TED (conference)

==History==
===1984–1999: Founding and early years===
[[File:Bill Clinton talking at TED 2007.jpg|thumb|[[Bill Clinton]] addresses TED, 2007.]]

TED was conceived in 1984 by [[Richard Saul Wurman]], FAIA '76, <ref>{{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}}</ref> and co-founded by Emmy-winning broadcast and graphic designer [[Harry Marks (broadcast designer)|Harry Marks]] and CBS President Emeritus [[Frank Stanton (executive)|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.<ref name="addict"/><ref name="forum">{{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]]}}</ref> 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.<ref name="ted.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.ted.com/pages/16|title=History of TED {{!}} Our Organization {{!}} About |website=TED|access-date=June 18, 2016}}</ref>

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,<ref>{{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}}</ref> when it was moved to [[Long Beach, California]] due to a substantial increase in the number of those attending.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref name="LATimes">{{cite news|last=Kim|first=Victoria|title=Long Beach to host influential TED conference|date=January 16, 2008|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jan/16/business/fi-ted16|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=February 13, 2010}}</ref> 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.<ref name="ted.com"/>

===2000–present: recent growth===
In 2000, Wurman, looking for a successor at age 65, met with new-media entrepreneur and TED enthusiast [[Chris Anderson (entrepreneur)|Chris Anderson]] to discuss future happenings. Anderson's UK media company [[Future plc|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")<ref name=howtedworks/> acquired TED from Future for £6m.<ref>{{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}}</ref> In February 2002, Anderson gave a TED Talk in which he explained his vision of the conference and his future role of [[curator]].<ref>{{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}}</ref> Wurman left after the 2002 conference.

In 2006, attendance cost was $4,400 per person and was by invitation only.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ted.com/about/invitations|title=Getting Invited (attendees)|work=TED: Ideas Worth Spreading|publisher=TED Conferences, LLC|access-date=February 7, 2009}}</ref> The membership model was shifted in January 2007 to an annual membership fee of $6,000, which included attendance of the conference, club mailings, networking tools, and conference DVDs. The 2018 conference was $10,000 per attendee.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ted.com/attend/conferences/ted-conference#h3--ted-conference-standard-membership|title=TED Conference|website=ted.com|access-date=September 27, 2017}}</ref>

Between 2001 and 2006, TED upgraded its platform to provide TED talks online for free, added TEDGlobal that became a worldwide conference, and created the TED Prize.

In 2012, TED community director Tom Rielly helped the producers of ''[[Prometheus (2012 film)|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 (director)|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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

In 2014, the conference was moved to [[Vancouver]], Canada.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

TED is currently funded by various revenue streams, including attendance fees, corporate sponsorships, foundation support, licensing fees, and book sales. Corporate sponsors are diverse, including companies such as [[Google]], [[General Electric|GE]], [[AOL]], [[Goldman Sachs]], and [[The Coca-Cola Company]]. Sponsors do not participate in the event's creation, nor are they allowed to present on the main stage.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref name=americanu>{{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}}</ref>

In 2015, TED staff consisted of about 180 people headquartered in [[New York City]] and [[Vancouver]], British Columbia.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/how-ted-works |title=How TED works  |publisher=TED |access-date=February 19, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref>

At TED 2015, [[Bill Gates]] warned that the world was not prepared for the next pandemic, a warning some felt manifested with the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] beginning late 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TED2020 postponed {{!}} TED Blog |date=March 9, 2020|url=https://blog.ted.com/ted2020-postponed/ |access-date=March 14, 2020}}</ref>

In 2021, TED launched the TED Audio Collective with a number of podcasts featuring previous TED Talks and other relevant topics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blog.ted.com/ted-launches-ted-audio-collective-for-podcasts/ |title=TED launches TED Audio Collective for podcasts &#124; TED Blog |publisher=Blog.ted.com |date=February 22, 2021 |access-date=July 18, 2022}}</ref>

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 emission]]s.<ref name="BBC-61596817">{{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}}</ref>