LESSONS
FROM
ARE IDEAS
WORTH
SPREADING
And because of the present economic
state, members are depending on
their associations now more than ever,
demanding association professionals
to think strategically and creatively to
respond to their needs.
If the creative well is running dry, a
powerful resource association professionals may consider is TED. Owned by the
nonprofit The Sapling Foundation, TED
(which stands for technology, entertainment and design) is devoted to “ideas
worth spreading,” a concept it promotes
by distributing free information from
teachers, visionaries and subject matter
experts that’s designed to spark ideas
that reshape views, alter attitudes and
amplify thoughts.
To understand how they can scale
the ideas and principles of TED to add
innovation and creativity to their meetings and organizations, association professionals must first learn how TED has
evolved during the past 25 years.
TED THEN AND NOW
TED began in 1984 as a conference
in Monterey, Calif. It brought together
about 400 professionals from three
industries — technology, entertainment
and design — and resembled a large
think tank. According to Dan Concep-
cion, general manager of the Monterey
Conference Center, where the TED con-
ference was held for more than 20 years,
TED inventor Richard Saul Wurman
designed TED to be presented in 12 ses-
sions for only 12 years.
