One Idea Can Lead the Way to a Better Future

Technology. Education. Design. From the first day that I was introduced to TEDTalks, I’ve been a fan. In case you don’t know, TED is a global nonprofit devoted to “ideas worth spreading”, using video to reach a global audience.

It’s that opening TED chime that gets me every time and, like Pavlov’s dogs, I know I’m in for a treat. I’ve made it a habit to watch a TED video or two each week and share with my team if I find something inspirational or entertaining – and learning that TED Talks has surpassed one billion views, I can’t help but know that my time attributed to at least a hundred of those billion.

Recently, I’ve been touched by the TED organization three times:

When I thought TEDTalks would just be my “weekly getaway” on the Internet, we learned that Level 3 has been chosen as preferred partner of streaming videos at TED.com.
A month ago, I had the opportunity to attend TEDxRochester for the third time here in Rochester, NY where members of the community were able to get a local flair of ideas worth spreading from the neighbors they haven’t met. (A week later, TED announced 1 Billion Views!)
And three months ago, during our SocialMedia.org Member Meeting in NYC, the closing remarks were from Chris Anderson, the curator of TED conferences. He challenged us to think about “the power of an idea” — something that we can give away, yet still possess. Chris continued to dive into how TED broke barriers with the TEDx concept and how human interaction and in-person events are an essential part of a social strategy.

To let you hear the chime that makes my mouth water every time, here are some of the more recent treats I’ve considered “worth spreading” – and if you find these dull, take a few minutes to browse TED.com for a video that inspires you:

Andrew Blum: What is the Internet, really? [11m 59s]:

Andrew shares the story of how his Internet disruption from a squirrel chewing through his Internet connection lead to a two-year journey to learn what the Internet is. His story takes him from NYC around the world and ends with a sub-sea cable landing in Lisbon to learn how the Internet really works, in its physical capacity. The point of his effort? We should know where our Internet comes from and what it is that physically connects us all. If you haven’t read his book, TUBES, it’s worth picking up.

Mikko Hyppönen on Fighting viruses, defending the net [17m 35s]:

Mikko discusses his encounter with the first PC virus, Brain A – created by the hobbyists 25 years ago. Today, organized cyber-criminals make money by writing viruses and infecting devices, and use uses the Internet to move from one country and jurisdiction to another making it nearly impossible difficult to police. In closing, he ends by making the point that “relying on technology should not mean we can’t operate without it”.

Gary Kovacs on Tracking the trackers [6m 40s]:

Gary discusses the idea that the Internet is not a private place. We leave breadcrumbs of information about us everywhere we go online. Five minutes into breakfast, he has 25 sites tracking him and by the end of a normal day, he has roughly 150+ sites tracking his personal information without consent.