TED (conference)#TED Fellows

File:Bill Clinton talking at TED 2007.jpg addresses TED, 2007.]]

TED was conceived in 1984 by Richard Saul Wurman, FAIA '76, {{cite web|date=September 9, 2015|title=Meet the man who created TED in 1984|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ted-creator-60-minutes-overtime/|access-date=August 15, 2023|website=CBS News}} and co-founded by Emmy-winning broadcast and graphic designer Harry Marks and CBS President Emeritus Frank Stanton. The conference featured demos of the compact disc, co-developed by Philips and Sony, and one of the first demonstrations of the Apple Macintosh computer.{{Cite web|date=July 4, 2010|first=Carole|last=Cadwalladr|title=Ted – the ultimate forum for blue-sky thinking|author-link=Carole Cadwalladr|url=http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2010/jul/04/ted-conference-oxford-carole-cadwalladr|access-date=September 20, 2012|website=The Guardian}} Presentations were given by the mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot and others such as Nicholas Negroponte and Stewart Brand. The event was financially unsuccessful; six years elapsed before a second conference was organized.{{cite web|url=http://www.ted.com/pages/16|title=History of TED {{!}} Our Organization {{!}} About |website=TED|access-date=June 18, 2016}}

TED2 was held at the same Monterey Conference Center in California in 1990. From 1990 onward, a growing community of "TEDsters" gathered annually with Wurman leading the conference in Monterey until 2009,{{cite web|url=https://blog.ted.com/a-last-hurrah-at-the-monterey-conference-center-31-years-later/|title=A last hurrah at the Monterey Conference Center, 31 years later|date=May 27, 2015|website=TED Blog|language=en|access-date=August 12, 2019}} when it was moved to Long Beach, California due to a substantial increase in the number of those attending.{{cite web|url=http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/cover/will-the-ted-conference-elite-yield-something-concrete-for-the/article_7fe99b74-56c5-55f0-93e0-973d191e3f54.html|title=Will the TED conference elite yield something concrete for the rest of us?|last=May|first=Tina|date=February 28, 2008|website=Monterey County Weekly|language=en|access-date=August 12, 2019}}{{cite news|last=Kim|first=Victoria|title=Long Beach to host influential TED conference|date=January 16, 2008|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jan-16-fi-ted16-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=February 13, 2010}} Speakers were initially drawn from the fields of expertise behind the acronym TED; but during the 1990s, presenters broadened to include scientists, philosophers, musicians, religious leaders, philanthropists, and many others.

In 2000, Wurman, looking for a successor at age 65, met with new-media entrepreneur and TED enthusiast Chris Anderson to discuss future happenings. Anderson's UK media company Future bought TED for $14 million ($12 million in cash and $2 million in stocks). In November 2001, Anderson's non-profit The Sapling Foundation (motto: "fostering the spread of great ideas") acquired TED from Future for £6m.{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/i-was-losing-1-million-a-day-every-day-for-18-months-meet-chris/|title='I was losing $1 million a day, every day for 18 months': Meet Chris Anderson, the man behind TED talks|date=April 29, 2016|work=Daily Telegraph|access-date=October 11, 2016|last1=Brown|first1=Mick}} In February 2002, Anderson gave a TED Talk in which he explained his vision of the conference and his future role of curator.{{cite web|url=http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/chris_anderson_shares_his_vision_for_ted.html|title=TED's nonprofit transition|last=Anderson|first=Chris|website=ted.com|access-date=June 18, 2016}}

In 2012, TED community director Tom Rielly helped the producers of Prometheus gain approval for the use of the TED brand in the promotional short film TED 2023, designed by Rielly with Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof, directed by Luke Scott, and starring Guy Pearce as Peter Weyland, who in the film speaks at a fictional TED conference at Wembley Stadium in the then-future of 2023; on the film's release, Rielly noted that the association had generated millions of unique visits to the TED website.{{cite news|first=Julian |last=Sancton |url=http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-22/ted-goes-to-the-movies-with-prometheus-promotion |title=TED Goes to the Movies With {{'}}Prometheus{{'}} Promotion |publisher=Bloomberg L.P. |work=Bloomberg Businessweek |date=March 22, 2012 |access-date=March 22, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324060231/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-22/ted-goes-to-the-movies-with-prometheus-promotion |archive-date=March 24, 2012 |url-status=dead}}

In 2014, the conference was moved to Vancouver, Canada.{{Cite web |last=Bennett |first=Sarah |date=2013-02-06 |title=TED Conference Announces Move To Vancouver For 2014 |url=https://lbpost.com/news/ted-conference-announces-move-to-vancouver-for-2014-3/ |access-date=2024-04-07 |website=Long Beach Post |language=en-US}}

TED is currently funded by various revenue streams, including attendance fees, corporate sponsorships, foundation support, licensing fees, and book sales. Sponsors do not participate in the event's creation and do not present on the main stage.{{cite web|title=How TED Works|url=https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/how-ted-works|website=TED.com|access-date=May 18, 2015}}{{cite web|last1=Ochoa|first1=Rosmari|title=Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED): A case study on how complementary on- and off-line approaches can build community and cultivate platforms for innovation and creativity|url=https://www.american.edu/soc/communication/upload/Rosemari-Ochoa.pdf|website=American University School of Communication|publisher=American University|access-date=May 18, 2015}}

In 2015, TED staff consisted of about 180 people headquartered in New York City and Vancouver, British Columbia.{{cite web|url=http://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/who-we-are|title=Who we are - Our organization - About - TED|website=TED.com|access-date=June 19, 2015}} On July 1, 2019, the TED Conferences LLC was transferred from Sapling Foundation to TED Foundation to "align with our brand and make it easier for our donors to connect TED donations to TED Conferences, LLC."{{cite web |url=https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/how-ted-works |title=How TED works |publisher=TED |access-date=February 19, 2020}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.thenational.com.pg/excellent-learning-platform/|title=Excellent learning platform|last=Pitoi|first=Seik|date=January 17, 2020|publisher=The National (Papua New Guinea)|language=en|access-date=February 19, 2020}}

In 2021, TED launched the TED Audio Collective with a number of podcasts featuring previous TED Talks and other relevant topics.{{cite web|url=https://blog.ted.com/ted-launches-ted-audio-collective-for-podcasts/ |title=TED launches TED Audio Collective for podcasts | TED Blog |publisher=Blog.ted.com |date=February 22, 2021 |access-date=July 18, 2022}}

TED 2022 was held in Vancouver. There was criticism after Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, flew {{convert|9200|miles|km}} to speak about climate change and the need for reduced carbon emissions.{{cite web |title=Bristol mayor flies nine hours for TED climate conference |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-61596817 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=June 25, 2022 |date=May 28, 2022}}

The TED Prize was introduced in 2005. Until 2010, $100,000 was given annually to three individuals with a "wish to change the world".{{cite web|first=Bruno|last=Giussani|author-link=Bruno Giussani|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruno-giussani/ted-2008-day-2-dave-egger_b_89106.html|title=TED 2008 / Day 2: Dave Eggers and Tutoring, Neil Turok and the next African Einstein, Karen Armstrong and the Charter for Compassion {{!}} February 28, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216205826/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruno-giussani/ted-2008-day-2-dave-egger_b_89106.html|archive-date=February 16, 2016|website=Huffington Post|date=August 15, 2011}} Each winner unveiled their wish at the main annual conference. Since 2010, a single winner has been chosen to ensure that TED can maximize its efforts in achieving the winner's wish. In 2012, the prize was not awarded to a person, but to a concept connected to the current global phenomenon of increasing urbanization. In 2013, the prize amount was increased to $1 million.{{cite web|url=http://www.tedprize.org/|title=TED Prize {{!}} Participate {{!}} TED|website=tedprize.org|access-date=June 18, 2016}} TED Prize winners in previous years have been:

TED Conference commissioned New York artist Tom Shannon to create a prize sculpture for all TED Prize winners. It consists of an {{convert|8|in|cm|spell=in|adj=mid|-diameter}} aluminum sphere magnetically levitated above a walnut disc.{{cite web|url=https://blog.ted.com/8-talks-to-inspire-ted-prize-wishes/|title=8 Talks to Inspire TED Prize Wishes|website=TED Blog|date=March 5, 2015 |language=en|access-date=October 3, 2023}} As of 2018 the prize has been recast as The Audacious Project.{{cite web|url=https://www.audaciousproject.org/|title=The Audacious Project|website=The Audacious Project|language=en|access-date=February 13, 2020}}

In 2005, Chris Anderson hired June Cohen as Director of TED Media. In June 2006, after Cohen's idea of a TV show based on TED lectures was rejected by several networks, a selection of talks that had received highest audience ratings was posted on the websites of TED, YouTube and iTunes under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0.{{cite news |title=Giving Away Information, but Increasing Revenue |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 16, 2007 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/16/technology/16ecom.html |access-date=September 30, 2018|last1=Tedeschi |first1=Bob }}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/user/tedtalksdirector|title=TED|work=YouTube|access-date=February 12, 2015}} Only a handful of talks was initially posted to see if there was an audience for them. In January of the following year, the number of talks on the sites had grown to 44, and they had been viewed more than three million times. On the basis of that success, the organization pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into its video production operations and the development of a website to feature about 100 of the talks.{{cite journal|last1=Masson|first1=M|title=Benefits of TED Talks|journal=Canadian Family Physician|date=December 2014|volume=60|issue=12|page=1080|pmid=25500595|pmc=4264800}}

In April 2007, the new TED.com was launched, developed by New York and San Francisco-based design company Method.{{Cite web |title=The new TED.com launches today, Monday, April 16 |website=TED Blog|date=April 16, 2007|url=https://blog.ted.com/the_new_tedcom/#:~:text=%20was%20designed%20by%20New%20York,Method|access-date=October 5, 2022}} The website has won many prizes, including seven Webby Awards, iTunes' "Best Podcast of the Year" (2006–2010); the Communication Arts Interactive Award for Information Design (2007); the OMMA Award for Video Sharing, the Web Visionary Award for Technical Achievement, and The One Show Interactive Bronze Award (2008); the AIGA Annual Design Competition (2009); and a Peabody Award (2012).{{cite web|url=http://bibliotech.stanford.edu/conf11_speakers|title=2011 Speakers {{!}} BiblioTech Program|website=bibliotech.stanford.edu|access-date=June 18, 2016|archive-date=June 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624053929/http://bibliotech.stanford.edu/conf11_speakers|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://method.com/about/awards|title=Work|website=Method|access-date=June 18, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130807060646/http://method.com/about/awards|archive-date=August 7, 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/ted.com|title=TED.com|website=peabodyawards.com|access-date=June 18, 2016}}{{cite web|title=TED Review|publisher=MacWorld|url=http://www.macworld.com/appguide/app.html?id=707209|date=December 22, 2009|access-date=December 23, 2009|archive-date=October 19, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101019073803/http://www.macworld.com/appguide/app.html?id=707209|url-status=dead}}

In January 2009, TED videos had been viewed 50 million times. In June 2011, they reached 500 million views.

In March 2012, Netflix announced a deal to stream an initial series of 16 two-hour collections of TED Talks on similar subjects. It was made available to subscribers in the United States, Canada, Latin America, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2012/03/15/netflix-to-stream-ted-talks/|title=Netflix To Stream TED Talks|last=Savitz|first=Eric|website=Forbes|access-date=June 18, 2016}} Hosted by Jami Floyd, TED Talks NYC debuted on NYC Life on March 21, 2012.{{cite news|title=TED TALKS IN NYC –FEATURING WORLD-RENOWNED TALKS FROM TED.COM – PREMIERES ON NYC LIFE |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/media/html/news/tedtalksinnycpremieres.shtml |access-date=January 17, 2012 |newspaper=.nyc.gov |date=March 15, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103151258/http://www.nyc.gov/html/media/html/news/tedtalksinnycpremieres.shtml |archive-date=November 3, 2012 }}

{{About|the conference|the 2012 short film|TED 2023}}

In 2005, under Anderson's supervision, a more internationally oriented sister conference was added, under the name TEDGlobal. It was held, in chronological order: in Oxford, UK (2005), in Arusha, Tanzania (2007, titled TEDAfrica), in Oxford again (2009 and 2010), and in Edinburgh, UK (2011, 2012, and 2013). In 2014, it was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.{{cite web|url=http://www.ted.com/pages/ted_conferences_about_past_teds_v2|title=Past TEDs {{!}} Conferences {{!}} About |website=TED|access-date=June 18, 2016}} Additionally, there was TED India, in Mysore (2009) and TEDGlobal London in London (2015).{{cite web|url=https://tedconfblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/tedgloballondon_programbrochure.pdf|title=TEDGlobal>London Tuesday 16 June 2015|website=tedconfblog.files.wordpress.com|access-date=December 22, 2017|archive-date=September 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910104654/https://tedconfblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/tedgloballondon_programbrochure.pdf|url-status=dead}} TEDGlobal 2017 was held again in Arusha, Tanzania, and it was curated and hosted by Emeka Okafor.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/ted-global-2017-arusha-tanzania|title=Ten years on, TEDGlobal is tackling Africa's education crisis|last=Christian|first=Bonnie|access-date=May 18, 2018}}

TED's European director (and curator of TEDGlobal) is Swiss-born Bruno Giussani.{{Cite web|last=Cadwalladr|first=Carole|author-link=Carole Cadwalladr|date=June 24, 2012 |title=TEDGlobal 2012: 'The more you give away the more you get back' |url=http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/jun/24/tedglobal-2012-the-more-you-give-away |access-date= December 6, 2012|website=The Guardian}}

The TED 2011 conference, The Rediscovery of Wonder, was held in Long Beach, California, US, from February 28 to March 4, 2011.{{cite press release|title=Open-Translation Project Brings Subtitles in 40+ Languages to TED.com|work=PR Newswire|author=TED Conferences|date=September 13, 2009|url=http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1688129/ted_opentranslation_project_brings_subtitles_in_40_languages_to_tedcom/index.html?source=r_technology|access-date=February 13, 2010|archive-date=July 9, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090709025021/http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1688129/ted_opentranslation_project_brings_subtitles_in_40_languages_to_tedcom/index.html?source=r_technology|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |date=March 1, 2011 |title=TED 2011: Billionaires, astronauts and Middle East activists {{!}} Carole Cadwalladr introduces this year's high-powered event |url=http://www.theguardian.com/technology/pda/2011/mar/01/ted-2011 |access-date=July 19, 2011|website=The Guardian}} The TED conference has a companion conference, TEDGlobal, held in the UK each summer. The 2009 TEDGlobal, The Substance of Things Not Seen, was held in Oxford, July 21–24, 2009. 2010's TEDGlobal (again in Oxford) was themed And Now The Good News; in 2011 the conference moved to a new home in Edinburgh and was held July 12–15 with the theme The Stuff Of Life. The 2012 TEDGlobal conference Radical Openness was held in Edinburgh, June 25–29.{{cite web|title=TEDGlobal 2012: Radical Openness|url=http://conferences.ted.com/TEDGlobal2012/|access-date=August 16, 2012|archive-date=November 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151110142138/https://conferences.ted.com/TEDGlobal2012/|url-status=dead}}

[[Quazi Nawshaba Ahmed speaking at TEDx Bangladesh Agricultural University|thumb|right]]

TEDx was founded by Lara Stein. TEDx are independent events similar to TED in presentation. They can be organized by anyone who obtains a free license from TED, and agrees to follow certain principles.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/fashion/26TEDX.html|title=A Conference Makes Learning Free (and Sexy)|last=Rosenbloom|first=Stephanie|date=September 24, 2010|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=June 18, 2016}} Speakers are not paid and must also relinquish the copyrights to their materials, which TED may edit and distribute under a Creative Commons license.{{cite web|url=http://mypages.iit.edu/~tedxiit/|title=TEDxIIT|website=mypages.iit.edu|access-date=June 18, 2016|archive-date=September 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918203518/http://mypages.iit.edu/~tedxiit/|url-status=dead}}

In March 2013, eight TEDx events, which are "essentially, do-it-yourself TED conferences" raised up from five in June 2012, the previous year, in 133 countries.{{Cite magazine|last=Heller|first=Nathan |date=July 2, 2012 |title=Listen And Learn |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/07/09/listen-and-learn |access-date=September 2, 2012|magazine=The New Yorker}}

TEDxPortland in Portland was the largest indoor TEDx event in the world, with over 8,000 attendees, making it the largest TEDx conference in North America.{{cite news |title=Portland to host the largest indoor TEDx event in the world |url=https://www.koin.com/news/portland-to-host-the-largest-indoor-tedx-event-in-the-world/ |first=Joelle |last=Jones |date=April 27, 2022 |work=KOIN |access-date=March 12, 2025}}

File:TEDGlobal2012.jpg]]

TED Fellows were introduced in 2007, during the first TEDAfrica conference in Arusha, Tanzania, where 100 young people were selected from across the continent. Two years later, during TEDIndia, 99 fellows were recruited, mainly from South Asia.

In 2009, the fellows program was initiated in its present form. For every TED or TEDGlobal conference, 20 fellows are selected; a total of 40 new fellows a year. Each year, 20 past fellows are chosen to participate in the two-year senior fellows program (in which they will attend four more conferences).

2019 marked the tenth anniversary of the TED Fellows program.

Acceptance as a fellow is not based on academic credentials, but mainly on past and current actions, and plans for the future.{{cite web|url=http://www.ted.com/pages/248|title=Application tips {{!}} Apply to be a TED Fellow {{!}} TED Fellows Program {{!}} Participate |website=TED|access-date=June 18, 2016}} Besides attending a conference free of charge, each fellow takes part in a special program with mentoring by experts in the field of spreading ideas, and can give a short talk on the "TED Fellows" stage. Some of these talks are subsequently published on TED.com. Senior fellows have additional benefits and responsibilities.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-07/18/tedglobal-fellows|title=Wired meets 2011's TED Fellows|last=Rowan|first=David|date=July 18, 2011|magazine=Wired|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720175312/http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-07/18/tedglobal-fellows|archive-date=July 20, 2011|access-date=June 18, 2016}}

The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts with over 25 shows.

One of those shows is the TED Interview podcast which launched on October 16, 2018, during which Chris Anderson holds conversations{{cite news| title = Podcasts that inspire with the head of TED, Chris Anderson| work = CBC Radio| date = September 12, 2019| url = https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastplaylist/podcasts-that-inspire-with-the-head-of-ted-chris-anderson-1.5269203| access-date = November 4, 2019 }} with speakers who have previously given a TED talk,{{cite news| title = Top 10 TED Talks for Inventors| work = Inventors Digest| date = April 24, 2018| url = https://www.inventorsdigest.com/articles/top-10-ted-talks-inventors/| access-date = November 4, 2019 }} providing the guest a chance to speak in greater depth about their background, projects, motivation,{{cite news| last = Asay| first = Matt| title = Why Linux creator Linus Torvalds doesn't really care about open source| work = Inventors Digest| date = February 22, 2016| url = https://www.techrepublic.com/article/linux-creator-linus-torvalds-doesnt-really-care-about-open-source/| access-date = November 4, 2019 }} re-evaluation of past experiences,{{cite news| last = Rogers| first = Brooke A.| title = Monica Lewinsky gets the last laugh| work = Washington Examiner| date = September 5, 2019| url = https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/monica-lewinsky-gets-the-last-laugh| access-date = November 4, 2019 }}{{cite magazine| last = Wiener| first = Anna| title = Jack Dorsey's TED Interview and the End of an Era| magazine = The New Yorker| date = April 27, 2019| url = https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-silicon-valley/jack-dorseys-ted-interview-and-the-end-of-an-era| access-date = November 4, 2019 }} or plans for the future.{{update inline|date=October 2022}}

{{Main|TEDMED}}

TEDMED is an annual conference concerned with health and medicine. It is an independent event operating under license from the nonprofit TED conference.

In 2011, Jay Walker and a group of executives and investors purchased TEDMED from Hodosh for $16 million with future additional payments of as much as $9 million. The conference was then moved to Washington, DC.{{cite news

|url=http://www.medgadget.com/2011/04/tedmed_sold_to_jay_walker_richard_saul_wurman_says_adios.html

|publisher=Medgadget

|title=TEDMED Sold to Jay Walker, Richard Saul Wurman Says Adios

|date=April 14, 2011

|author=Ostrovsky, Gene

|archive-date=May 8, 2019

|access-date=March 21, 2014

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508182917/https://www.medgadget.com/2011/04/tedmed_sold_to_jay_walker_richard_saul_wurman_says_adios.html

|url-status=dead

}}

• TED Radio Hour: A radio program,{{cite web |title=TED Radio Hour |url=https://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/ |website=NPR |access-date=February 8, 2021 |language=en}} with audio downloads and a podcast RSS feed,{{cite web |title=TED Radio Hour |url=https://feeds.npr.org/510298/podcast.xml |website=feeds.npr.org |access-date=February 8, 2021}} hosted by Manoush Zomorodi,{{cite web |title=Manoush Zomorodi Will Be The New Host Of TED Radio Hour |url=https://www.npr.org/about-npr/776132106/manoush-zomorodi-will-be-the-new-host-of-ted-radio-hour |website=NPR |access-date=February 8, 2021 |language=en |date=November 5, 2019}} previously Guy Raz and co-produced with NPR. Each episode uses multiple TED Talks to examine a common theme.{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5057 |title=About 'TED Radio Hour' |date=March 23, 2012 |work=NPR |access-date=July 9, 2016}} Originated and executive produced by Deron Triff and June Cohen, the first episode was broadcast in 2012.{{cite web |last1=Spangler |first1=Todd |title=Arianna Huffington's Thrive Global Teams With Former TED Execs for Mindfulness Podcast Series |url=https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/arianna-huffington-thrive-global-waitwhat-podcasts-meditative-1203284484/ |website=Variety.com |date=July 30, 2019 |publisher=Variety |access-date=May 22, 2023}}{{cite web |title=TED Radio Hour |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ted |website=RNZ |language=en-nz |quote=The TED Radio Hour is a National Public Radio series based on talks from annual gatherings where some of the world's deepest thinkers and innovators are invited to give the 18-minute "talk of their lives."}}
• TED also offers other podcasts such as Sincerely, X (featuring anonymous TED Talks).{{Cite news|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3063100/ted-talks-but-anonymous-sincerely-x-is-a-new-podcast-meant-for-secret-b|title=TED Talks But Anonymous: Sincerely X is a new podcast meant for secret big ideas|last=Leber|first=Jessica|date=August 24, 2016|work=Fast Company|access-date=December 29, 2018}}

Sarah Lacy of BusinessWeek and TechCrunch wrote in 2010 that TED attendees complained of elitism from a "hierarchy of parties throughout the LA area with strict lists and security" after the sessions. She gave credit for freely live-streaming and posting videos of its talks.{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/02/09/ted-now-with-more-elitism/|title=TED: Now with More Elitism?|publisher=AOL|work=TechCrunch|date=February 9, 2010 |access-date=February 12, 2015}}

Disagreements have also occurred between TED speakers and organizers. In her 2010 TED Talk, comedian Sarah Silverman referred to adopting a "retarded" child. TED organizer Chris Anderson objected via his Twitter account, leading to a conflict between them conducted over Twitter.{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/02/14/ted-organizer-trashes-speaker-fails-social-iq-test/|title=TED Organizer Trashes Speaker, Fails Social IQ Test|publisher=AOL|work=TechCrunch|date=February 14, 2010 |access-date=February 12, 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/02/15/the-ted-v-sarah-silverman-fight-turns-really-retarded/|title=The TED v. Sarah Silverman Fight Turns Really Retarded|publisher=AOL|work=TechCrunch|date=February 15, 2010 |access-date=February 12, 2015}}

Also in 2010, statistician Nassim Taleb called TED a "monstrosity that turns scientists and thinkers into low-level entertainers, like circus performers". He claimed TED curators did not initially post his talk "warning about the financial crisis" on their site on purely cosmetic grounds.{{cite book|last=Taleb|first=Nassim N.|year=2010|title=The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable: With a New Section: 'On Robustness and Fragility'|oclc=554820308|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wu1MJmle10YC|url-access=limited|publisher=Random House Publishing Group|page=336|isbn=9780812973815}} [https://archive.org/details/blackswanimpacth00tale_767/page/n367 Alt URL]

In May 2012, venture capitalist Nick Hanauer spoke at TED University, challenging the belief that top income earners in America were the engines of job creation. TED attracted controversy when it chose not to post Hanauer's talk on their website. His talk analysed the top rate of tax versus unemployment and economic equality.{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/05/here-is-the-full-inequality-speech-and-slideshow-that-was-too-hot-for-ted/257323/|title=Here Is the Full Inequality Speech and Slideshow That Was Too Hot for TED|author=National Journal|date=May 17, 2012|work=The Atlantic|access-date=February 12, 2015}} TED was accused of censoring the talk by not posting it.{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/342291/20120517/ted-censors-nick-hanauer-talk-income-inequality.htm|title=TED Censors Seattle Multimillionaire Nick Hanauer's Talk On Income Inequality, Taxing The Rich|date=May 17, 2012|work=International Business Times|access-date=February 12, 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/features/restoration-calls/too-hot-for-ted-income-inequality-20120516|title=Too Hot for TED: Income Inequality|work=nationaljournal.com|access-date=February 12, 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120520080005/https://www.nationaljournal.com/features/restoration-calls/too-hot-for-ted-income-inequality-20120516/|archivedate=May 20, 2012|url-status=live}}

On May 7, 2012, TED curator Chris Anderson, in an email to Hanauer, commented on his decision and took issue with several of Hanauer's assertions in the talk, including the idea that businesspeople were not job creators. He also made clear his aversion to the talk's "political nature":{{cite web|last=Tankersley|first=Jim|title=Too Hot for TED: Income Equality|date=May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709061031/https://www.nationaljournal.com/features/restoration-calls/too-hot-for-ted-income-inequality-20120516/|archive-date=July 9, 2015|url=http://nationaljournal.com/features/restoration-calls/too-hot-for-ted-income-inequality-20120516|work=National Journal|access-date=May 16, 2012}}

The National Journal reported that Anderson considered Hanauer's talk one of the most politically controversial they had produced, and they needed to be careful about when they posted it. Anderson responded on his personal blog that TED posted only one talk each day, selected from many.{{cite web|date=May 17, 2012|url=http://tedchris.posterous.com/131417405|title=TEDChris: The untweetable|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430135514/http://tedchris.posterous.com/131417405|archive-date=April 30, 2013|website=tedchris.posterous.com|access-date=June 18, 2016}} Forbes staff writer Bruce Upbin noted that Hanauer's claim of a relationship between tax rates and unemployment was based entirely on falsified unemployment data,{{Cite magazine|date=May 17, 2012|last=Upbin |first=Bruce |title=The Real Reason That TED Talk Was 'Censored'? It's Shoddy And Dumb |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/bruceupbin/2012/05/17/the-real-reason-that-ted-talk-was-censored-its-shoddy-and-dumb/|access-date=June 21, 2012|magazine=Forbes}} while New York magazine condemned TED's move.{{cite news|url=http://nymag.com/arts/all/approvalmatrix/approval-matrix-2012-5-28/|title=The Approval Matrix|date=May 28, 2012|publisher=New York magazine}}

TEDx talks have been criticised for having a lower quality control than actual TED talks, with a number of TEDx talks being ridiculed by critics for promoting pseudoscience. Wired and the Harvard Business Review suggested that this lack of quality control in TEDx talks damaged the broader TED brand.{{Cite news |date=2013-04-01 |title=When TED Lost Control of Its Crowd |url=https://hbr.org/2013/04/when-ted-lost-control-of-its-crowd |access-date=2024-09-13 |work=Harvard Business Review |language=en |issn=0017-8012}}{{Cite magazine |last=Copeland |first=Michael V. |date=7 December 2012 |title=Pseudoscience Saps the Power of TEDx Brand |url=https://www.wired.com/2012/12/pseudo-science-saps-the-power-of-tedx/ |access-date=2024-09-13 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}

Following a TEDx talk by parapsychologist Rupert Sheldrake, TED issued a statement saying their scientific advisors believed that "there is little evidence for some of Sheldrake's more radical claims", and recommended that it "should not be distributed without being framed with caution". The video was moved from the TEDx YouTube channel to the TED blog, accompanied by such framing language. This prompted accusations of censorship, which TED rebutted by pointing out that Sheldrake's talk was still on their website.{{cite web |url=http://blog.ted.com/2013/03/19/the-debate-about-rupert-sheldrakes-talk/ |title=The debate about Rupert Sheldrake's talk |publisher=TED |date=March 19, 2013}}{{cite news |author=Bignell, Paul |newspaper=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/ted-conference-censorship-row-8563105.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/ted-conference-censorship-row-8563105.html |archive-date=May 26, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=TED conference censorship row |date=April 7, 2013}} A 2013 talk by Graham Hancock, promoting the use of the drug DMT, was treated the same way.{{cite web|url=https://blog.ted.com/the-debate-about-graham-hancocks-talk/|title=The debate about Graham Hancock's talk|date=March 19, 2013|website=TED Blog|access-date=March 18, 2019}}{{cite web |author= |date=March 18, 2013 |title=Graham Hancock and Rupert Sheldrake, a fresh take |url=https://blog.ted.com/graham-hancock-and-rupert-sheldrake-a-fresh-take/ |access-date=July 3, 2014 |website=TED Blog |language=en}}

According to professor Benjamin Bratton at University of California, San Diego, TED Talks' efforts at fostering progress in socio-economics, science, philosophy and technology have been ineffective.{{Cite news|date=December 30, 2013 |title=We need to talk about TED|first=Benjamin|last=Bratton|url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/30/we-need-to-talk-about-ted |access-date=January 2, 2014 |website=The Guardian }} Chris Anderson responded that some critics misunderstood TED's goals, failing to recognise that it aimed to instill excitement in audiences in the same ways speakers felt it. He said that TED wished only to bring awareness of significant topics to larger audiences.{{Cite web|date=January 8, 2014|title=TED is not a recipe for 'civilisational disaster' {{!}} TED Blog |url=https://blog.ted.com/ted-not-a-recipe-for-civilisational-disaster/ |access-date=November 28, 2021}}

The Alien franchise features a fictional portrayal of a 2023 TED Conference, in the form of a short film called "The Peter Weyland Files: TED Conference, 2023".{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5362760|title=The Peter Weyland Files: TED Conference, 2023 (Video 2012) |website=IMDb|date=October 9, 2012}} It was a part of the viral marketing campaign for the franchise's film Prometheus (2012).

Episode 08, season 20 of the animated TV series Family Guy features a cutaway scene of Peter Griffin giving a TED talk about birthdays.

Australian alternative rock band TISM parodied TED talks at their 2 March 2024 concert in Launceston, Tasmania as "TISM Talks", which included a skit parodying TED talks running behind the band for the duration of the show.

Episode 16 of Series 2 of the TV series Elementary "The One Percent Solution" features ex-Scotland Yard Inspector Gareth Lestrade presenting a "DUG Chat". According to a tweet from the @ELEMENTARYstaff Twitter account {{cite web|url=https://x.com/ELEMENTARYStaff/status/439236884066086912|title=ELEMENTARYStaff |website=Twitter|date=28 Feb 2014}} "We had to call them "Dug" chats because we weren't allowed to use the name 'Ted Talk'".

{{Portal|Science|Technology|Society|New York (state)}}

• List of educational video websites
• Change.org
• Chautauqua

{{Clear}}

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{Commons}}

• {{Official website}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1984 establishments in the United States

Category:Organizations established in 1984

Category:Recurring events established in 1984

Category:Academic conferences

Category:American educational websites

Category:Business conferences

Category:Education-related YouTube channels

Category:International conferences

Category:Non-profit organizations based in New York City

Category:Technology conferences

Category:Universal Windows Platform apps

Category:YouTube channels

Category:Public speaking

Category:Peabody Award–winning websites

Category:Science-related YouTube channels

Category:TvOS software