TED (conference)

The foundation's logo.

TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) is a global set of conferences curated by the American private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading". Since June 2006,[1] the talks have been offered for free viewing online, under a Creative Commons license, through TED.com. As of July 2010, over 700 talks are available free online. By January 2009 they had been viewed 50 million times; In July 2010, the viewing figure stands at more than 290 million, attracted a still growing global audience. [2]

TED was founded in 1984 as a one-off event, and the conference was held annually from 1990 in Monterey, California. TED's early emphasis, was largely technology and design, consistent with a Silicon Valley center of gravity. The events are now held in Long Beach and Palm Springs in the U.S. as well as in Europe and Asia, offering live streaming of the talks. They address an increasingly wide range of topics within the research and practice of science and culture. The speakers are given a maximum of 18 minutes to present their ideas in the most innovative and engaging ways they can. Past presenters include Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, Malcolm Gladwell, Al Gore, Gordon Brown, Richard Dawkins, Bill Gates, the founders of Google and many Nobel Prize winners.[3]TED's current curator is the British former computer journalist and magazine publisher Chris Anderson.

From 2005 to 2009, three $100,000 TED Prizes were awarded annually to help its winners realize a chosen wish to change the world. From 2010, in a changed selection process, a single winner is chosen to ensure that TED can maximize its efforts in achieving the winner's wish. Each winner unveils their wish at the main annual conference.

Contents

Background

Bill Clinton addresses TED, 2007
Curator Chris Anderson in 2007
Robert Ballard giving an impassioned presentation on the importance of exploring the oceans at TED 2008

The TED staff is headquartered in New York City and Vancouver. The conference had been held in Monterey, California, since its founding, but since 2009 has been held in Long Beach, California, due to an increased number of attendees.[4] The TED conference also has a companion conference, TEDGlobal, held in varying locations. Last year, TEDGlobal 2009, The Substance of Things Not Seen, was held in Oxford, UK, July 21–24, 2009. The most recent event was TED 2010, What the World Needs Now in Long Beach, California, February 9–13, 2010.[5]

TED's mission statement begins:

We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we're building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other.[6]

Attendees of TED are called "TEDsters".

History

TED was founded by Richard Saul Wurman and Harry Marks in 1984, and has been held annually since 1990. Wurman, credited with having coined the term information architect in 1979, left after the 2002 conference; the event is now hosted by Chris Anderson and owned by his non-profit organization, The Sapling Foundation,[7] devoted to "leveraging the power of ideas to change the world". In 2006, attendance cost $4,400 and was by invitation only.[8] The membership model was shifted in January 2007 to an annual membership fee of $6,000, which includes attendance of the conference, club mailings, networking tools and conference DVDs.

Since June 2007, TED Talks have been made available online on the TED website, YouTube, iTunes,[9][10][11] and since late 2009, there has been a free iPhone app.[12] The TED website recently won the Webby Award for Best Use of Video or Moving Image at the 13th Annual Webby Awards.[13] TED Talks are transcribed and translated into a number of languages as part of the TED Open-Translation Project, which aims to "[reach] out to the 4.5 billion people on the planet who don't speak English," according to TED Curator Chris Anderson. At the time of the launch, over 300 translations were done by volunteer transcribers in over 40 languages.[5]

Controversies and criticism

Sarah Silverman

TED drew some controversy when in 2010 Sarah Silverman was invited to speak at the conference, and in response to her speech about adopting a "retarded" child (a term she chose specifically to use in response to Sarah Palin campaign against the word). TED organizer Chris Anderson posted to his Twitter account, "I know I shouldn’t say this about one of my own speakers, but I thought Sarah Silverman was god-awful…"[14] Anderson later deleted his tweet, but Silverman responded via her Twitter account "Kudos to [Chris Anderson] for making TED an unsafe haven for all! You're a barnacle of mediocrity on Bill Gates' asshole."[15] Anderson apologized for his tweet on his Posterous account, but also wrote "Call me stuffy, but I still think humor about terminally-ill "retarded" kids is an acquired taste... And not a taste I personally want to acquire."[16] To date, the video of Silverman's speech has not been posted on the TED website.[17]

Nassim Taleb

Nassim Taleb criticizes TED for intellectual dishonesty and lack of substance in the latest edition of The Black Swan (2010). He calls TED a “monstrosity that turns scientists and thinkers into low-level entertainers, like circus performers.” Of all the venues he’s been invited to talk, he calls TED an aberration. Taleb spoke at TED2008, warning the audience about the fragility of the financial system. He claimed that the curators did not choose to post his talk on their website on purely cosmetic grounds. [18]

Sarah Lacy

Sarah Lacy of BusinessWeek and TechCrunch has criticized TED for claims of elitism. Lacy cites TED's $6,000 ticket price, poor treatment of less important attendees, and such events as a friend being "de-invited to TED after quitting an ostensibly prestigious San Francisco job" as evidence of her claims.[19] Alternatively, Lacy applauded TED for moving the event to a larger venue in Long Beach and posting videos of its talks online for free.[20]

TED Prize

The TED Prize was introduced in 2005. In previous years, three individuals were each given $100,000 and granted a "wish to change the world", which they unveil at TED. However, starting in 2010, only one prize is awarded since "at least half of [the wishes] still require our engagement," and, "adding too many more risks dilution of effort."[21]

2005 [22] 2006 [23] 2007 [24] 2008 [25] 2009 [26] 2010 [27]
Bono Larry Brilliant Bill Clinton Neil Turok Sylvia Earle Jamie Oliver
Edward Burtynsky Jehane Noujaim Edward O. Wilson Dave Eggers Jill Tarter
Robert Fischell Cameron Sinclair James Nachtwey Karen Armstrong José Antonio Abreu

Programs

TED Fellows

The TED Fellows[28] fellowship program brings together young world-changers and trailblazers who have shown unusual accomplishment and exceptional courage.[29] The program targets individuals from the Asia/Pacific region, Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Middle East, though anyone from anywhere in the world, age 18 and over, can apply.

TED Senior Fellows 2010

TED Fellows 2010

TED Fellows 2011

TEDx

TEDxParis, 2009: one of many events now organized under the TEDx program

TEDx is a program that enables schools, businesses, libraries or just groups of friends to enjoy a TED-like experience with TEDx Events they themselves organize, design and host.[30] As of 2010, TEDxevents events have been held in over 60 countries.[31]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.ted.com/pages/view/id/185
  2. ↑ Guardian article. Ted – the ultimate forum for blue-sky thinking. 4 July 2010. Accessed 2010-07-18
  3. ↑ TED: Speakers Retrieved on 6 February 2009 (primary source)
  4. ↑ Kim, Victoria (January 16, 2008). "Long Beach to host influential TED conference". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jan/16/business/fi-ted16. Retrieved February 13, 2010. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "TED Open-Translation Project Brings Subtitles in 40+ Languages to TED.com". Press release. September 13, 2009. http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1688129/ted_opentranslation_project_brings_subtitles_in_40_languages_to_tedcom/index.html?source=r_technology. Retrieved February 13, 2010. 
  6. ↑ "About TED". TED: Ideas worth spreading. TED Conferences, LLC. http://www.ted.com/pages/view/id/5. Retrieved February 13, 2010.  (primary source)
  7. ↑ TED: The Sapling Foundation Retrieved on 7 February 2009
  8. ↑ TED: Getting Invited (attendees) Retrieved on 7 February 2009 (primary source)
  9. ↑ The New York Times: Giving Away Information, but Increasing Revenue 16 April 2007
  10. ↑ Wired: Conference to Tackle Origins of Evil, Theories of Everything 26 February 2008
  11. ↑ TED YouTube channel
  12. ↑ "TED Review". MacWorld. 2009-12-22. http://www.macworld.com/appguide/app.html?id=66784. Retrieved 2009-12-23. 
  13. ↑ "WebbyNominees". WebbyAwards. TheBarbarianGroupLogo. http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?season=13. Retrieved 2009-05-13. 
  14. ↑ blog
  15. ↑ Techcrunch blog>
  16. ↑ Chris Anderson Blog
  17. ↑ Huffington Post 15-02-2010 article
  18. ↑ Taleb, Nassim (2010) The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable: With a New Section: "On Robustness and Fragility". Random House Trade p336 ISBN 081297381X
  19. ↑ [1]
  20. ↑ [2]
  21. ↑ Blog.TED.com (primary source)
  22. ↑ "TED Prize 2005". TEDPrize.org. http://www.tedprize.org/2005-winners/. Retrieved 2008-11-30.  (primary source)
  23. ↑ "TED Prize 2006". TEDPrize.org. http://www.tedprize.org/2006-winners/. Retrieved 2008-11-30.  (primary source)
  24. ↑ "TED Prize 2007". TEDPrize.org. http://www.tedprize.org/2007-winners/. Retrieved 2008-11-30.  (primary source)
  25. ↑ "TED Prize 2008". TEDPrize.org. http://www.tedprize.org/2008-winners/. Retrieved 2008-11-30.  (primary source)
  26. ↑ "TED Prize 2009". TEDPrize.org. http://www.tedprize.org/2009-winners/. Retrieved 2008-11-30.  (primary source)
  27. ↑ "TED Prize 2010". TEDPrize.org. http://www.tedprize.org/jamie-oliver/. Retrieved 2009-12-21.  (primary source)
  28. ↑ [3]
  29. ↑ Ted.com (primary source)
  30. ↑ TED.com (primary source)
  31. ↑ TEDx past events listing, and TEDx planned events listing (primary source)

External links