Did you know that TED & TEDx aren’t the same thing?

I’m not a spokesperson for TED; all the answers below can be found on their website (TED.com). But hopefully, this post will clear up some confusion.

In their own words, “TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment, and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages.”

Every year, more than a thousand people attend the main TED Conference in Vancouver, Canada. 

Over five days, 70+ speakers give 18-minute-max talks on stage & attendees enjoy a number of exhibits, networking events, and outings. Tickets range from $5,000 – $250,000.

 

TED has a number of sister conferences, including:

 

• TEDGlobal, a conference that explores ideas, innovation, and creativity from all around the world. The most recent TEDGlobal in 2017 was held in Arusha, Tanzania.
• TEDWomen, an annual three-day conference about the power of women and girls to be creators and change-makers. The most recent TEDWomen in 2018 was held in Palm Springs, California.
• TED Salons, a condensed version of a TED flagship conference, which welcomes an intimate audience for an afternoon or evening of highly-curated TED Talks revolving around a globally relevant theme.

Most, but not all, of the videos produced at these conferences are posted on TED.com and are viewed by millions of people around the globe!

But TED is so much more than its conferences.

They have dozens of programs & initiatives like:

• TED-Ed, TED’s youth and education initiative that produces original animated videos, helps students learn presentation literacy skills, and provides an international platform for 250,000 teachers to create their own interactive lessons.
• TED Fellows, a program that provides transformational support to a global network of 400 visionaries – scientists, artists, activists, entrepreneurs, doctors, journalists, and inventors – who collaborate across disciplines to create positive change around the world.
• The Audacious Project, TED’s collaborative experiment that puts bold ideas for social change into action by funding them at scale – ideas like ending the injustice of the cash bail system in the U.S. or eliminating Trachoma, a disease that’s blinded people for thousands of years.

One of those programs & initiatives is TEDx.

“TEDx brings the spirit of TED’s mission of ideas worth spreading to local communities around the globe. TEDx events are organized by curious individuals who seek to discover ideas and spark conversations in their own community. TEDx events include live speakers and recorded TED Talks, and are organized independently under a free license granted by TED.”

In other words, anyone can apply for a license to hold a TED-style event in their hometown. TED reviews your application and approves or denies it. Then, it’s up to you to organize the conference according to TED’s rules.

So, when you see the phrase “TEDxSydney” online, you know that it’s an independently organized event licensed by TED and held in Sydney. The local Sydney team oversees all aspects of that conference – the venue, logistics, speaker selection, speaker preparation, exhibits, etc. – in compliance with TED’s rules. They have to raise the money to cover all of their costs; TED doesn’t fund TEDxSydney or any other TEDx event.

Like TED, TEDx has different event types, including Women, Youth, and ED. You can tell by the event name: TEDxMileHighWomen, TEDxYouth@SanDiego, and TEDxPhiladelphiaED.

All TEDx Talks are recorded & posted on YouTube. TED curators select the best TEDx Talks from around the world and post them on the TED.com homepage. If you look closely at each video on TED.com, you can see where it comes from:

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Ari Wallach’s talk was produced & recorded at TEDxMidAtlantic in Washington D.C., and then selected for the TED.com homepage by TED curators.

Getting featured on the TED.com homepage is the holy grail of TEDx speaking. 10,000s of TEDx Talks are posted on YouTube every year, and only 50-75 of those are selected for TED.com. It’s a huge honor.

You can watch the 10 Most Popular TEDx Talks posted on TED.com here.

The same applies to TEDRadioHour on NPR. The majority of talks featured on TEDRadioHour are from the main TED Conferences, but some were recorded at TEDx events too!

FAQs:

How do I attend TED, TEDGlobal, or TEDWomen?
How do I speak at a flagship TED Conference?
How do I attend a local TEDx event?
How do I speak at a TEDx event? 
How do I organize a TEDx event?

Why it matters for you

If you’re speaking at TEDx, don’t say you’re speaking at TED. If you’re a TEDx speaker, don’t say you’re a TED speaker. It’s misleading to the public, and technically a violation of TED’s rules.

And please, for the love of all that’s holy, write TEDx as follows: TEDx.

It’s not tedX, it’s not TedEx, it’s not TedX, it’s not ttteeeeeddddxxxxx (I don’t think anyone has ever made that specific mistake before – but now you won’t). 

There’s only one way to write it: TEDx.

I say this because you want to look professional AF. Writing “TedX” is akin to misspelling someone’s name in an email. If you write “Dear Brian, thanks for the interview today,” but his name was Bryan, you’re definitely not getting that job!