I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend TEDx Seattle yesterday.  If you are not familiar with TED and its purpose, I highly recommend you check it out and watch some of the previous presentations.  They promote "Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world."  The "TEDx" events are local, independently produced events that follow the format and flow of the main event held annually which is definitely on my list to attend at some point.

Essentially, TED is about spreading ideas and providing a forum for sharing information and broadening perspective.  

There were lots of great speakers and thought provoking presentations yesterday.  I kept my computer closed and phone off during all the sessions choosing to go old school and actually write down a few notes during the presentations.  Here are a few of the things that made the most impact on me:

• Storytelling is an essential part of communicating and sharing diverse experiences.
• Mobile technologies are about more than making us more productive, they can directly impact the health, agriculture, and economic development of nations (I have previously written on this here and here).
• Mobile technologies can both improve the delivery of health care in developing countries as well as serve as data collection devices in and of themselves (for vital signs, etc.) creating the ability to capture, transmit, and compare data over time and among populations.  This helps bridge the gap in countries where there is one doctor for every x thousands or tens of thousands of people.
  
• The transparency provided by social technologies brings up questions like if we know everything about everybody, will we even care any more or what is the true impact of having everything we have ever done documented to be used by us or against us?
• Something as simple as access to a savings account can make a huge impact on helping people escape poverty.  Less than half of the people in the world have a bank account.
• Our interconnected and information rich world has created "information poverty" for those without the means to access it.

One of the more meaningful sessions (to me) was Eugene Cho's presentation about One Day's Wages.  Truly inspirational and something I plan on learning more about.

Also, be sure to read Todd Bishop's nicely written summary of the day and you can get a feel for it 140 characters at a time via the Twitter chatter here.   

I believe it is important
to hear speakers present on things outside of your daily tasks, lives,
and subject matter expertise.  I use to be better at finding the time
and venues to learn about new things and have made a commitment to
better prioritize this in my life.