As anyone who’s ever hid in the bushes outside a party watching people have a good time can tell you, not being invited stinks. Missing out on something important or exciting is never fun, but it has come to be expected with the annual TED conference in Monterey, California. The conference, run by the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) organization is an invitation-only, $6000 ticket that isn’t exactly easy to obtain. The 2008 conference is already sold out. The cast of characters at these get-togethers is pretty impressive, with this year’s edition culminating in a presentation by former president Bill Clinton. But despite the conference’s history of catering to the upper crust, TED is taking steps to do something for the rest of us.
Recently, a website was launched by TED that features many of the presentations given at the conference, allowing everyday users a glimpse inside. The presentations — TED Talks, as they refer to them — are highly polished, 20 minute long presentations that are often regarded as the high points of the conference. The organization has pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into the site so that we can all pretend that we’re important enough to be at the actual conference, only to have the illusion shattered when the presentation ends. Of course, TED isn’t just doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. The organization has uploaded a small number of videos from past conferences in the past, and recorded millions of hits. Therefore, by adding a large number of more recent videos they can vastly upgrade their advertising revenue. Everybody wins, it seems.
The site also allows you to rank videos in a somewhat fun — at least for a tech conference — kind of way. You can choose from a list that includes terms such as “long winded” or “courageous.” With the Bill Clinton presentation readily available, one has to wonder if they’ve got “makes me wish it was 1996 again” on that list.