I created IdeaWave as I couldn't afford TED ($7k) or IdeaCity ($3k).
ideawave.caWe get to hear a speaker explain how to tap into the secret behind dowsing rods to build a space drive?
Sounds...um...never mind.
There is also the guy who is advocating the use of low level radiation to improve health. He is pictured on his website wearing radiation emitting glass beads around his neck.
I'd say that the acceptance standards are low. Some of the presenters seem to be involved in pseudoscience and others seem to be of generally low quality. I'm also questioning the wisdom of allowing only ten minutes per speaker. Most Ted talks seem to go a lot longer, and I would want more than a ten minute conversation on an interesting topic.
http://www.ideawave.ca/2012-conference/low-level-external-nu...
I really look forward to the low level radiation to improve talk, I've read his research and it is really interesting. I have two science/techy types who verify all the talks, so there is some verification. You can read about the submission and approval process at: http://www.krisconstable.com/ideawave-2012/ as well as in the Times-Colonist: http://www.timescolonist.com/Conference+swamped+wave+ideas/6... Ian is a lot more science than magic hand wavey then you may think; he's built a hydrogen assisted sailboat, and spoke at IdeaWave before on his rediscovery of nickel-iron batteries that the Thomas Edison battery company made disappear: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO0-mGrWcjo along with a another few decades of inventions and innovation. I hope you get a chance to attend the conference and dialog with him!
Wow! You created your own conference. Extremely awesome.
As someone who wants to do the same thing (and has the contact network to feasibly do it), I am extremely interested in knowing how you did it :) Any pointers?
Edit: Also, I would be happy to join in on your project. As in become your assistant organizer or something like that. I am awesome at finding interesting talent and getting it to work for free :) Email me for more info :)
Thanks, I appreciate the feedback! A couple of pointers: 1) Just do it. When in doubt, if you've got the resources to make it happen, the worst case is you'll learn a few things on how to make it better. 2) Bring in your network to help you out. I'm also lucky to have a large network, but it was awkward telling close friends that I didn't accept their talk, so I brought in a diverse team who reviews all of the talks now. If you have any questions, don't hesitate. I'll be sure to email you, thanks again!
You may also enjoy the BIL conference taking place quite soon on March 3-4: http://www.bilconference.com/
My favorite story about BIL was that it was originally hosted across the street from TED. So a lot of TED participants would roll over to BIL to enjoy its lower-key vibe.
This unfortunately is no longer the case, because TED has moved to a new city.
you know, we have a ton of TED speakers coming to BIL this year...
They both appear to be in Long Beach.
Thanks for the pointer. Entertaining to see their pricing structure, I'd honestly never heard of them before today. I'm wondering if I can sneak down there before CanSecWest (technical security conference in Vancouver). I hope to make it work, it looks great!
pretty much, I am going to go with BIL conference. It is an Excellent Adventure... :)
Or could have hosted an Ignite - even multiple ones :) Greetings from Ignite Taipei http://ignitetaipei.tw
Unfortunately, I'm out of the country or I might have made the trip over to the island. Best of luck with this.
For your future conferences, you may have better luck not having your event at the same time as TED. Though you may not be attracting the same speakers, you may be able to attract some of their audience, and some of their audience may make excellent speakers for your event.
The first Weapons of Mass Creation in Cleveland was community funded on Kickstarter 2 years ago, and keeps getting bigger.
It can be done, best of luck to you
EDIT: link (http://wmcfest.com/)
Kickstarter doesn't support Canadians, but thanks for the pointer!
It costs money to put on a TED talk? As in, TED charges you to speak?
TED doesn't charge and doesn't pay speakers. Same for all TEDx events. IMHO it's a large part of what sets them apart from other conferences.
http://www.ted.com/pages/registration Look at "Price of Attendance"
Incredible that they are able to charge what they do. Talk about perceived value! Base level of ~$7.5k gets you:
- 1 year community membership
- admission to a conference + meals and events
- TED book club (4x/year)
- online social network
But apparently $5k of that is tax deductible? Interesting.
I actually think that their business model is awesome. The fact is that the general populace is not about to fund a bunch of ~20 minute speeches from various luminaries, but at the same there is undeniable value in getting well-prepared and important thoughts from a bunch of excellent speakers archived and available in perpetuity online. So rather than trying to produce value from a consumer who may see little value beyond a brief mind-bending video, they turn it into an exclusive charity club. Taken on its own, it appears to be a way to sleeze $7k out of pretentious rich people, but they do actually provide a lot of intellectual sparks to the benefit of the world outside.
$7,500 for a single week of attendance? Wow...
So are you going to post videos of the talks on YouTube? It would be really nice.
Yes! You can see the first year's videos online now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBQMVF7CPuc&list=UUIpFa-L... I hope to start posting the 2011 videos this week.
The pirate ship of Theseus talk would probably also interest hackernews readers and/or Canadians, as it's perhaps even more politically relevant today as it speaks about copyright.