After a couple of weeks in beta, the new TED Books app launched today on iPad and iPhone and I’m incredibly excited about it. Here’s why.

1. It brings together all of our authors in one irresistible package. 16 current titles with new ones to be released every two weeks.

2. It’s free. I think a lot of people are going to download it. The titles cost $2.99 each BUT see 9 below for a tasty surprise….

3. The app offers all the goodies you’d expect in the age of the tablet: glorious images, video, audio, links to maps, online resources, search, commenting, sharing, automatically updated editions, and much more.

4. But, crucially, the app retains the linear narrative thread that makes reading so appealing. Some ambitious attempts to create ebooks on a tablet have somehow abandoned this. When you snuggle up with a book, you want the author to take you on a journey. You don’t want to have to make constant choices as to what to look at. If you think of a book as a wonderful train journey, some ebook apps effectively boot you off the train and make you travel by rental car. They make you explore more than you want to. I see the the TED Books app as retaining the feel of a train journey but with the added bonus that you can look up from time to time and enjoy spectacular new views. In other words, you start at the beginning, and continue through to the end. But from time to time, when an image or a video or an external link could add to the meaning of what you’re reading, they are there for you to enjoy.

This is why we commissioned our partners at The Atavist to build this app for us. Of all the e-book developers, it seemed to us they had best understood how to combine new media wizardry with the traditional lure of reading. Try it out. There are lots of enhancements to come. But what’s already here is pretty amazing.

5. Each book can be read in a single session. Just an hour or so. I see this as a terrific fit for our over-busy lives. One reason reading has been in decline is that it’s just too daunting to start a traditional 80,000-word book knowing it will take hours and hours to complete. You could argue that traditional books are the length they are in part because people once had fewer competing claims on their leisure time, and in part because the physical nature of a printed product means that books have to be a couple hundred pages long to feel like value for money.

But today the question to ask of a nonfiction book is: What is the right length to explain this idea? There are many 80,000-word nonfiction books that communicate most of their value in a couple of chapters, the rest padded out because — well, gee — books just have to be a certain length. We’re excited to offer books that are mostly in the 15,000- to 20,000-word range. And just as an 18-minute talk can often (because of the discipline of compression) be better than a 60-minute talk, so these short books encourage authors to offer focused gems of explanation.

6. Our authors rock! Most of them have given TED Talks (and these are included by the way, in each book as a video epilogue), but the books dig into their subject matter far more deeply than their TED Talk ever could. A TED Talk is typically 2,000 words. These are 10x more. From the future of humanity to the secrets of happiness, these books offer transformational thinking.

7. We’re offering authors a new publishing model.Traditionally the time from completion of manuscript to appearance on the street is as much as a year. In this format we can shrink that to a month or less. And instead of offering authors 10-12% of cover price, we split proceeds with them 50/50. (And by the way, all of our share of the revenue is being reinvested to grow this platform.)

8. It’s the logical next step for TED. Our mission is “ideas worth spreading.” The talks have proved a hit, having been viewed more than 800 million times. But people inspired or intrigued by those talks tell us they want to dig deeper. The best way to do that is in a book.

And last, but most definitely not least….

9. We’re unveiling a new way to collect books: by subscription. We’re releasing a new book every 2 weeks, and we’d like people to own every one of them. Why? The same reason why many people want to watch a wide range of TED Talks. There’s terrific benefit to signing up for breadth of knowledge as well as depth. This is the path to:
- multi-disciplinary stimulation
- unexpected inspiration and insight
- a richer understanding of the world
- an expanded sense of possibility
- a reading experience shared with many others. “Have you read this week’s TED book?!”

People have come to trust TED’s curation of talks, accepting that we’ll only post what we consider to be really interesting and significant. We’re asking for the same level of trust when it comes to book selections. And in a time-constrained world that’s going to be very appealing to some people. Given a landscape of millions of competing titles out there, it overcomes the difficulty of discovery.

P.S. Yes, an Android version (including Kindle Fire) to follow. Yes, TED Books also available as Kindle Singles and on Nook, iBook and more. Learn more about TED Books.

Today marks a big new chapter in the TED story, as we unveil the first part of our TED-Ed initiative. Viewed one way, it’s just the release on YouTube of a dozen short videos created for high school students and lifelong learners. But we’re committed to growing this archive to hundreds of videos within a year, and I thought it would be helpful to jot down a few personal notes on why we’re doing this …

Teachers are heroes. That’s pretty much the founding principle of TED-Ed. TED’s core mission is to spread great ideas, and teachers are right there at the deep end. They’ve dedicated their lives to helping shape the minds of the next generation. There is no more noble or important work. TED-Ed is our way of reaching out to teachers and saying: Can we help?

Because the question we’ve been asking with increasing urgency the past couple years is: Could we do something similar to TED Talks that would work better in schools? Something that would give teachers a useful new tool to spark curiosity — shorter than 18 minutes, and targeted to the curriculum they teach. And more than that, could we create a platform that would allow teachers to share their best lesson to a much wider audience?

Read Chris’ full note >>

Photo: Duncan Davidson

Bryan Stevenson’s talk inspired one of the longest and loudest standing ovations in TED’s history. And it provoked a blizzard of requests from audience members that we find a way to support the work of his nonprofit organization, the Equal Justice Initiative.

When I asked Bryan about funding needs, this is what he said: “We are trying to raise $1.5 million for a campaign that ends excessive sentencing of children and stops the practice of putting kids in adult jails and prisons, where they are 10 times more likely than other incarcerated people to be the victims of sexual assault and violence. We just started this effort, and support from the TED community could be huge. I’ll be arguing a case in the U.S. Supreme Court on this issue next month.”

So the next day, I invited members of the audience to contribute. In just a few minutes 6 people pledged $100,000 each, 18 pledged $10,000 and more than 100 pledged $1,000. With subsequent pledges received by text and email, and a $100,000 contribution from TED itself, I was able to write to Bryan confirming that TED will be writing his organization a check for $1.12m.

But beyond that, it’s clear that many people who saw this talk want ongoing involvement on this issue. Bryan’s organization can be contacted directly here. And TED is committed to making this issue a core part of its TED Prize initiative on The City 2.0. The thinking here is that the future of cities and massive incarceration levels are inextricably linked. If huge numbers of families are missing their fathers, it’s hard to imagine how inner-city renewal takes place. The City 2.0 initiative is all about empowering citizens in every city to work together to shape their city’s future. So we plan to work with Bryan to build a system that will allow people to take action locally on this issue. If you have thoughts on how this could be done, or wish to offer help, please write to tedprize@ted.com.

It’s truly thrilling to see what happens when someone comes to TED and induces a whole new view of the world in our audience — and does so in such a powerful and inspiring way. I suspect the response to this talk will be equally massive online. If you haven’t yet seen it, you really must. It’s here.

– Chris Anderson

[via YouTube]

The news that Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has been detained by authorities has prompted significant concern here at TED HQ. We had shown a film of him at last month’s conference, an unexpected and courageous statement about his treatment by the government, social change, the power of the web, and his hope for the future of China. The film, which was shown as Ai Weiwei himself watched live over the web in the middle of the night, prompted a huge standing ovation from the TED audience.

TED is a nonpartisan, nonpolitical organization, and we understand the Chinese authorities’ concern at anything which might provoke social unrest. But for anyone who believes in the power of ideas, of human imagination, it is heartbreaking to see one of the world’s great artists shackled in this way. We will be tracking developments carefully. Here is the film.

– Chris Anderson

We invite you to view them here and join in the conversation about them. (Each winner has a page of its own where this conversation can take place.) TED is charging nothing to show these ads. Instead, we’re simply trying to nurture ads on TED.com that are appreciated by you, our audience. You may have noticed that TED never puts ads in front of its videos. This is a deliberate choice. We don’t believe in shoving ads down people’s throats. We would like the ads on our site to be viewed because you want to view them.

Some people have an instinctive dislike of corporations and hate all marketing messages of any kind. But if you care about a better future, then corporations have to be part of that conversation. One way or another, they have a giant impact on the world. At our conferences, we engage with some of the world’s biggest corporations in a constructive way. We’d like ongoing engagement on our website too — and we’d like you to be part of it.

Because they run after the talks, we can let these ads run longer than a standard 30-second TV spot. That allows them to adopt a different tone. Less marketing spin, more authentic story-telling. We’re excited at the possibility of the emergence of a new, longer form of communication that is more human and more compelling.

But what matters is what you think. So please, check out this collection of ads and tell us what you make of them.

Ideas are free. But distributing them costs money. We count on our partners for that. It will mean a lot to us — and to them — if you will take the time to view the films they’ve created on our site, and give constructive feedback, both this week when the ads are running for free, and in future when they’re helping fund the spread of ideas.

Many thanks,
Chris Anderson
TED Curator

There’s a worrying trend in online advertising. Many sites are reporting falling click-through rates — and marketers are responding by resorting to ever more aggressive ways of ambushing your attention. We’re launching an initiative to find a better way! TED’s mission is “ideas worth spreading.” You, our audience, are expert at identifying the things that matter and then sharing them with your friends and colleagues. In that spirit, we’re rolling out our search for Ads Worth Spreading.

Ideas may be free, but distributing them around the world costs money, especially when the audience is in the many millions. The reason we can offer our talks for free is because those costs are supported by our business partners. Unlike some, we don’t run long ads ahead of the talks — and never will. But we would like you to watch our partners’ ads nonetheless. And the best chance of that happening is if the ads evoke the same emotions a TEDTalk does. They should make you think, make you respond, make you want to share. They should amplify your passion, not ambush it.

So we’ve created a challenge to find great online ads — ads that elevate the craft and invent new forms of online engagement. We invite you to enter this challenge!

To get inspired, watch this talk, also embedded above, which explains our vision for Ads Worth Spreading.

Entries can be hysterically funny, stunningly beautiful, or just intriguing, fascinating, ingenious and persuasive. They can promote a product directly, or tell a story, or, even better, promote an idea.

Online video is the focus of the Ads Worth Spreading Challenge, and we will accept video submissions that vary in length from 30 seconds to 5 minutes. However, we will also accept and consider non-video submissions that introduce new online advertising solutions. Please note that non-video submissions are not eligible to win all of the prizes listed here. Please see our submission guidelines for more specifics.

We’re looking for ads/videos in these four categories:

INFECTIOUSLY COMPELLING: Advertising that is just so good — funny, smart, beautiful, useful, etc. — you want to talk about it and share it with friends. A highly engaging concept with an entertaining or gripping execution that makes you say, “I’ve got to show this to everyone I know.”

INDUSTRY IMPACT: Advertising so groundbreaking and innovative — in form and function — that it makes waves. Whether it features a first-ever or “I’ve-never-seen-that-before” element, these videos live at the intersection of creativity and technology.

TALK: Advertising that features a single individual sharing his or her idea or perspective, in the style of a TEDTalk (within 30 secs to 5 mins). It could be a CEO standing on a stage telling a personal story or an engineer sharing an amazing tech demo. It’s likely to feature insight, honesty, openness, ingenuity and/or humor!

SOCIAL GOOD: Advertising that attempts to right a wrong, fix a problem, raise money or awareness, and/or change the world. Winning work will feature a powerful idea or an innovative approach conveyed by meaningful storytelling that resonates with the viewer. These ads should be driven by passion with a call to action for viewers.

A multidisciplinary judging panel will select up to 10 winning ads – based on factors like innovation, intelligence, authenticity, humor, craft — and we’ll do all we can to give them a little glory. First we’ll unveil them from the main stage at TED2011 in California. Then we’ll feature the ad on TED.com, both on a dedicated, share-able page that will remain on the site for at least a year, and as post-roll ads that will run for free, for one week in March. We’ve also partnered with YouTube, who will feature select winners on the YouTube homepage, and as ads throughout their site. See the full list of prizes >>

Learn more about Ads Worth Spreading >>

The deadline for submissions is Monday, February 7, 2011, at 11:59 PM ET/GMT+5. Winners will be notified Monday, February 23, 2011, and announced at TED2011 in March 2011.

See the official Ads Worth Spreading rules. And please email adsworthspreading@ted.com with any questions or feedback.

We’re excited to see your ads worth spreading!

NYU professor Clay Shirky gave a fantastic talk on new media during our TED@State event earlier this month. He revealed how cellphones, the web, Facebook and Twitter had changed the rules of the game, allowing ordinary citizens extraordinary new powers to impact real-world events. As protests in Iran exploded over the weekend, we decided to rush out his talk, because it could hardly be more relevant. I caught up with Clay this afternoon to get his take on the significance of what is happening. HIs excitement was palpable.

What do you make of what’s going on in Iran right now.
I’m always a little reticent to draw lessons from things still unfolding, but it seems pretty clear that … this is it. The big one. This is the first revolution that has been catapulted onto a global stage and transformed by social media. I’ve been thinking a lot about the Chicago demonstrations of 1968 where they chanted “the whole world is watching.” Really, that wasn’t true then. But this time it’s true … and people throughout the world are not only listening but responding. They’re engaging with individual participants, they’re passing on their messages to their friends, and they’re even providing detailed instructions to enable web proxies allowing Internet access that the authorities can’t immediately censor. That kind of participation is reallly extraordinary.

Which services have caused the greatest impact? Blogs? Facebook? Twitter?
It’s Twitter. One thing that Evan (Williams) and Biz (Stone) did absolutely right is that they made Twitter so simple and so open that it’s easier to integrate and harder to control than any other tool. At the time, I’m sure it wasn’t conceived as anything other than a smart engineering choice. But it’s had global consequences. Twitter is shareable and open and participatory in a way that Facebook’s model prevents. So far, despite a massive effort, the authorities have found no way to shut it down, and now there are literally thousands of people aorund the world who’ve made it their business to help keep it open.

Do you get a sense that it’s almost as if the world is figuring out live how to use Twitter in these circumstances? Some dissidents were using named accounts for a while, and there’s been a raging debate in the community about how best to help them.
Yes, there’s an enormous reckoning to be had about what works and what doesn’t. There have been disagreements over whether it was dangerous to use hashtags like #Iranelection, and there was a period in which people were openly tweeting the IP addresses of web proxies for people to switch to, not realizing that the authorities would soon shut these down. It’s incredibly messy, and the definitive rules of the game have yet to be written. So yes, we’re seeing the medium invent itself in real time.

Talk some more about the sense of participation on Twitter. It seems to me that that has spurred an entirely deeper level of emotional connection with these events.
Absolutely. I’ve been saying this for a while — as a medium gets faster, it gets more emotional. We feel faster than we think. But Twitter is also just a much more personal medium. Reading personal messages from individuals on the ground prompts a whole other sense of involvement. We’re seeing everyone desperate to do something to show solidarity like wear green — and suddenly the community figures out that it can actually offer secure web proxies, or persuade Twitter to delay an engineering upgrade — we can help keep the medium open.

When I see John Perry Barlow setting himself up as a router, he’s not performing these services as a journalist. He’s engaged. Traditional media operates as source of inofrmation not as a means of coordination. It can’t do more than make us sympathize. Twitter makes us empathize. It makes us part of it. Even if it’s just retweeting, you’re aiding the goal that dissidents have always sought: the awareness that the ouside world is paying attention is really valuable.

Of course the downside of this emotional engagement is that while this is happening, I feel like I can’t in good consicence tweet about anything else!

There was fury on Twitter against CNN for not adequately covering the situation. Was that justified?
In a way it wasn’t. I’m sure that for the majority of the country, events in Iran are not of grave interest, even if those desperate for CNN’s Iran info couldn’t get access to it. That push model of one message for all is an incredibly crappy way of linking supply and demand.

CNN has the same problem this decade that Time magazine had last decade. They simultaneously want to appeal to middle America and leading influencers. Reaching multiple audiences is increasingly difficult. The people who are hungry for info on events of global significance are used to instinctively switching on CNN. But they are realizng that that reflex doesn’t serve them very well anymore, and that can’t be good for CNN.

Do you get the sense that these new media tools are helping build a global community, forged more by technology and a desire for connection, than by traditional political or religious divides?
You can see it clearly in what’s happening right now. And it cuts both ways. The guy we’re rallying around, Mousavi, is no liberal reformer. But the principle of freedom of speech and fair elections and the desire for reform trump that.

So how does this play out?
It’s complex. The Ahmadinejad supporters are going to use the fact of English-speaking and American participation to try to damn the dissidents. But whatever happens from here, the dissidents have seen that large numbers of American people, supposedly part of “the great Satan,” are actually supporters. Someone tweeted from Tehran today that “the American media may not care, but the American people do.” That’s a sea-change.

As you know, nearly three years ago, we starting posting our TEDTalks freely online. Ever since then, hundreds of people have been sharing TEDTalks in independently organized group settings — in private homes, high schools, universities, corporate lunches, and salons.

Because TED’s mission is “ideas worth spreading,” we’re enthusiastic about people doing this. And today, we formally launch the TEDx program to the world. TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event, is a program to promote local events with the TED spirit. Learn more about it at www.ted.com/tedx.

We tested the concept with a few partners, and have been thrilled with the outcome. In fact, today, we’re releasing our first TEDxTalk: the Biospherian Jane Poynter, who spoke at the TEDxUSC “Ideas Empowered” Conference. This is the first in what we hope will be a series of new voices and ideas from around the world. You can see highlights from some of our first TEDx events here:
+ TEDxUSC
+ TEDxTokyo

Upcoming TEDx events on the schedule will be held in all corners of the world – from Sydney, Australia, Shanghai, China and the Fiji Islands to Qatar and Capetown, South Africa. The complete list is available at http://on.ted.com/r.

Or sign up to host your own TEDx event. Invite friends, family or co-workers, and send us feedback after your event.

We hope you are as excited about this program as we are and will consider joining us on our newest TED journey.

Well, first of all, TED is strictly nonpartisan. In fact, we tend to stay away from politics altogether. But our mission is “ideas worth spreading” — and this talk features an idea that absolutely belongs in that category. Michelle Obama visited a girls’ school in London during her recent trip to the UK, and issued a passionate, personal plea for the students to take education seriously. It’s hardly a new idea. But we felt that the way it was expressed was eloquent and inspiring — and well worth a slot here at TED.com, especially considering that young adults are the fastest growing section of our audience.

So we informed the White House of our plans, contacted the BBC to obtain the footage, and created the edit posted here.

In the coming months we plan to feature a number of talks that we consider “best of the web.” So long as they’re short and powerful and contain an idea worth spreading, we’re eager to feature them.

We’d love your feedback on this first one. Love it? hate it? Appropriate for TED? Please view, ponder, and comment!