The first TEDx Boston event has come and gone, and is certainly worthy of review. If you were there then I’d love to hear your comments. If not, here’s an overview of what the day looked like:
From 2-7pm the Fidelity Center for Applied Technology hosted some of Boston’s best and brightest. The highlights included:
- Smart city and smart transportation planning taking place at the MIT media lab.
- Reverse mentorship as an opportunity to bridge the ‘digital divide’ and cross-pollinate ‘real world’ experience with free thinking.
- A group that has figured out how to generate electricity from dirt.
- Pioneering low cost solutions to serious global healthcare issues.
- Inspirational models for reinventing education.
- Elder care innovations (for prescriptions and assisted living) from the inside out.
If you are at all interested in thought leadership and innovation you should follow those links and see what local organizations are doing to change our city, and our world. You’ll be amazed, I promise.
I was most impressed with the impending reality of ‘foldable cars’ and the inside-out re-planning of urban transportation and elder care. These two mega-trends will challenge the way we live our lives on a daily basis. But they also represent huge opportunities, and I’m relieved to hear that some of Boston’s smartest people are launching revolutionary solutions for the problems at hand.
The day concluded with a performance by the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, (which was absolutely inspiring) and an opportunity to socialize in a full house of fired-up people. If I were to give a letter grade, the event as a whole would register an A-.
That said, it’s important to consider areas for improvement as well:
- The TED format in general lacks continuity. Does putting a bunch of (somewhat random) concepts in front of people Spread Ideas? Surely, as evidenced by TED’s growth. But I want more, and I bet there are others who feel the same way. How can we harness the power of the ideas to actually move them forward? I’d love to see an opportunity for the TED crowd to engage with each other.
- Some of the ideas really weren’t Boston-based. This town has everything (2thinknow just ranked us as the world’s most innovative city) so there’s plenty of home-grown talent to highlight.
- The event included performances by two local musicians. Maybe these were intended to break up the (potential) monotony of listening to speakers, but they did nothing for me. I was there to hear ideas, not jazz improv.
- It was completely inappropriate to give Le Whif (whom I really don’t even want to mention because I don’t want to encourage you to visit their site) a platform at a TED event. First, they aren’t even a Boston-based company. Second, they are absolutely backward facing, the antithesis of innovation. What is Le Whif? It’s a plastic tube with 5 micrograms (or something like that) of chocolate powder that you inhale. The company is positioning it as a cool alternative to actually eating. Umm, ok. In reality it is an offensive waste of carbon, plastic and packaging. Oh, and just to add insult to injury the product design is an absolute failure. It’s very non-intuitive and anti-climactic. My wife said that this sounds like a product that will be “perfect for anorexics who like to pollute.” That just about says it all.
- Finally, the follow up feedback request that I received included 38 questions. Really. It sounds like something I could write a Saturday Night Live skit about. I wonder how many people are actually spreading their best feedback across a 38 question interview.
So there’s my two cents. I’d sign up for the next one in a heart beat and want to offer a sincere congratulations to the producers for a job very well done. I know they are working on bringing the content online, so be sure to visit their site for updates.
AfriGadget
Kiva