Who is TED, anyway?

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The 2012 SXSW Film, Interactive and Music Festival descended on Austin on March 9 and takes over the city until March 18. It all started with the SXSW Music Conference and Festival, which debuted in Austin in March 1987. The event now known as the SXSW Interactive Festival began in 1994 (at that point, it was called the SXSW Film and Multimedia Conference). By 1995, SXSW Film and Multimedia became separate events until four years later, when Multimedia morphed into Interactive in 1999. The latest tech additions, SXSW ScreenBurn, focused on video game technology, was added to the mix in 2006 followed by SXSW Accelerator in 2009. And this year, TED had its very own first SXSW session … a locally organized TEDx sponsored by htc.

Austin.- The 2012 SXSW Film, Interactive and Music Festival descended on Austin on March 9 and takes over the city until March 18. It all started with the SXSW Music Conference and Festival, which debuted in Austin in March 1987. The event now known as the SXSW Interactive Festival began in 1994 (at that point, it was called the SXSW Film and Multimedia Conference). By 1995, SXSW Film and Multimedia became separate events until four years later, when Multimedia morphed into Interactive in 1999. The latest tech additions, SXSW ScreenBurn, focused on video game technology, was added to the mix in 2006 followed by SXSW Accelerator in 2009. And this year, TED had its very own first SXSW session … a locally organized TEDx sponsored by htc.

By Angela Covo
angela.covo@gmail.com

TED is not a who, but a what (and not even specifically music, film or interactive). According to the Website, TED is a nonprofit devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading.”

The name is an acronym for Technology, Entertainment and Design which grew out of the first TED conference in 1984 that brought people from those three worlds together. The concept took off like wild fire. Today TED conducts two annual conferences in Long Beach and Palm Springs and the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh, UK each summer. The whole point is to facilitate the exchange of ideas between people to inspire, delight and edify everyone.

For a little space of time at the tech-savvy SXSW, people paused and listened (in real time and in person) to other people sharing brilliant ideas and connecting – person to person. Those present Sunday night got to hear Kat Edmondson’s sweet strains and learn about innovative ideas and solutions from several speakers who delivered the goods in polished, eight-minute segments.

Every presenter successfully captured the hearts and minds of the audience, who filled the 2nd floor Ballroom at the Driskill to capacity. Ayah Bdeir, an artist/engineer who created a company called Little Bits to put engineering power in the hands of designers of all ages, explained how the notion occurred to her from a single concrete block.

JP Rangaswami shared his obeservations about how humans handle mega-amounts of digital information. We are not suffering from information overload, but from "filter failure,"  he suggests -- like poor dieters, we simply can't resist another morsel.

Musician D.J. Spooky (Paul Miller) demonstrated the emerging complexity of music and symmetry combining his beats and sound with an Austin Symphony violinist – all inspired by his study of ice in Antarctica and Kepler’s treatise “A New Year’s Gift.”

Artist and scientist Ping Fu, who co-founded Geomagic, shared how her company helped revolutionize cleft palate treatment with 3D imaging and Nandu Madhava is working with emerging technologies to improve information sharing to benefit communities in India.

As if that wasn’t enough, Madhava was raised in Texas and speaks almost perfect Spanish, too.

The inspirational talks and innovative ideas these individuals shared can’t be properly conveyed in just a few words here – which is why TED has TED talks on their Website – where one can get a dose of inspiration as needed. Just visit www.ted.com, explore and prepare to be amazed.

 Photo: Speakers at SXSW@TED gather after event. (Photo by Freddie Covo)