TED Community » Lance Brown

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• +6

  A comment on Conversation: If you could ask one question to all of your neighbors, what would you ask?

  Jul 29 2011: One I've been asking myself a lot recently...
  
  Do you actually care about the lack of community in suburban living. Would you actually get involved if there was a sense of community OR are you actually just happy travelling around doing the things you want, with the friends you choose (who are spread all over the city and beyond) and so do not have time or interest for a local community life as well?
  
  I know what I want the answer to this question to be, and I think most people would ideally agree, but in reality I think most people would fall into the latter. The question is whether that is the natural way or one that it can be re-learnt.

• A comment on Conversation: Social networksites, a good or a bad thing?

  Jul 29 2011: Definitely good. Having had a quiet childhood where I only had contact with a few close friends and was completely sheltered from what the rest of the world and my peers where up to, I am convinced that had social networks existed all my life, my life would have turned out very differently and for the better.
  
  The do encourage transparency and openness, while helping us to understand and accept others and the differences between us. They will also help to diminish taboos while highlighting the boundaries of acceptable behaviour.
  
  I also think the encourage more human to human contact, with a more diverse range of people, purely because its now easier to connect and communicate with others which makes organising and promoting events an awful lot easier. Also as the tech improves, so will the sensory contact you get through the social networks with the aid of video chats and live feeds so distant friends can share in the excitement of the moment (eg live videos of children's birthdays to relatives on the far side of the planet, or how about streaming a live video of your first music gig you play at straight to your Facebook page). I don't feel like I really knew my Grandparents for example as I only saw them a couple of times a year. Social networks would have been really helpful to know them better and understand what their life was like.

• A reply on Conversation: Where, beyond TED, are you going to discover new and interesting ideas? Where can you find an intelligent and thoughtful discourse?

  Jul 28 2011: I don't really follow any in particular. I learnt long ago that there is just far to much on the internet to follow anything. You will find it ends up feeling like its a chore as you can't keep on top of it otherwise. I take more of a lucky dip approach. I use Google Reader to subscribe to any blog that looks interesting and well written (tech or otherwise) and then just randomly browse the articles when I feel like it and have time. I'm currently subscribed to over 250 blogs but only read a few random articles a day. I also do similar with Twitter.
  
  Using this approach, whenever you find a topic, project, company of person that your interested in, I do some quick Googling on them looking for RSS and twitter feeds and subscribe to any you find. The result is a nice diverse range of posts to choose from that no one blog will ever cover. If you can be bothered, group them in folders or lists by the main topic of the blog so you can easily filter to just read articles on that topic. I have thinks like Tech, Internet, Science Projects, Space etc. Google reader has a nice explore and recommended sources feature as well.
  
  If I want to leave a comment I will click through to the original blog and leave it there or maybe link to it in FB to discuss with friends. For conversations I want to follow, I bookmark them in my browser under a folder 'conversation I have taken part in'! This way, I'm not tied to any one place.
  
  Going back to your original question. You will always get better conversations the closer you get to the original source. So if you read an interested news article on a space telescope for example, go and seek out the specialist blogs and forums where the professionals involved hang out (try searching on the names of the people, project or their institutions). Just avoid making dumb statements about matters you don't know anything about if you loiter in these areas!

• A reply on Conversation: What would an atheist/multi-faith church look and feel like? I suggest a TEDx gathering!

  Jul 28 2011: I've been mulling doing a TEDx, or just getting friends around to watch the videos together, but I'm trying to think how this fits into the bigger picture. I'm trying to work out how to rekindle a sense of community is my quiet suburban corner of Nottingham where the only active groups are based around religion and there is a general sense of apathy amongst everyone else. I want there to be a place/or events within 15 mins walk for my community that is held frequently enough that it becomes part of peoples routine.
  
  I guess the hard bit is getting enough material to keep them fresh. Religions have the benefit of having giants books that they can work though and look for meaning in without having to find it from scratch.

• A reply on Conversation: What would an atheist/multi-faith church look and feel like? I suggest a TEDx gathering!

  Jul 28 2011: Hi Sanyu,
  
  Good point on the using the word faith as opposed to organised religion. I stand corrected on that and wholeheartedly agree.
  
  The idea of your tribe sounds like your using events to develop a sense of community. Something that I have been thinking a lot about of late.
  
  I think my reason posing the this as an 'idea' rather that something we just do informally is that an 'idea' can take on an identity of its own and will help people understand what it is and too communicate and replicate it. To have a more widespread impact, it would help if this idea/type of gathering had a name, a mission statement and recognised format. I would of cause rather it be not centrally organised or having a rigid branding like a TED event needs. But there would need to be an understanding of what to expect from it wherever they took place.
  
  So here's a question... if you held a TEDx like 'conference' EVERY MONTH in your community showing videos, talks from local people etc, what would you call this type of event?
  
  The word 'conference' doesn't sound right.
  
  Perhaps this is a direction that TEDx's themselves could develop. TED are naturally careful to ensure the quality of any events that use the TED name. But is the idea of a TEDx concept itself an idea worth sharing. So should we be asking TED to define and develop an open source version of the TEDx that could be used regularly in every community.

• A reply on Conversation: What would an atheist/multi-faith church look and feel like? I suggest a TEDx gathering!

  Jul 28 2011: Thanks Birdia,
  
  I've just had a quick look at the Rothko Chapel and I personally like the idea of a "tranquil meditative environment" and it sounds like they do great work for human right, peace and social justice. It also sounds similar to the Lotus Temple in India...
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Temple
  
  I really like the sound of these interfaith chapels, along with the idea of exploring faith and this kind of environment would certainly be of more appeal to me then anything I have personally experienced.
  
  However, here are some phrases used in their description...
  
  "a sacred place"
  "chapel"
  "alive with religious ceremonies"
  
  By design, these are about spirituality, ritual and quiet contemplation, which does appeal, but would also put a lot of people off attending. I was think of something more practical, perhaps more of a evolution of a town meeting then a redefinition of church. This is why I like the TEDx analogy. Image if one was help in your village / town / community every month focusing on local people and issues. What would that look like?
  
  The big difference between a TEDx event and a typical community meeting is that the debate and action happens away from the main talks. You all come together to share in hearing something inspirational, and you take from it what you want. If you want to discuss or get involved, you can afterwards, or you could just enjoy the experience and head off home. They are also always positive minded rather then just talking about problems without solutions or just saying "someone else should do something about that".
  
  I'm going to mull on the environment, mood and ritual aspects, because these can help build a common identity, but I do think they also act to separate self from others and so it may be better to avoid them.
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: How has music transformed your life?

  Jul 28 2011: Music has a hard wired, direct link to our mood, feelings and sensations. It can heighten them and change them. Just try watching any movie with and without a sound track to see the impact it has on us.
  
  It helps us recall memories and emotions by being the language of emotion. The combinations of words and sounds in a song link straight into how our brain stores our memories of emotions and helps us to relive these.
  
  Each music beat of cord is like a pleasant massage of the brain that makes us feel good or can act to jar us when we don't like it.

• A comment on Conversation: Can Google plus beat the well-know Facebook ?

  Jul 28 2011: If Google+ is able rapidly improve it to keep its new / current users happy it stands a chance of gaining a significant place alongside Facebook.
  
  Here's a list of examples of how I think each social network fills its own niches...
  
  LinkedIn - Professional relationships, self promotion (with anyone / everyone)
  
  Twitter - Broadcasting / Sharing your thoughts and interests, public announcements, news (with anyone / everyone)
  
  Facebook - Sharing with ALL people who have an interest in YOU. Linking to all your interests. Managing significant and public events. Communicating with groups of people you don't know but share a specific interest in.
  
  ...and so this allows Google+ to take the place of...
  Google+ - Communicating and sharing within small defined groups. Including within businesses (a friends circle for each business project anyone?).
  
  So I expect find chat for person to person and with close groups of friends reducing in Facebook and migrating to Google+. However Facebook will remain where we go to share to all the people who know/care about us or share a specific interest with. It will be where we announce things of significance we want all our friends and acquittance to know. Facebook will be the environment that links all your connections and interests (including to business) and will be the common denominator used by the most number of people. It will be the glue to make the social web and social apps work because everyone's a user.
  
  Facebook will sit at a level between Twitter (broadcast to all) and Google+ (targeted communications) where you are only broadcasting to people who have an interesting in you.

• A comment on Conversation: Where, beyond TED, are you going to discover new and interesting ideas? Where can you find an intelligent and thoughtful discourse?

  Jul 28 2011: I like to read technology blogs. Although these often focus on reviewing the new tech, its often nice to think about the its wider context in the world and the long term impact it may have. You can then try starting a conversation in the comments on that blog.

• A comment on Conversation: invent a biodegradable cigarette filter

  Jul 28 2011: The best way to reduce the number of cigarette filters would be to invent a filter that blocks the addictive properties of cigarettes and then more people would give up.