In his classic Innocents Abroad, Mark Twain wrote one of his most famous lines: “Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things can not be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” TED is anchored by the belief that brilliance is a public good — that inspiration, intellectualism, passion […]
Alice Dreger gave a powerful talk at TEDxNorthwestern on how our changing perception of anatomical differences is also changing our democracy. She was in New York today, so we invited her to the TED office for a live Q&A, where she posed this question: The recent passage of gay marriage rights in New York demonstrates […]
On anatomy, destiny, marriage … 1-3pm Eastern. She asks: The recent passage of gay marriage rights in New York demonstrate what I talked about in my TED lecture — the steady historical movement away from dividing people based on anatomical differences. What do you think our democracy is going to look like in the future, […]
Charlie Sheen. Weinergate. Obama’s birth certificate. If you think the stories major media outlets obsess about hit tawdry new lows each week, you’re not alone. But you don’t have to follow the industry into the abyss of banality. You can do something about it, starting with your daily media consumption choices. In her provocative new […]
As part of our 5th anniversary, we’ve rolled out some improvements to the Talk page on TED.com — the place where many people first encounter a TEDTalk. Most noticeable: in the right-hand column, you’ll see we’ve rearranged how we show you the talk description and the short speaker bio. Click on one of the little […]
TED.com video exists to celebrate great speakers, thinkers, doers — people with ideas that are passionately held and clearly put. For our speakers, putting their videos online has, in many cases, amplified their work beyond imagination, provoking new connections and directions to their careers and even their lives. As we approached the fifth anniversary of […]
In talking to our readers and speakers, a fascinating fact emerged: At least two people, two different people, have tattoos inspired by a TEDTalk. The same TEDTalk: Rives’ “Mockingbird” remix of TED2006. There must be more. So, a pledge: For every TED-inspired tattoo we hear about, I have promised to donate $1 to the Kickstarter […]
On June 27, 2006, we flipped the switch on TED Talks, bringing talks from TED to the world for the first time. It was early days for online video — YouTube was just a year old; the video iPod had been around for six months — so we launched with six talks and modest goals, […]
In this passionate talk from TEDxSanMigueldeAllende that’s already caused a sensation in Mexico, Emiliano Salinas, son of former president Carlos Salinas de Gortari, confronts the current climate of violence in Mexico — or rather, how Mexican society responds to it. He calls on ordinary citizens to move from denial and fear to peaceful, community-based action. […]
Today, on the fifth birthday of TEDTalks video, we’re releasing a new list of the 20 most-watched TEDTalks over the past five years — as watched on all the platforms we track: TED.com, YouTube, iTunes, embed and download, Hulu and more … What a great, mixed-up group this is! Talks about education and creativity, sex […]
In his legendary presentation “Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics (About TEDTalks),” stats head Sebastian Wernicke breaks down the phrases that make up the highest- and lowest-rated TEDTalks — offering a foolproof blueprint for creating a can’t-possibly-fail TED moment of your own. To celebrate TED video’s 5th birthday, he’s updated his research to include the first […]
Performer Joshua Walters is based in San Francisco; he capped a several-week road trip this spring by playing the TED Full Spectrum Auditions in New York. His wiry, thought-provoking comedy bit about mental illness earned him today’s spot on TED.com. TED’s Will True spoke to Walters just after he jumped offstage that night in Manhattan. […]
To help journalists and emergency responders, Jon Gosier is developing SwiftRiver, a platform that sorts massive amounts of web and SMS data for accuracy. With his Ugandan innovation hub Appfrica standing on its own two feet, Jon has moved back to the US. Co-Founder of metaLayer, a company that adds visual data to real world […]
The Floating City is a rich multiplayer transmedia game within a living world based around Thomas Dolby’s latest musical endeavors. “The Floating City is set against a dystopian vision of the 1940s that might have existed had WWII turned out a lot differently,” says Dolby. A global energy experiment went haywire, the Earth’s magnetic fields […]
This week, the world’s advertising and communication agencies have sent their top executives and creativites to Cannes, on the French Riviera, for the annual Festival of Creativity and the Cannes Lions awards. In the scope of a partnership with Starcom MediaVest Group, TED was in Cannes and presented two sessions. On Tuesday, on the main […]
We’re thrilled to announce the launch of the TEDxTalks video site on TED.com — where more than 7,000 TEDx videos are curated and tagged by topic, country, language, event. Play through 73 videos on Dance … 260 talks in Korean … browse our Editor’s Picks … or just see what’s new. Another cool resource on […]