Tony TED lands on Skid Row

For years, the exclusive

TED conference took place in intentional obscurity, known only to the elite who were invited to attend (and who forked over thousands of dollars to confab with other, similarly-situated people, all of whom were hip to the fact that TED was an acronym for the three main subjects at hand:

technology, entertainment and

design.)

Then, a few years back, this group of well-to-do brains opened its doors to the rest of the world in a decidedly digital way, releasing videos of the “TED Talks.” These 18-minute gems are sometimes taste-making, often thought-provoking and can even go viral.

Meanwhile, the price-tag for the real thing went up: the last one, which was held in Long Beach, sold-out at $7500 a ticket.

As the inevitable TED spin-offs began, TED licensed the concept of a fast-moving-yet-deep discourse to schools and institutions and “regular” people who couldn’t get access to the real deal but were starved for community and dialogue.

TEDX events have been held across the globe, and in just a few weeks, you can one here in Los Angeles,

TEDX Skidrow. The theme is

“activating advocacy” and the cost? 99 bucks.

Cooper Bates, one of the co-presenters, announced the event in an email: “Due to TED’s strict rules governing events, no profit is made nor is anyone paid to produce the event. Each of our 14 presenters donates their time, and are not required to purchase a ticket… We leave a handful of spots open for our all-volunteer production team, and have 10 scholarship passes for Skid Row residents. Each ticket helps offset the cost of the production of the event (e.g. A/V, tech, catering for the day, etc.)”

Because of space limitations, you have to apply to attend.

June 9th/Downtown Los Angeles