the TED sensation

Yesterday someone sent me a link to the TED Talks piece on Aimee Mullens, the beautiful woman (both inside and out) who is redefining the way the world thinks about disability in general and prosthetics in particular. Her story is stunning [http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/aimee_mullins_prosthetic_aesthetics.html] but just as stunning is the way that TED's Chris Anderson and June Cohen have created a media sensation with TED Talks - an on-line parade of fascinating people doing inspiring and cutting edge work. Each phase of Ted's development has been more riveting than the past.

I remember when Richard Saul Wurman, the one who coined the term "information architect," first created the TED conferences in '84. I doubt if I was really aware of the first conference in '84, but within a few years they came on my radar screen as very cool places to meet luminaries from the technology and design world in intimate living room type settings. These conferences were a bit mysterious. Those who were lucky enough to score tickets came back talking about the thrill of sitting in on sessions with their tech-design heroes. That was great.

But what Chris Anderson has done to TED, since he took over in 2001, is not only great, but generous. He has kept all of the excitement of hearing about "ideas worth spreading," but with the help of June Cohen has put the world in the front row at a seemingly endless series of live presentations by slightly nervous and very excited creators. Then, they took it one step further creating the Ted Prize, so that some of their stars could make wishes - big wishes - planet-changing wishes and TED would help them make these wishes come true. This is just the kind of wildly creative, good hearted, philanthropy that those of us in the IVoH network get most excited about.