TED, or Technology, Entertainment, Design, is a private nonprofit foundation that produces invitation-only speeches and streams them to the world free. No registration is required, but you can sign up for an account with TED if you want to join the community. TED Talks feature leaders in innovation and upcoming stars presenting jaw-dropping talks with a very high production value.
The TED video site derives its talks from a handful of TED conferences that take place around the world. Long Beach, California and Oxford UK are the typical hosts but many other locations may arise like this year’s TEDIndia conference which will take place in Mysore, India. Along with their international locale and topics, TED tries to share these ideas with as many people as possible. One limitation to that goal would be the language barrier. All videos are recorded in English but are now being converted to interactive transcripts or subtitled in multiple languages through the TED Open Translation Project.
Adobe Flash is the only requirement to view TED talks and their revolutionary ideas. If you have any other questions about TED, you will probably find the answer on the TED Help page.
If you’re in need of some conversation pieces, head over to the TED site and watch a few videos. You’ll certainly find something you can’t stop talking about.