Rob Reid's TED Talk

I saw the title of comic author Rob Reid's TED Talk, "The $8 Billion iPod" and was instantly drawn to it. With a title like that, how could you not be? When he started off his talk by mention SOPA and ACTA, I was even more thrilled. He goes on to talk about how the MPAA estimates that the American economy lost $58 billion in the bast year due to content theft. He lays out how, despite the fact that music industry revenue was down about $8 billion in 10 years, the TV, movie, book and radio revenues are way up. It's not possible to be down $58 billion. Which poses the question, is the MPAA lying to us? He decides that, under the practice of "Copyright Math", the missing $50 billion in revenue must be made up by something that hadn't existed before the first survey was taken.... Illegally downloaded ringtones. (cue an uproar of laughter). He touches on the topic of job loss due to piracy and average revenue loss for every copyrighted movie that is downloaded. Using the power of humor, he pretty much annihilates the MPAA's entire argument in under 6 minutes.

The best part in the whole speech was when Reid said that the MPAA stated that for each movie/song that is illegally downloaded, $150,000 is lost. He then proceeded to talk about the MP3 player. He said "[The first MP3 player] was a big Christmas hit, because what little hoodlum wouldn't want a million and a half bucks-worth of stolen goods in his pocket?” along with this equation: "10 songs x $150k = $1.5 million". I was laughing so hard that my mom came into my room to check on me. I loved it when he said, "Today's iPod classic can hold about 40,000 songs... Or $8 billion dollars in stolen media... Or about 75,000 jobs."

Reid uses humor to his advantage so well. He completely gets his point across, (that the MPAA's official statement is total you-know-what), but he does it so hilariously that I feel the need to re-watch it over and over again. I'm not saying that pirating music/movies/TV shows is okay, but I also don't think it's as massive of a deal as the MPAA and American government are making it out to be. Bravo, Mr. Reid. Bravo.

http://www.ted.com/talks/rob_reid_the_8_billion_ipod.html

David Eggar's TED Talk

It is 8:48 in the morning and I have no idea what David Eggar is talking about. It's not his fault. It's totally mine. It's my punishment for going to bed at 12:30 last night. I just need to zone in and get this done. He is telling a very interesting story about how he opened a pirate store. I think I missed something, though, because he is relating his pirate store to education. I think he opened a tutoring center in his pirate school. There it is. That's super cool that he did that. I would LOVE to have a tutor if it was in a pirate store! That's such a fantastic way to get children interested in learning. When he started talking about how the children were inspired by the prospect of an outside audience, I really connected with that. I love being able to share something I love with the world.

I'm sure that Eggar's TED Talk is really interesting and well put-together. However, because I was pulled out for my little conference with Mrs. Moritz, I think I missed some vital information that ties all of his ideas together, and I had a hard time focusing in on his topic. What I did figure out, though, I loved. Eggar was so natural and confident, and definitely well-practiced.When he started talking about the superhero store, (especially the "capery"), my entire class erupted in a chorus of "Woah!"s and "That's so AWESOME!"s. His call to action was simple enough to complete, yet it could really make a difference. I think it would be brilliant if more people in the community got involved with the public school systems.

Frank Warren's TED Talk

If you have ever been on the website, PostSecret.com, you know just how liberating knowing a secret can be. And from PostSecret founder Frank Warren's TED Talk, I have learned how liberating sharing a secret can be. Since starting PostSecret, a blog just like this one, Warren has received over 500,000 secrets from people all around the globe. Half a million secrets.

Warren's TED Talk doesn't have a strong opinion or controversial message, or even a tough topic at all. The point he is trying to get across is that everyone has a secret. Everyone's secret looks different. Perhaps it's something that they want to say to somebody but can't find the words. Or maybe something they did in their past that they wish could be erased. A simple "I hate my boss" pops up every once in a while as well. What Warren is trying to say is that secrets are not bad things. They are not anything to be ashamed or afraid of, and sometimes, it feels really good to let them go.

Warren's timing between secrets is really quite good, and he has obviously spent a lot of time practicing his speech, yet it still looks natural. He chooses a wide variety of moving and funny secrets, yet they seem to flow together effortlessly. Here are a couple secrets that I have read that really spoke to me:

"Everyone who knew me before 9/11 believes I'm dead."

"I hate loving families... Because I don't have one."

"I give decaf to customers who are rude to me." (Written on the back of a folded-up Starbucks cup)

"I sabotage all my relationships so that I can be a better musician."

"You don't know this, but if you hadn't stayed up until 4:45am with me in the dorm bathroom that night... I would have killed myself. Thank you."

"I've had four new cell phones since my father died three years ago, and I still add his number to every contact list."

"I forgive you."
 
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/frank_warren_half_a_million_secrets.html

Amy Purdy's TED Talk

"If your life were a book, and you were the author, how would you want your story to go?" Amy Purdy begins her TED Talk, "Living Beyond Limits" with these words. These seemingly simple, yet completely complex words. Purdy has quite a story: she lost both of her legs to meningitis, and, despite all odds, became a professional snowboarder.

Her story began bleak. She thought she would never be able to walk again. She strapped on bulky, unnatural prosthetics. She laid in bed for 3 months straight, simply so she didn't have to go out and face the world. One day, however, her viewpoint changed. She realized that she could make herself as tall or as short as she wanted to be, depending on who she was dating. Or that, when she snowboarded, her feet would no longer get cold. The optimism that Purdy took on her situation was so inspiring to me, and it made me put all of my minuscule problems into perspective. And as Purdy stands, tears in her eyes, smiling at the memory of her prosthetic legs flying down the mountain after she fell, still attached to her snowboard, I can feel her struggle. I can imagine the pain she went through, the humiliation, the heartache, just to get herself back up on that board. Not only did she get back up on her snowboard, but she had to design and build a special pair of feet in order to do so.

Let's see you top that, Shaun White.

Purdy hooks listeners in with deep thoughts and ideas, and she keeps us in with humor and heartwarming triumph. She relays the idea that, instead of living without borders, we need to challenge ourselves to take our borders and, rather than seeing them as limitations, we need to get creative and leap over those borders. That, right there, is an idea worth spreading.

http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_purdy_living_beyond_limits.html

Clay Shirky's TED Talk

I'm three minutes into Clay Shirky's TED Talk, and I still have no clue what his topic is going to be. This isn't looking good... Free time, maybe? No, not that. Human motivation and creativity, perhaps? I think that might be it. Not sure, though. Which is Shirky's first (but certainly not only) mistake. He hasn't given his audience a topic to contemplate. Wait a minute... Okay, he is mentioning cognitive surplus a lot, which I have never heard of, but according to my friend and mothership, Google, it is "the idea of spare brainpower in the world’s collective mind just sitting there waiting, wanting, to be harnessed," Well, let's see what I can do with this idea, because Shirky certainly hasn't given me much to talk about. He doesn't outline any of his ideas or give solid details, he just goes off on tangents and before you know it, he's talking about LOLCATS.

Um... What?

I'm truly sorry that this post isn't more insightful, long, or whatever it is that you are looking for. But, in my defense, Shirky didn't give me much to work with. When I finally uncovered the actual topic of his presentation, cognitive surplus, to me, it actually seemed like a very interesting idea. I only wish he had spent more time developing and explaining that idea as opposed to all the random sidecars he took; sidecars that seemingly both began and ended in the middle of nowhere. His presentation is style is non-existent, and he didn't engage the audience at all. There were no laughs, and nothing to make me, or his audience, care. And I didn't. He didn't make me care. Which, honestly, is the number one mistake someone giving a speech could possibly make. I was thoroughly disappointed with this TED Talk. 

Keith Nolan's TED Talk

I'm not easily inspired. It's kind of a problem, actually. I can love something and be passionate about it-- but not inspired. And then I came along Keith Nolan's TED Talk, "Deaf in the Military". The entire thing was in sign language, and there was a translator speaking for him, but I became so immersed in the story of Nolan's struggle that I didn't even notice after a while.

The part in his speech that really struck me was when he said that, when he emailed an ROTC officer about taking a few classes with them, he was surprised the answer wasn't "No, sorry, you can't, you're deaf." I can't even imagine being told I can't do something I'm passionate about because of a factor that I have no control over. Nolan does a great job of giving that "I can't imagine that..." feeling in his TED Talk.

He had so many interesting facts and a really cool history of deaf people in the military that was so well put together and supported his topic so well. He mentioned a few times that the Israeli army accepts deaf people, but not the American army. After mentioning this a few times, and talking about some notable American soldiers with disabilities, Nolan drops his entire argument on us. "If the U.S. Military can retain their disabled soldiers, why can't they accept disabled citizens as well?" And that right there is the underlying message of Nolan's TED Talk.

Acceptance.

We all yearn for it, we all hope to achieve it, yet for some people, that is a very difficult task. I felt Nolan's heartbreak as he realized that the Navy wouldn't take him. I felt his triumph when the Army ROTC let him begin taking classes and the ROTC instructor treated him just like every other cadet. And that's what Nolan does best. While his story doesn't have a happy ending yet, Nolan gives us all hope that perhaps, one day, the policy might change. I am inspired to make a change, and really follow this soldier's story. I am truly inspired.

TED Talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/keith_nolan_deaf_in_the_military.html

Daniel Pink TED Talk

Calling Daniel Pink passionate is a bit of an understatement. When he speaks, one can see the fire in his eyes as he explains extrinsic motivators. His passion and his obvious love for his topic made me want to love it too. Take the candle problem. As much as I don't want to admit it, I would most likely fail the candle problem. I don't look outside the box like that. I just give up. However, Pink's enthusiasm made me wonder why. I'm not sure I completely agree with what he was saying, but I had a deep respect for the fact that he said it. He presented his information with humor and fire, and, while it was often to keep up with him, once I got along with the pace of his speech, I was really into it.

Pink could have easily gone wrong here. Often times, passion and enthusiasm can be misconstrued as simply ranting. No one wants to have to listen to a rant. Pink, however, made sure to stay away from rant-mode by including facts, figures, and conclusive information that enhanced his point.

The only loophole in his idea is the fact that people will do things just because it's the right thing to do and they need to get it done. All too often, people don't work that way. There are so many things that need to be done that might not get done if people weren't motivated to do it. Outside motivation, whether it is money, praise, imminent punishment, or whatever, drives people. On the other hand, trust me when I say that this does not mean I believe that doctors wouldn't save lives if they weren't paid, or that kids wouldn't learn if they weren't praised. This simply means that motivation, in whatever form, keeps the world turning as we currently know it.

Daniel Pink is a man who is very in touch with his ideas and beliefs, and in his TED Talk, his enthusiasm was immensely contagious.