The TED Associate Membership allows you to watch next week’s TED conference live as it happens — and to do so in the company of friends, family or colleagues. It’s a category of TED membership that is relatively little known; we’re bringing it to your attention because we’re extraordinarily excited about next week’s program.

So what is an Associate Membership? Well, it allows a group of up to 10 people to gather and watch the TED conference together, using a high-quality live stream over the Internet. We charge $995 for the experience. At first glance, that may seem pricey. But with 10 people watching, it works out at $100 per person for four days of intense learning and inspiration (as compared with the $6000 people spend to attend live). The Associate Membership also entitles you to a year of the TED Book Club, access to the full conference livestream archive soon after the event, and DVDs containing conference highlights.

We offer this type of membership permitting group viewing, because we think it doesn’t make sense to try to watch a four-day conference alone or in a casual, partial-attention way. But if you make arrangements to gather with others and really commit to the time, it can be unforgettable. Here’s what Associate Members wrote us after last year’s event.

“To be able to watch it at home AND share it with a few friends – truly amazing. My wife said to me at the end of the first day – ‘now I understand why you come back from TED a little wrecked.’” - KT

“A group of five friends and colleagues gathered at my house this year to watch, tweet, and discuss the conference. We got to know each other better while engaging deeply with the content. I couldn’t be more pleased.” - Mark Gibson

“I shared some of TED2009 with friends, but I also lived it solo, from my architecture studio cubicle most of the time, and that was like going on a journey to different worlds in every 18 minutes. I laughed, dropped tears and applauded just like any other participants.” - Salim Bamakhrama

“The experience of watching TED2009 live was like being a kid in a candy store — candy for your brain! Getting up at 2AM (in Australia) and watching it through the night was not easy, but doing it with a couple of my closest entrepreneurial friends was worth every second.” - Igor Vainshtein

“Watching the videos from the TED website one at a time is just not the same as watching the live feed of the conference. You get into the rhythm of the quick pace of the sessions, feel the energy of the live performances. It’s very exciting to know that you are part of the first group of people to hear these talks.” - HB

TED2010 is being held Feb. 10-13, with the theme “What the World Needs Now …” Take a look at the program lineup: From the bigger names (Bill Gates, Daniel Kahneman, Stephen Wolfram, David Byrne, Temple Grandin, Benoit Mandelbrot, Jamie Oliver, Sir Ken Robinson, Sarah Silverman) to the under-the-radar delights, it’s a pretty special list.

Read more about Associate Membership benefits >>
Read more about technical requirements >>

To register, click here >>

Questions? Email associates@ted.com.

We hope you and your family, friends and/or colleagues will consider joining us for an inspiring conference and amazing social experience.

And if this isn’t for you, please know that many talks from TED2010 will be posted on TED.com in the coming weeks and months. Either way, you’re in for a treat.