TED (conference)

TED Conferences, LLC
Type of businessLLC
Type of site
Conference
Available inEnglish, multilingual subtitles, transcript
FoundedFebruary 23, 1984 (1984-02-23)
Headquarters
Area served
  • Canada
  • United States
OwnerSapling Foundation (1984–2019)
TED Foundation (2019–present)[1]
Founder(s)
RevenueIncrease US$66.2 million (2015)[4]
URLted.com
RegistrationOptional
Launched
  • February 23, 1984 (1984-02-23) (first conference)[5]
  • February 22, 1990 (1990-02-22) (first annual event)[6]
Current statusActive

TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design[7]) is an American-Canadian non-profit[7] media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading".[8] It was founded by Richard Saul Wurman and Harry Marks in February 1984[2] as a technology conference, in which Mickey Schulhof gave a demo of the compact disc that was invented in October 1982.[5] Its main conference has been held annually since 1990.[6][9] It covers almost all topics—from science to business to global issues—in more than 100 languages.[7]

TED's early emphasis was on technology and design, consistent with its Silicon Valley origins. It later broadened to include scientific, cultural, political, humanitarian, and academic topics.[10] It has been curated by Chris Anderson, a British-American businessman, through the non-profit TED Foundation since July 2019 (originally by the non-profit Sapling Foundation).[1][11][12]

The main TED conference is held annually in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The first conferences from 1984 (TED1) through 2008 (TED2008) were held at the Monterey Conference Center in Monterey, California.[13] Between 2009 and 2014, it was held in Long Beach, California, United States.[14] TED events are also held throughout North America and in Europe, Asia, and Africa, offering live streaming of the talks. TED returned to Monterey in 2021 with TEDMonterey. The talks address a wide range of topics within the research and practice of science and culture, often through storytelling.[15]

Curator Chris Anderson in 2007
External videos
video icon Jimmy Wales: The birth of Wikipedia, TED 2005[16]
video icon Chris Anderson: A vision for TED, TED 2002[17]

Since June 2006,[3] TED Talks had been offered for free viewing online, under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license, through TED.com.[18] As of December 2020, over 3,500 talks are freely available on the official website.[19] In June 2011, TED Talks' combined viewing figures surpassed 500 million,[20] and by November 2012, they had been watched over one billion times worldwide.[21] While the talks are available free online, sharing TED content in commercial contexts (such as corporate learning and talent development) requires a license.[22]

  1. ^ a b "About our Organization: How TED works, and who owns TED". TED: Ideas Worth Sharing. TED Conferences, LLC. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c "History of TED". TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. TED Conferences LLC. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Hefferman, Virginia (January 23, 2009). "Confessions of a TED addict". The New York Times. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  4. ^ "TED Goes Corporate". Fortune. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Happy 30th birthday, compact disc! Watch a demo from the first TED, in 1984 | TED Blog". October 2012. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "What is a TED talk?". TechTarget. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c "Our organization". TED.com. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  8. ^ "Programs & initiatives". ted.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  9. ^ Cadwalladr, Carole (July 24, 2005). "What's the big idea?". The Guardian. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  10. ^ "TED Talks". Mashable.com. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  11. ^ "Detailed reports – Sapling foundation, New York". nonprofitfacts.com. Non profit facts. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  12. ^ "Chris Anderson is the curator of TED". DumboFeather.com. 2011. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  13. ^ "Past TEDs". TED. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  14. ^ "The next chapter: TED headed to Vancouver in 2014, TEDActive hitting the slopes of Whistler". TED Blog. February 4, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  15. ^ Fidelman, Mark (June 19, 2012). "Here's Why TED and TEDx are So Incredibly Appealing (infographic)". Forbes. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  16. ^ "Jimmy Wales: The birth of Wikipedia". TED (conference). July 2005. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  17. ^ "TED's nonprofit transition". TED (conference). February 2002. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  18. ^ "TED Talks Usage Policy". TED.com. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  19. ^ "TED Talks List". TED. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  20. ^ Kessler, Sarah (June 27, 2011). "With 500 Million Views, TED Talks Provide Hope for Intelligent Internet Video". Mashable. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  21. ^ "TED reaches its billionth video view". TED Blog. November 13, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  22. ^ "TED Talks Usage Policy". www.ted.com. Retrieved May 14, 2021.