Have you heard of the TED Conference? Anyone that has, is a fanatic. Instead of watching television, we watch TED Talks. While we are working, we are being inspired in the background by a TED Talk. Why? They are bite-sized chunks of information, always under 18 minutes, that inspire us to keep working. To stay creative. To try harder. To do more.
The availability of these videos has been democratized by affordable and reliable broadband, smart phones and RSS feeds. And they are 100% free. Riveting talks by remarkable people, translated into over 35 languages and viewed in more than 70 countries. If you don't know what TED is, visit www.ted.com and watch any video and you'll understand.
When the TED organizers offered a program to communities to put on their own TED like experience, a group got excited and got busy. We have recruited some of the brightest people we know for the inaugural event and are already planning TEDx Lansing 2011. Why Lansing? There is a groundswell of activity happening in our community active in social media, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit the likes of which we haven't seen in decades.
We want TEDx Lansing to be a marketplace of ideas and a gathering place for people that have been just as excited about TED as we have. We have many fellow TEDx fans coming from Detroit, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids to be with us. By the end of the year, TEDx events will have reached over 150,000 people. We are proud to be adding 600 people to that tally and show the world what Lansing really has to offer.
Our hope is that the community supports this endeavor and comes to listen. The event is May 21, 2010. Tickets are $35 for adults and $20 for students. If you can’t come, watch it free at www.tedxlansing.com.
Jennifer Middlin