RP275 Talk to TED

 RP275 Talk to TED 

There are lots of ways to educate yourself on the Internet. You can find photos, documents, and films on almost any topic you can imagine. And at www.ted.com, you can access lectures by artists, scholars, designers, technicians, and others.

The first TED conference was held in 1984. It brought together professionals in the fields of technology, entertainment, and design (hence the “TED” name). TED was a place for people to share new ideas. Unfortunately, it ended up losing money, so the founders didn't try again for a few years. Then, in 1990, they organized another TED conference. The result was much better, and since then, the TED conference has become an annual event. In fact, now there are two conferences every year, and other spin-off events as well. The topics have also expanded to include music, medicine, and money.

The conference organizers wanted to share knowledge even further, so they created the TED website. Their goal was to “offer free knowledge from the world's most inspired thinkers.” On the website, you'll find videos of talks given at TED conferences around the world. These videos are available in hundreds of different languages.

The TED website is owned by the Sapling Foundation, a non-profit devoted to spreading great ideas. The Sapling Foundation acquired TED in 2001. Since then, it has been focused on using TED to broadcast ideas that might change the world.

TED, of course, is not above criticism. Some say that ticket prices are too high, making it hard for many people to attend. TED has also been accused of censoring some speakers by not making their talks public.

The complaints, however, seem to be relatively few and far between for such a large organization. After all, who cares about ticket prices when almost everything is given away freely on TED's website? These people should know a good thing when they see it. TED is a wonderful source of inspirational information for anyone who seeks it out.