Just what is "TED" you ask???
Here is a little "About TED", from their website at:
"TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.
The annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes)."
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The first one I watched was this one by Sir Ken Robinson, which is described as follows: "Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we're educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence."
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66 [2]
I have watched a number of them, but by no means all. They do take a while to digest :-)
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Here is a list of their speakers: http://www.ted.com/index.php/speakers/browse/page/1 [3]
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......and this is their new website announcement:
TED Conference Launches All-New Website Focused on the Distribution of Its Award-Winning Audio and Video podcasts
Redesigned Website promotes "Ideas Worth Spreading"
April 16, 2007. New York, NY. TED, known for its annual invitation-only summit of the world's brightest minds, today unveiled the new TED website (www.ted.com [4]), showcasing the extraordinary talks that have made TED famous. With its striking design and groundbreaking video technology, the free site encourages audience participation consistent with its tagline, "Ideas worth spreading".
"This is an important moment in TED's history," said Chris Anderson, Curator of TED. "With the launch of our new website we're really saying to the world: We want to share with you our best content for free, and we want you to connect with like-minded people inspired by these talks. In other words, we see the site as a way of dramatically expanding our community from the 1000 people who attend the conference to millions of knowledge seekers around the globe."
TED is owned by a non-profit foundation whose mission is to leverage the power of ideas. The new website was inspired by the viral success of TEDTalks, the audio and video podcast series, which premiered in June 2006 and has been viewed more than 8.5 million times worldwide. The TEDTalks series was exclusively sponsored by BMW, who returns as the inaugural sponsor for TED.com.
"We were astounded by how quickly the audience for TEDTalks grew. But what surprised us even more was the impact the talks had on viewers. The extensive discussion in the blogosphere, and the depth of the emotional response inspired us to create this new site," said June Cohen, Director of TED Media, who led the development of TED.com. "When you think about the impact a single talk can have on a single person, and multiply that millions of times, the overall effect can be world-changing."
The new TED.com features:
Among its innovations, the new TED features a groundbreaking sponsorship with BMW, built around the opportunity that online video affords for engaging more intelligently with customers. A homepage "Ideas from our sponsor" video helps explain BMW's strategy for a post-carbon world, which centers around hydrogen as a source of clean energy.
"We are extremely pleased to be partnering with TED again on a venture that falls so perfectly in line with BMW's commitment to technology, sustainability, passion and the profound experiences that the power of ideas can deliver," said Jack Pitney, Vice President of Marketing, BMW of North America. "As inaugural sponsor of this project, we are helping TED deliver groundbreaking, inspiring content to everyone, everywhere. As evidenced by our previous project with TED, we truly believe that many of the breakthrough talks on TED.com -- topics like design innovation and sustainable energy alternatives, which are so central to BMW -- will help shape our future."
"BMW took a big chance on us when TEDTalks were just an idea, and we're thrilled to have them back as our new website's first sponsor. They share our commitment to ideas worth spreading," Cohen added.
The new TED.com was designed by New York and San Francisco-based design and branding firm Method (www.method.com [5]). TEDTalks are produced and edited by Jason Wishnow, award-winning filmmaker and TED's Director of Film and Video.
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About TED
TED is an invitation-only event where the world's leading thinkers and doers gather for inspiration and insight. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design -- three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future. In fact, the event is broader still, showcasing ideas that matter in any discipline. Attendees have called it "The ultimate brain spa" and "A four-day journey into the future." The audience -- CEOs, financiers, inventors, intellectuals -- is almost as extraordinary as the speakers, who have included Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Quincy Jones, Frank Gehry, Paul Simon, Philippe Starck and Bono.
Each year, TED features 50 of the world's most fascinating people. TED presenters run the world's most admired companies and design its best-loved products; they invent world-changing devices, and write best-selling books. They are trusted voices and convention-breaking mavericks, icons and geniuses. Collectively, they have won every major prize awarded for excellence, including the Nobel, Pritzker, Pulitzer, Oscar, Grammy, Emmy, Tony and Macarthur "Genius" grant. TED was first held in Monterey, CA in 1984. In 2001, Chris Anderson's Sapling Foundation acquired TED from its founder Richard Saul Wurman.
Links:
[1] http://www.ted.com/
[2] http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66
[3] http://www.ted.com/index.php/speakers/browse/page/1
[4] http://www.ted.com
[5] http://www.method.com