TED Offers Timeless Hope for the Future

With the brutal realities of the news day in and day out, there is hope for our world, our civilization, for humanity itself. That's the fundamental premise of the TED Conference. In Daphne Zuniga's excellent documentary film, The Future We Will Create: Inside the World of TED (http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The_Future_We_Will_Create_Inside_the_World_of_TED/70067274 ), I comment that the impact of the annual conference cannot be assessed until days -- even weeks -- following the event. As TED has evolved under the curatorial vision of Chris Anderson, the impact and contribution of TED has begun to transcend days, weeks and years and is becoming timeless. Many of the presentations from this year's conference, which ended on February 7, are already available at no charge at Ted Talks (http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks).

TED encourages us all to ask, in the words of Bennington College president Liz Coleman, "what kind of world are we making, should we be making and can we be making?" The Art of Possibility co-author Rosamund Zander points out "we need to undo the habits we have learned as children and rebuild ourselves as adults. We need to un-program ourselves from our habits of the past in order to respond with a clear unencumbered vision of the world in front of us, and drop old habits that helped us survive but no longer fit the world we are walking into."

Companies that are struggling to refocus their priorities for the future and to define new, more productive and rewarding business models, should study not only content from TED, but the TED model itself. Although it is primarily a cause-related enterprise, TED has developed a brand that marketers can associate with and gain significant value through that association. By operating under the mantra of "Ideas That Matter" and delivering on that promise in every aspect of its communications and service, TED has created an opportunity for every marketer that shares the platform of 'important and meaningful ideas'.

TED personifies the media company of the future. Its brand extends to multiple media forms, from online and mobile to multiple global events and video. When marketers associate with the TED brand, they are receiving not only the connection to TED Conference attendees but the good will of TEDizens around the globe who appreciate the relationship. For a sense of the TED experience, view one or all of the following presentations, which are just a few of the hundreds of short video presentations available at the site.

Barry Schwartz: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/barry_schwartz_on_our_loss_of_wisdom.html

Jose Antonio Abreu: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jose_abreu_on_kids_transformed_by_music.html

Bill Gates http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/bill_gates_unplugged.html