At the Stanford Media X Conference last week, Communications Professor Clifford Nass announced that he’d reveal (in six minutes) the most important trend affecting the future of media. Nass, always insightful on matters of media and technology, pointed not to a particular tool, but rather, the way they’re used. That is: simultaneously. Among teenagers especially, […]
… courtesy TEDster Russell Davies‘ blog
Ethos Water – a TED sponsor and water favorite – has been working to bring awareness to World Water Day – a UN designated day which draws attention to the water crisis worldwide. It’s this Wednesday, March 22 – and Ethos, along with Starbucks and a number of non-profits, have organized events in 11 cities […]
At TED2006, photographer Gregory Colbert gave a rare public appearance, showing 10 minutes of his astounding film and also announcing a controversial new initiative, the Animal Copyright Foundation, which aims to collect royalties from companies using images of nature in their advertising. Colbert’s work envisions a world in which humans live in exquisite harmony with […]
At TED2006, legendary spacecraft designer Burt Rutan came out swinging. “Houston, we have a problem,” he declared, and went on to lambast the government-funded space program for failing to inspire the next generation. NASA has stalled, he says, especially when it comes to manned flights. And the solution is privately funded spacecraft development (the kind […]
Oyogi, Yedda, Yoda, Renkoo, Squidoo, Lando, Lulu … Web 2.0 companies? Or Star Wars characters? Only a certain kind of person would know for sure… And if you scored well there, this typographic analysis of Web 2.0 logos will have you nodding in recognition. Hello, VAG Rounded! (Hat 2.0 tipped to David Nestor and Jason […]
I wish you all could have been there… A little bit of TED magic lit up the stage at LA’s Largo last night, where fast friends Jill Sobule and Julia Sweeney created a new kind of performance together. After meeting at TED2006, the two decided to collaborate, but freely admitted that they weren’t quite sure […]
At a landmark TED salon last spring, economist Steven Levitt and author Malcolm Gladwell crossed swords over the real reason New York City crime dropped in the 90s. In The Tipping Point, Gladwell credited the innovative policing tactics adopted under NYC Mayor Giuliani (which focused on softer “lifestyle crimes,” like subway graffiti and zoning violations) […]
Whether or not you saw Thomas’s barnstorming performance of "his song" at TED last month, this is pretty funny.
I had the great fortune of seeing Stew’s new show Passing Strange this evening at Stanford. The show, co-written by Stew and his collaborator Heidi Rodewald (who describes herself as "the thinner, lighter half" of STEW), is two hours of pure energy, thoughtfulness, poetry, and, of course, Stew. Passing Strange is the story of a […]
Note: Reflecting this year’s theme (The Future We Will Create), the stage and lobby at TED2006 were accented with a collection of distinctive objects, each representing a vision of the future. Thinc Design principal Tom Hennes led the curation effort, and talks here about how he chose. By Tom Hennes | A small group of […]
“Life will be everywhere,” explorer Penelope Boston told us at TED2006. “It will be everywhere we look.” Boston boldly proclaimed that we’ll find life throughout the universe, as soon as we start looking underground and in caves. And she may well be right… In a thrilling report published in the journal Science today, we learn […]
In the weeks, months, years that follow each TED, we track the connections and collaborations that began in Monterey. But only rarely do we see them pay off so quickly! Next week, TED favorites Jill Sobule and Julia Sweeney will perform together in Los Angeles. (Can you imagine anything more delightful?) After meeting at TED, […]
Like nearly everyone at TED2006, Jill Sobule was stirred by Al Gore’s spectacular speech on the clear and present danger of climate change. The time for action is now, Jill thought. And so she wrote a song. But since everyone else was so down about the impending collapse of ecological systems, which could lead to […]
“When did we start calling gossip ‘memes’?” TEDPrize director Amy Novogratz asked today, as we discussed our favorite rumor — I mean “meme” — from TED2006: It seems, many people (including some media outlets) mistakenly believed that David Bowie had joined us in Monterey. He’d be welcome, of course, but he wasn’t there. (Nor was […]
One of the most joyful moments at TED2006 had to be TED music director (and electronic music icon) Thomas Dolby playing his classic, “She Blinded me With Science.” As always, his performance blurred the lines between composition and invention, surprising at every turn. Everyone was left wanting more … Wish: granted. Thomas begins this week […]