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What’s XNet President and TEDxNaperville Curator Arthur Zards doing this week?

Arthur was invited to attend the TEDxSummit in Doha, Qatar hosted by the Doha Film Institute. The TEDxSummit is a four day workshop where 650 TEDx organizers from around the world meet to take classes and learn from one another how to make great local TEDx events. The summit features a variety of world-renown TED and TEDx speakers that opened the conference with their powerful and inspiring TEDTalks on April 16^th. Following their talks, TEDx organizers began learning how to make truly powerful events.

So how does this relate to TEDxNaperville? When the TEDx curators from around the world meet this week at the summit, they will be sharing lessons and good case practices of everything from stage design and finding speakers to increasing interactivity and inspiring attendees. Arthur will be taking classes and learning from other amazing TED and TEDx organizers, which we will implement in TEDxNaperville 2012 in November. Furthermore, Arthur will be leading an educational session on building engagement, which other TEDx organizers will use to better their events.

You can follow the TEDxSummit at http://tedxsummit.ted.com and on twitter with #tedxsummit.

Additionally, Arthur has created a blog to share his incredible experience at this event and his travels throughout Qatar. To see what he is doing, visit powerofx.posterous.com.

Share Your “Idea Worth Spreading” at TEDxNaperville!

Each year, TEDxNaperville brings the brightest minds of Chicagoland to your doorstep at its annual event in Naperville.  What makes a TEDx event so powerful is its ability to facilitate discussion between free-thinking speakers and open-minded attendees – both of whom seek to change the world.

But what makes these speakers so special? What decides if a speaker is selected to share their ideas with hundreds of attendees? One requirement. They must have an idea truly worth spreading.

Anyone can be a speaker at a TEDx event, regardless of age, gender, nationality, or belief. If you have an idea that needs to be shared and spread, we’re ready to listen.  We pride our TEDx events on being unique, innovative, inspiring, and even a little weird, so if you have something you wish to share, let us know!

Currently, TEDxNaperville host and curator Arthur Zards is taking speaker applications for TEDxNaperville 2012, and we are already lining up some amazing speakers that will quench  your thirst  for knowledge and inspiration.

Additionally, TEDxNaperville 2012 will be improving on nearly every facet of the 2011 event. So, if you had a question or concern when you attended last year, don’t worry, we’ve heard you. We’re upping interaction, networking, ambiance, and fun. We can’t give you the details just yet, but know your TEDxNaperville coordinators are in full work-mode, ensuring you have the best possible experience.

If you or someone you know would like to speak at our event and share your idea worth spreading, please contact us at info@tedxnaperville.com.

Additionally, if you would like to help us make this the best TEDx event of 2012 by volunteering or get your brand in front of hundreds of TEDx attendees by sponsoring our event, you can also contact us at info@tedxnaperville.com.

Why does XNet do this?  XNet seeks to support the community it has done business in for the past 18 years. Since 2010, we’ve hosted annual TEDxNaperville events built on bringing the brightest minds of Chicagoland to Naperville to share their ideas worth spreading. We’ve also hosted numerous social networking events called SiliconPrairieSocials that facilitate collaboration between tech industry leaders in the suburbs.  Through hosting and sponsoring networking and collaboration events in the suburbs, we believe we can raise the profile of those who work here and better our community.

Announcing our new SiliconPrairieSocial!

The SiliconPraireSocial (SPS) scheduled for 3/29 has been canceled. We will be rescheduling it for a later month. For those of you who have already purchased tickets, your money will be refunded. Stay tuned for information on a new SPS in the coming weeks.

If you’ve experienced a SiliconPraireSocial (SPS) in the past, you may have asked, “When are we having another one!?” Well, over the past months, XNet has been in full stride working on many community development projects, including its annual free-thinking conference, TEDxNaperville.  Now that TEDxNaperville and other projects are up and running, XNet is proud to announce a brand new SPS event!

On March 29^th, tech enthusiasts will converge on Ballydoyle Irish Pub and Restaurant in Downers Grove to network, celebrate technology, eat and drink, and enjoy great tech conversation.  This won’t be your standard SPS though.  Towards the end of the event, we will be hosting a PowerPoint Karaoke – a fun activity where small teams will get a set of random images and a small amount of time to prepare a PowerPoint presentation for everyone. Hilariousness will ensue!

If you’re new to SiliconPraireSocial and are not sure what to expect, you can check us out at www.siliconprairiesocial.com/about or read our recent blog post explaining who we are and what we do.

Tickets are on sale now, so head over to http://sps.ticketbud.com/sps to get yours today!

The Facts:

Where: Ballydoyle Irish Pub and Restaurant in Downers Grove, 5157 Main St., Downers Grove, IL

Parking Information: http://www.downers.us/res/parking-and-transportation/commuter-parking

When: Thursday, March 29^th, 2012

Time: 5:30pm – 7:30pm with Karaoke at 7:30pm - 8:00pm

Tickets: $10.61, includes a draft beer and generous appetizers

Sign up: http://sps.ticketbud.com/sps

What’s XNet President Arthur Zards Doing This Week?

You may notice something different about XNet President Arthur Zards every year about this time - he becomes bald.  Not permanently, but he sports a cleanly shaved head right around every St. Patrick’s Day. Why? Because every year Arthur chooses to support his community by participating in St. Baldrick’s Foundation shaving events and fundraisers.

Collectively, XNet actively pursues community development opportunities like TEDxNaperville and SiliconPrairieSocial to give back to the area. However, each XNet employee also has their own individual passions and endeavors that make XNet more than just a company.  One of XNet President Arthur Zards’ passions is raising awareness of kids fighting cancer in an effort to help find a cure.

Each year, Arthur donates his time and his hair to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a volunteer-driven charity that funds more childhood cancer research grants than any other organization, except the U.S. government. On March 18^th, Arthur will be at Ballydoyle Irish Pub and Restaurant in Aurora, Illinois having his head shaved to honor Kids like Lilly, a 10-year-old from Frankfort who was diagnosed with an extremely rare Desmoid Tumor at the age of 3.

Read more about Lily

Arthur would like your support helping kids like Lily by raising money to find a cure. He’s looking for five dollar donations to help him reach his goal of giving $500. To make a donation, visit Arthur’s St. Baldrick’s Foundation Participant page and click “Make a Donation.”