Guest Post: March 14: Lansing’s first monthly Tech Demo Night!

There’s a new tech event in town, and you’re invited.

It’s called Tech Demo Night. Think of it as a show-and-tell for all ages with a technology theme. It’s free and you don’t have to show anything, but you’re more than welcome to.

Already interested? RSVP and we’ll see you there!

Tech Hubbub

Tech Demo Night is a celebration of technology, trying and exploring new things, and of course, the amazing people in Lansing who love both.

Whatever kind of technophile you are—inventor, coder, student, teacher, maker, entrepreneur, designer, fanboy, fangirl, seasoned geek, or newbie—here’s a chance to share that slice of tech you get excited about, meet other like-minded individuals, and discover even more things to get excited about.

It doesn’t matter if you’re creating something that you want to share or you just want to see what’s going on in Lansing’s tech scene: come on out, eat some free pizza, ask someone what they’re doing in tech, and watch some sweet demos. You’ll leave inspired, more knowledgeable, and more aware of Lansing’s great tech community than ever.

We also know that kids are way more in touch with tech than many adults, so this will be a kid-friendly event, too! If your child or some young’n you know is learning or doing something mind-blowing, encourage them to come out and present!

Demos Done Quick

Because this event is open to such a wide variety of tech and ages, we’re hoping for a bigger turnout than other tech meetups in Lansing. In order to make sure as many people can demo as possible, there are a couple of rules for demos:

  1. Demos must be 5 minutes or less
  2. Demo material sent to Erik Gillespie (event organizer) goes first

A 5-minute demo will go by fast! If you’ve never given such a short presentation, try it out. You’ll discover that 5 minutes is not enough time to get into the technical details. In fact, it’s just enough time to demo and high-level overview. ????

Sending slides and demo content to the event organizer saves us from all that wasted time disconnecting and reconnecting laptops. We highly recommend putting your material somewhere on the web and providing a link so everything can be ready to demo when it’s your turn. If you have physical props, bring those with you and try them out before the demos start!

An hour of demos, an hour of banter

If you want to talk about something at length, there will be 30 minutes both before and after the demos to do so! You can also sign up to present your idea at one of Lansing’s many other tech meetups.

If you liked a demo, we encourage you to chat with the presenter after all of the demos are done. This is also a great time to learn more about how they discovered that sweet piece of tech they showed off or created, where they work, if they’re looking for help, and how you can get involved.

Pizza and drinks are generously provided by our co-sponsor, Michigan SBDC. You should also ask them about how they’re helping build a better tech scene in Lansing.

Things to Remember

Bring your favorite new project or product, give a quick demo, and finish with some light convo. Anyone who loves tech can present, including kids!

Lansing Tech Demo Nights are held on the second Tuesday of the month, doors open at 7:00 pm, and noms will be provided.

Don’t forget to RSVP. We hope to see you there!

Discover more Lansing tech meetups at Lansing.Codes.

Erik Gillespie is a software developer and semi-pro advocate of amazing things. He founded Giving Jar, a blog and upcoming donation platform for Lansing charities, and helps people learn how to create websites and other software at Lansing Code Lab. He’s kind of obsessed with board games, too.