The best conference in the world -- and why Apple is the perfect sponsor for it

The New York Times today has an article noting that the Technology, Entertainment, and Design (TED) conference begins on Wednesday in Monterey, CA. I have gushed about TED before, noting that some of the speeches there are not only present some of the most important ideas of our age, but also are some of the best business presentations done in the world. Presentations I'm dying to see this year include Larry Lessig, Bill Clinton (a TED Prize winner this year), Alan Kay, Thomas Dolby, and Jeff Han (researcher on multi-touch technology). But I'm always surprised when I listen to the podcasts how many other great ideas and presentations come out of the conference. Without TED, I would never have picked up on the important work and moving lectures of luminaries like Hans Rosling and Sir Ken Robinson.

Now as the Times article notes, the TED conference is doing OK under the leadership of Chris Anderson (no relation to the Chris Anderson who is the author of The Long Tail). It has its own foundation, it is expanding to include a new global conference in June, and its Web site has become incredibly popular. But when I look at the the program and see the distinguished list of "Icons, Geniuses, and Mavericks" invited to speak, I'm reminded most of Apple's first Think Different ads, where the original copy read:

Here's to the crazy ones.
  The misfits.
    The rebels.
        The troublemakers.
          The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They're not fond of rules
  And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them,
  disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing that you can't do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
  They invent.     They imagine.     They heal.
  They explore.    They create.      They inspire.
They push the human race forward.
Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
  Or sit in silence and hear a song that's never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
We make tools for these kinds of people.
While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can
change the world, are the ones who do.

Apple couldn't get better brand reinforcement of this classic campaign that even today guides its business than by signing up as a corporate sponsor for TED. It would be good marketing and create more buzz and good will among leading influentials than a $100 million ad campaign. Marketing doesn't get any better than that.

Sadly, once again, we here at Blackfriars missed out on buying a ticket for the 2008 conference (only a limited number of non-invitation tickets are available, and they sell out a year in advance in just a week or so), but one of these years, we'll blog the conference live. Meanwhile, enjoy the coverage from the TED Web site; it provides a pretty good sampling of the most thought-provoking ideas you'll hear this year.

Technorati Tags: Advertising, Apple, Chris Anderson, Hans Rosling, Larry Lessig, Marketing, Sir Ken Robinson, TED, TEDTalks, Think Different