TED

Let me introduce you to TED.

TED.com is a website containing hundreds of short video talks by the most innovative speakers of today. Each talk must pass strict quality guidelines in order to make it on the website, ensuring that all talks are both enlightening and entertaining. The topics range from The rise of personal robots, to Using nature’s genius in architecture, to How I held my breath for 17 minutes.

To get a taste of the talks they have, check out this video on “how to start a movement.”

Neat, huh?

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, but the online archive includes talks on everything from business to science to global issues. At the heart of TED is the annual TED conference in Long Beach California. The conference sells out a year in advance, even though you must fill out an rigorous application to attend… they even follow up on your references. If that wasn’t enough, the most basic tickets cost $7,500 each!

Why the tough selection process? They claim that, “TED’s success is based on the extraordinary effect of bringing together 1,000 of the world’s most remarkable people. The result? Unexpected connections. Extraordinary insights. Powerful inspiration.”

The audience is so impressive that the speakers (which include people like Malcom Gladwell, Bill Clinton, Stephen Hawking, and Bill Gates) are willing to speak ,without pay. They do it for the opportunity to get their ideas out to some of the biggest movers and shakers from around the world.

My goal is to be one of those movers and shakers so that one day I’ll have the chance to attend. In the mean time I’ll get my inspiration from their site. Following are four of the best talks I’ve come across so far:

• Do schools kill creativity?
• Jeff Bezos on the next web innovation
• Music and Passion
• Seth Godin on sliced bread

If you can’t get enough then you can download their podcasts or follow their blog. This is high quality entertainment, folks.

At least it’s better than youtube videos.