Wake-Up Orange County
Co-organizing the upcoming TEDxOrangeCoast event on May 19th has led me to believe Orange County needs a kick in the rear to become a little more TED savvy. We TED fans are just about as crazy for TED as Apple fans are for their iPads. If you’re not familiar with TED, spend 16 minutes watching anything on TED.com and you’ll see what I mean. Over 2 million people visit the site every month. TED talks are now being translated into 18 different languages. Oh, and the cost of attending TED’s annual conference in Long Beach? A mere $6,000 (and from 2012 $7,500) for tickets that sell out faster than a Lady Gaga concert. (FYI, TEDxOrangeCoast, thanks to our sponsors, is only $95)
But TED’s curator, Chris Anderson, never meant for TED to become an elitist venue. That’s one of the biggest reasons why he developed TEDx. Created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading,” the TEDx program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level.
But what’s up with Orange County? Most of us think of OC as something a bit more than reality TV, right? Perhaps it is So Cal’s little Silicon Valley? I would bet if you ask the average person in Silicon Valley about TED, they would launch into their favorite TED talk. Yet what I’ve discovered is Orange County is quite different. In fact, I’m down right surprised at TED’s much smaller brand awareness here. My reason for co-organizing TEDxOrangeCoast is to change this.
Orange County is the perfect breeding ground for “ideas worth spreading”. There is so much brilliance and innovation occurring around us every day, but it’s too quiet. We’re a little too laid back. We need a jolt. That’s also the reason for our TEDxOrangeCoast theme, “Innovation Without Borders”. Our local area is bursting at the seams with powerful stories of local people who are not only innovative, but inspirational in the ways they’ve broken through cultural, physical, economical, geographical and political borders to achieve their goals.
Our speaker line-up is off the charts. 24 innovators from all walks of life, some whose names you already know, and some who – once you hear them – you’ll never forget. But the speakers are only part of what TEDx events are about. They participate (pro bono, by the way) to initiate and stimulate conversations within the audience. Most TED and TEDx venue attendees say they learned the most from conversations with fellow attendees during the breaks and afterward. That’s our plan, too.
If you still don’t quite understand what TED is, I encourage you to spend just a few minutes on their site. Look at the topics of the talks, the quality of the speakers and the massive interaction occurring worldwide thanks to this organization. Then look around you. You’ll probably see what I see – a wonderful opportunity for Orange County to embrace TED and share our own ideas worth spreading. I hope you’ll join me.
Ticket information is available at www.TEDxOrangeCoast.com. The ticket price is $95. A limited number of tickets that includes preferred seating in the orchestra section and includes the post event reception at The Center Club with invited speakers are available for $185.
–Cheril Hendry
Tags: Orange County Business Journal, Orange County Register, TEDxOrangeCoast, Wake up Orange County
Categories: Alice Shin, Amy Purdy, Ann Marie Calhoun, Carl St. Clair, CNN Heros, Daniel Amen, Danny Sullivan, Donald McKayle, Dondeena Bradley, Education Borders, Harry West, Innovation Without Borders, Jean DeKervasdoue, John Jolliffe, Joseph Maciariello, Lindsey Duncan, Lisa Sparks, Matthew Peterson, Mohamed A El-Erian, Richard Matthew, Rick Warren, Shelene Bryan, Sheron Wray, Sid Mohasseb, TEDxOrangeCoast | Leave a Comment »
