk schedule will be finalized and released on the Monday before 5MoF.

Wow, this sounds really cool. Where/when can I see these talks?

5 Minutes of Fame is held at Noisebridge every 3rd Thursday at 8PM. For information on getting to Noisebridge if you’ve never been before see this page.

If you want a preview of what goes on at 5MoF, check out our Videos page for recordings of past talks.

Other Questions

• Can anyone attend or speak?

There are a limited number of slots for speakers, and members or regulars are given priority to speak about the projects they are working on. Although there are substitutes for people don’t show, schedule early to be assured your 5MoF!

• What if I show up late?

If you are giving a talk, please notify us so we can rearrange the schedule. If you want to see a talk that you’re going to miss, find the person who gave it and chat with them for five minutes :)