TED, short for Technology, Entertainment and Design, is a series of conferences to disseminate "ideas worth sharing."
It began as a one time event in 1984, but grew to a series of talks around the world. The first of the series was held in Monterey in 1990 and featured speakers from Silicon Valley, who are given 18 minutes to present their ideas. It was held there annually until 2009 when it was moved to Long Beach. Tickets in the early years were $6,000.
Speakers have included Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Bill Clinton and Al Gore and Bill Gates.
TEDx events are locally organized spin-offs, which are much more affordable.
The Santa Cruz version will be held 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Cabrillo College's Crocker Theater. Tickets are $75, including lunch and $50 for students. Get tickets here.
(Here's my favorite TED talk on video.)
Santa Cruz speakers include:
- John Perry Barlow, Peripheral Visionary
- Tom Brown, Ceiba Public Schools
- Allie Cooper, Aerialist
- Terry Corwin, Land Trust of Santa Cruz County
- Albert Flynn DeSilver, Poet, Author, Artist, Publisher
- Donnie Fowler, Dogpatch Strategies
- Zach Friend, Santa Cruz Police Department
- Danny Keith, Grind Out Hunger
- Martha Mendoza, Associated Press Writer
- Mark Nicolson, Leadership Consultant
- Cid Pearlman, Choreographer, Curator, Educator
- Luc Reynaud, Luc & The Lovingtons
- Terri Schneider, Coach, Consultant, Speaker, Writer
- Nina Simon, Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
- Whitney Smith, Girls for a Change
- G Craig Vachon, Anchorfree
- Chris Yonge, MakersFactory
