Below is a sample of some of the talks that inspired me at TED 2013 this year. From music and healing to endangered species, our role in helping save them and mobile vehicles, the issues were broad.
Let Music Heal Your Soul: Ji-Hae Park, Violinist
“I use my music to reach people’s heart. There are no boundaries,” says Ji-Hae Park on the TED2013 stage. While TED may be a lofty place to perform, she also plays at prisons, hospitals and restricted facilities. She talks about her time when she was depressed and how changing your perspective THROUGH music transformed how she viewed music but life itself. She encouraged TEDsters to “play their lives.”
Endangered Species & Our Role to Save Them: Stewart Brand from LongNow
Stewart shared stats that were encouraging about how human effort to save endangered species can help highlighting that progress can be made. He also sent off alarming bells suggesting that there is still a lot to be done and we have the power to change things.
A Mobile Electric Vehicle: Sanjay Dastoor
We learned about a mobile electric vehicle aka something called “Boosted Boards”, which are a souped-up version of a skateboard that runs on a tiny motor, powerful enough to take you up the famous hills of San Francisco at 10 miles per hour. These boards are highly maneuverable and have a handheld remote that allows for acceleration and braking with a battery that has a range of six miles.
Vehicle on stage photo credit: James Duncan Davidson. Gorilla photo from All About Wildlife. Violin shot: KoreanCulture.org.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored over 90, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity. She is also the founder of the Magdalene Collection, a jewelry line dedicated to women’s unsung voices and stories, and the award-winning author of the bestselling book Magdalene’s Journey
She is founder of Blue Soul Media and co-founder of Blue Soul Earth as well as the producer and host of the award-winning Blue Soul CHATS podcast, that bridges science, technology and spirituality. Renee also founded Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
