X Marks the Spot

Ever wondered about the "x" in TEDxBroadway?

Well, you've heard of TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design). TED is the big conference, which has been held annually since 1990 and set the model to provide these powerful talks online for free. TEDx events were created some years later with the same spirit of the TED mission, "ideas worth spreading," but are independently organized on a community level. The word that follows each and every TEDx indicates ... a location.

Therefore, when we talk about TEDxBroadway, we're talking about Broadway as in both the literal location and the industry as a whole.

This location is key and has been a huge part of our conference since the beginning. In fact, our very first TEDxBroadway speaker in 2011 was Ken Davenport, with his overview of what Broadway was like 20 years ago (in the 1990s).

In 2014, we invited Snohetta's Craig Dykers to give us an advance look at the Times Square Renovation.

In this year's conference, Michael Riedel explained "How Broadway Saved New York City" in the 1970s. 

A few other topics we've looked into, which reveal so much about our location and community, include "How Community Activism Is Pest Control" with Caroline Bragdon and Ed Poteat's talk, when he asked "Can Community Development Occur Through Gentrification?"

There are many more talks about Broadway as a place and an industry to explore on TEDxBroadway.com that we absolutely treasure.

Hope you enjoy them too.

Cheers,
The TEDxBroadway Team