Jack Myers Live from TED: Prologue

The famed TED Conference gets underway today in Monterey and continues through Saturday. It's impossible to describe TED other than there's a waiting list, you are a "member," not an attendee; events continue throughout the year and around the world; and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Daphne Zuniga's TED documentary, available through NetFlix, is the best way to understand TED without experiencing it directly. Thanks to my friend Vic Sarjoo of Sir Groovy, my personal TED started last night with a dinner hosted by Sir Groovy board member Martin Pazzani, president of Elias Arts Holdings, and Julian Treasure, chairman of The Sound Agency. One of the great benefits of TED is meeting an incredibly eclectic group of people from around the world. Dinner guests included Bob Moore, Chief Creative Officer of Publicis USA, who is the only creative officer of a major U.S. agency headquartered in Seattle; Herb Kim, CEO of CodeWorks, a software company in Liverpool, England; David Kusek of Berklee College of Music; Jeremy Silver, CEO of Sibelius Software in England; and Sean Phelan, who recently sold his London-based web mapping company to Microsoft.

People are one of TED's greatest assets, and connections start literally from the moment the TED experience begins to the closing picnic Saturday afternoon. Those who come to TED expecting to cherry pick the sessions they attend, pop out for a quick phone call or must-attend business conference call, or who arrive late and leave early, miss the opportunity to understand TED as a gestalt -- a total immersive experience that requires full time and attention. I arrived early yesterday and bought local small production wines at Terranova, my favorite wine store and walked around the farmers market, buying incredibly aromatic flowers for my room and Guayaki Yerba Mate Pure Endurance drink to sustain me for the next several days.

Several long-time TEDsters, as we are called here, are curious whether this year's TED will deliver not only on the expectations of an experience not only rich in social, cultural, societal, cause-related and scientific discovery around the theme "The Big Questions," but whether it will also incorporate the promise of Technology, Entertainment and Design, the three foundation elements on which TED was originally built. This year's event seems to lack any relevant tie back to the media and entertainment industry, although it's always unfair to judge TED in advance. Fans of guitarist Kaki King will be envious to know she closes today's agenda at 5:30 this evening after we hear from anthropologist Wade Davis, paleoanthropologist Louise Leakey, artist Chris Jordan, neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor, particle physicist Patricia Burchat, paleontologist Pater D. Ward, "expert" John Hodgman (the PC guy from Apple commercials), and spiritual teacher Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Now you understand why a media guy like me wonders if curator Chris Anderson has moved totally away from the historical foundation of TED. But the opportunity to hear 20-minute presentations from people I would otherwise have no connection to is why TED is such a unique experience. And Anderson sprinkles surprises and special three-minute presentation throughout the event.

Also speaking here later this week are historian and author Doris Kearns Goodwin, Al Gore, musician activist Bob Geldof, DNA origamist Paul Rothemund, Thomas Krens, terrorism investigator Steven Emerson, journalist Samantha Power, musician Vusi Mahlasela, novelist Amy Tan, designer Yves Béhar, visual effects wizard John Knoll (Star Wars), ocean explorer Robert Ballard (found the Titanic, the Bismarck and PT-109), mushroom expert Paul Stamets, Aspen Institute CEO Walter Isaacson, designer Isaac Mizrahi, Boston Philharmonic conductor Benjamin Zander, and singer Nellie McKay. And this is just a partial list. Performers who contribute throughout include amazing storyteller and Brooklyn-based Rives, back for his third year at TED; singer and satirist Jill Sobule, Julia Sweeney, the juggling Raspyni Brothers and online comedian Ze Frank. The house band is led by the exceptional Thomas Dolby.

There are more than a thousand people here at TED, the last in Monterey. Next year, TED expands and moves further away from its roots to the Long Beach Conference Center. This year, in addition to Monterey, 300 TEDsters are also gathered for a simulcast in Aspen. I would like to be blogging directly from the Main Hall here at TED, where I'm one of the fortunate 500 with Main Hall passes, but TED urges us to leave our laptops in our hotel room. "We think our speakers merit your full attention," they explain. Bloggers are required to sit in the back row of the Main Hall or in one of the simulcast lounges. Plus, once the laptop is open and connected to WiFi, the temptation to check e-mail, correspond, check in with the office, chat online with friends, is just too strong. And when that happens, the TED experience gets pushed to the back of the brain. So for the next few days, I'm immersed. TED starts at 9:00 AM today with TED Drive opportunities to test drive Lexus, BMW and GM cars of the future, and with opportunities to attend the optional TED University -- more than 40 nine-minute lectures prepared by TED attendees. I'm registered for three "classes." Then at 1:30 the agenda officially begins, continuing through tonight's Welcome Party until 10 PM. Thursday's and Friday's agendas starts at 8:15 and continue through to 10 PM each day, and Saturday's schedule is from 8:15 to 12:30 PM, followed by the closing beach party.

I'll do my best to write -- but no promises. And since TED really is a holistic experience, my comments a few days and weeks post-TED will probably be the most relevant.

Memo from TED:

Quick note to the TED Community at large:

There's a huge sense of anticipation in Monterey and Aspen as TED2008 opens today. With 50 main speakers and another 50 shorter talks and performances, there's a real feast in store. For those of you who can't be here, here's how you can enjoy TED from afar.

First and foremost, we are opening up one complete session of TED free to the world, streamed live over the web. It's the dramatic session tomorrow evening when three remarkable individuals each unveil their TED Prize wish. ("One wish to change the world. No restrictions. Think big. Be creative.")

I invite you to join a global audience as Dave Eggers <http://tr.subscribermail.com/cc.cfm?sendto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eted%2Ecom%2Findex%2Ephp%2Fpages%2Fview%2Fid%2F163&tempid=4c0b61a007f542369aecf53c33025f7a&mailid=47b0eab25b35418f9b9bb19ce2d9ad9c> , Neil Turok <http://tr.subscribermail.com/cc.cfm?sendto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eted%2Ecom%2Findex%2Ephp%2Fpages%2Fview%2Fid%2F160&tempid=4c0b61a007f542369aecf53c33025f7a&mailid=47b0eab25b35418f9b9bb19ce2d9ad9c> and Karen Armstrong <http://tr.subscribermail.com/cc.cfm?sendto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eted%2Ecom%2Findex%2Ephp%2Fpages%2Fview%2Fid%2F162&tempid=4c0b61a007f542369aecf53c33025f7a&mailid=47b0eab25b35418f9b9bb19ce2d9ad9c> share their inspiring visions, followed by the uplifting music of Vusi Mahlasela <http://tr.subscribermail.com/cc.cfm?sendto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eted%2Ecom%2Findex%2Ephp%2Fspeakers%2Fview%2Fid%2F136&tempid=4c0b61a007f542369aecf53c33025f7a&mailid=47b0eab25b35418f9b9bb19ce2d9ad9c> .

You can see the live video feed here <http://tr.subscribermail.com/cc.cfm?sendto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eted%2Ecom%2Fliveevent%2Fwatch%2F&tempid=4c0b61a007f542369aecf53c33025f7a&mailid=47b0eab25b35418f9b9bb19ce2d9ad9c> on Thursday, starting at 5.15pm US Pacific Time and lasting a couple of hours. You'll probably need a broadband connection to see the video properly. There's a button below the video to select a full-screen view.

We've been working with the three prize winners for the past few months and we're truly excited about what we think they're about to reveal.