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100 million views for TEDx! Plus: 5 great moments in TEDx Talks history

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Spring has been an exciting season for TEDx. In March, the program celebrated its 4th birthday; and now — just two months later — we’re excited to announce that the TEDx YouTube channel has reached its 100 millionth video view.

In 2009, the TEDx program was created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading,” to empower individuals, communities and organizations to bring ideas to the local level, with independent organizers curating TED-like events all over the world. Now, with over 6,000 events having taken place (with at least one on every continent!) and 30,000 talks online, TEDx is truly a global movement.

So, how did we get to 100 million views? Well, one, through the hard work of TEDx’s ever-expanding network of volunteers, who put on amazing events because they believe in the power of ideas. And, two, because of you, dear video viewers, curious enough about the world around you to watch talks about things like the fruit fly brain, the economic system of Trinidad and Tobago, and the very best way to use a paper towel.

And, now, to celebrate this milestone: 5 great moments in TEDx Talks history…

image1. A 12-year-old app developer: Thomas Suarez at TEDxManhattanBeach
Thomas Suarez was just 9 years old when he taught himself how to build iPhone apps, and only 12 when his talk at TEDxManhattanBeach went viral. Currently, Thomas’s talk had one of the biggest spikes in viewership in TEDx history.

image2. How to 3D print a house: Behrokh Khoshnevis at TEDxOjai
After Behrokh Khoshnevis’s TEDxOjai talk on the possibility of a house constructed completely by machine was posted on Reddit last August, views on YouTube exploded. Currently, the Reddit thread has 1,249 comments, which make up some very interesting conversations. Check it out here.

image3. Seeing beyond my suffering: Ali Taleb Almarrany at TEDxSanaa 
Only two months after its upload, Ali Taleb Almarrany’s talk at TEDxSanaa on overcoming obstacles to become a successful TV journalist became the TEDxTalks YouTube channel’s 6th most viewed talk ever. Pretty impressive.

image4. There are no women’s issues: Jackson Katz at TEDxFiDiWomen
Jackson Katz’s powerful TEDxFiDiWomen talk on violence and sexual assault made waves on the Internet after Upworthy featured it on their homepage, claiming that it “might turn every man who watches it into a feminist.”

image5. The First Taste: Saatchi & Saatchi at TEDxSydney
Probably the most adorable upload on the TEDxTalks YouTube channel to date, The First Taste, produced by the folks at Saatchi & Saatchi, has already been featured by Good Morning AmericaThe Huffington Post, and Mediabistro — just weeks after premiering at TEDxSydney. The video shows 7 youngsters trying foods for the first time, from anchovies to Vegemite. As our talks manager says, “Cute kids always win.”

This piece has been cross-posted from the TEDx blog. Read lots more TEDx news »