TED
David Pogue’s column this week opened my eyes to the Technology Design Entertainment (TED) conference. Unlike Davos, and unlike Herb Allen’s Sun Valley conference (here’s Ken Auletta on that), TED seems to derive its cred from its speakers, not its attendees. Each speaker is given 18 minutes, tops, to give his or her talk (some can hardly be called presentations), and as Pogue says, I defy you to watch three of them and not be a more aware, maybe even changed thinker.
The other night I was watching Anna Deveare Smith’s talk, and Betty, looking over my shoulder, was captivated … as I was. Today, Saturday, I watched Peter Gabriel, then Malcolm Gladwell, and I’m stimulated in all new ways.
I’ll write more concerning Gladwell’s talk about Howard Moskowitz in another post, but my suggestion to you is STOP what you’re doing right now and follow Pogue’s recommendation: “here’s your homework. Set aside an hour and watch three of the TED talks online back to back.”
What’s your idea?