Hello, I like to watch TED talks to help keep me current with new topics of interest. Have you ever seen one?
I've seen many of them, yes! There's tons of them to watch, as it was founded in 1984 as a conference and then has been held annually since 1990.
I didn't realize that it has been around for so long. Do you know if they have always distributed their content online for free?
I believe they have always been free, yes, from a cursory Google search. And the actual events have been held throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, but, as you said, they have live-streaming for those that can't attend.
Yes, I have never attended one in person but I hope to one day. I hear that speakers are usually given a maximum of 18 minutes to express their ideas at conferences.
You're correct about that. And some of the most notable speakers to do so would be people like Bill Clinton (former president), or Jane Goodall (anthropologist), Al Gore, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Bill Gates, Bono, and even the founders of Google! This list doesn't even include Nobel Prize winners to give talks, either.
That is a star studded list of speakers. It also seems that currently the TED website has over 2600 talks up and view able.
Given its emphasis on technology and design, and it having been born out of Silicon Valley, most assume the main conference is held there. However, the main TED conference is annually held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Yes, I have heard that they hold them in Canada now. I believe they used to be held in Long Beach California years ago.
You are correct! This was prior to 2014. A key draw to TED talks in general is that not only do they touch interesting topics that are well-researched in the areas of science and culture, but they do so with compelling storytelling that draws the listener in.