Truth or Dare
Ideas Worth Spreading
This week Steve is attending his 10th TED conference in Vancouver, Canada. Encompassing 18-minute talks on Technology, Entertainment, Design, (that is, TED) and much more, the conference looks to offer a new lens on the world today and/or propose new possibilities for the world of tomorrow. The theme this year being Truth & Dare, a little known, but honest truth about this forward-thinking event is in order: They failed.
You saw that right. They had a negative profit. It took founder Richard Saul Wurman and partner Harry Marks six years after their first attempt in 1984 to launch a successful conference that actually made money and attracted an inspiring group of speakers. However, having learned from their previous failures, the conference soon became a yearly event garnering a larger crowd with each passing year.
It wasn’t until 2000 when media entrepreneur Chris Anderson met with Wurman with a vision to shine a spotlight on TED that the event began to broadcast on their own website. This format expanded TED’s reach and allowed anyone to view the thought leadership pieces. As a result, by 2009 the number of TED Talk views grew to 100 million. This year, the conference celebrates its 31st year of providing a stage for out-of-the-box thinking and story-telling. In that same spirit of “ideas worth spreading”, Steve would like to share three of his all-time favorite Talks:
“He was a watershed moment at TED. Never before have I seen wisdom and wit so delightfully presented. A must see for anyone interested in creativity.” – Steve Beshara
“She charmed us with her conquering spirit, turning a would-be handicap (amputated legs) into a superpower.” – Steve Beshara
“The author of 'Eat, Pray, Love' debunks the myth of creativity and genius – Ole!” - Steve Beshara
More incredible TED Talks to discover:
JILL BOLTE TAYLOR - My stroke of insight
JJ ABRAMS - The mystery box