

I created IdeaWave as I couldn't afford TED ($7k) or IdeaCity ($3k).  - ideawave
http://www.ideawave.ca/2012-conference/

======
andrewmayne
We get to hear a speaker explain how to tap into the secret behind dowsing
rods to build a space drive?

Sounds...um...never mind.

~~~
chris11
There is also the guy who is advocating the use of low level radiation to
improve health. He is pictured on his website wearing radiation emitting glass
beads around his neck.

I'd say that the acceptance standards are low. Some of the presenters seem to
be involved in pseudoscience and others seem to be of generally low quality.
I'm also questioning the wisdom of allowing only ten minutes per speaker. Most
Ted talks seem to go a lot longer, and I would want more than a ten minute
conversation on an interesting topic.

[http://www.ideawave.ca/2012-conference/low-level-external-
nu...](http://www.ideawave.ca/2012-conference/low-level-external-nuclear-
radiation-can-improve-health/)

~~~
ideawave
I really look forward to the low level radiation to improve talk, I've read
his research and it is really interesting. I have two science/techy types who
verify all the talks, so there is some verification. You can read about the
submission and approval process at:
<http://www.krisconstable.com/ideawave-2012/> as well as in the Times-
Colonist:
[http://www.timescolonist.com/Conference+swamped+wave+ideas/6...](http://www.timescolonist.com/Conference+swamped+wave+ideas/6177199/story.html)
Ian is a lot more science than magic hand wavey then you may think; he's built
a hydrogen assisted sailboat, and spoke at IdeaWave before on his rediscovery
of nickel-iron batteries that the Thomas Edison battery company made
disappear: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO0-mGrWcjo> along with a another
few decades of inventions and innovation. I hope you get a chance to attend
the conference and dialog with him!

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itmag
Wow! You created your own conference. Extremely awesome.

As someone who wants to do the same thing (and has the contact network to
feasibly do it), I am extremely interested in knowing how you did it :) Any
pointers?

Edit: Also, I would be happy to join in on your project. As in become your
assistant organizer or something like that. I am awesome at finding
interesting talent and getting it to work for free :) Email me for more info
:)

~~~
ideawave
Thanks, I appreciate the feedback! A couple of pointers: 1) Just do it. When
in doubt, if you've got the resources to make it happen, the worst case is
you'll learn a few things on how to make it better. 2) Bring in your network
to help you out. I'm also lucky to have a large network, but it was awkward
telling close friends that I didn't accept their talk, so I brought in a
diverse team who reviews all of the talks now. If you have any questions,
don't hesitate. I'll be sure to email you, thanks again!

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anateus
You may also enjoy the BIL conference taking place quite soon on March 3-4:
<http://www.bilconference.com/>

~~~
bravura
My favorite story about BIL was that it was originally hosted _across the
street_ from TED. So a lot of TED participants would roll over to BIL to enjoy
its lower-key vibe.

This unfortunately is no longer the case, because TED has moved to a new city.

~~~
Jezebel
you know, we have a ton of TED speakers coming to BIL this year...

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imrehg
Or could have hosted an Ignite - even multiple ones :) Greetings from Ignite
Taipei <http://ignitetaipei.tw>

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pedalpete
Unfortunately, I'm out of the country or I might have made the trip over to
the island. Best of luck with this.

For your future conferences, you may have better luck not having your event at
the same time as TED. Though you may not be attracting the same speakers, you
may be able to attract some of their audience, and some of their audience may
make excellent speakers for your event.

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bottlerocket
The first Weapons of Mass Creation in Cleveland was community funded on
Kickstarter 2 years ago, and keeps getting bigger.

It can be done, best of luck to you

EDIT: link (<http://wmcfest.com/>)

~~~
ideawave
Kickstarter doesn't support Canadians, but thanks for the pointer!

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GigabyteCoin
It costs money to put on a TED talk? As in, TED charges you to speak?

~~~
shuzchen
<http://www.ted.com/pages/registration> Look at "Price of Attendance"

~~~
guynamedloren
Incredible that they are able to charge what they do. Talk about perceived
value! Base level of ~$7.5k gets you:

\- 1 year community membership

\- admission to a conference + meals and events

\- TED book club (4x/year)

\- online social network

But apparently $5k of that is tax deductible? Interesting.

~~~
sirclueless
I actually think that their business model is awesome. The fact is that the
general populace is not about to fund a bunch of ~20 minute speeches from
various luminaries, but at the same there is undeniable value in getting well-
prepared and important thoughts from a bunch of excellent speakers archived
and available in perpetuity online. So rather than trying to produce value
from a consumer who may see little value beyond a brief mind-bending video,
they turn it into an exclusive charity club. Taken on its own, it appears to
be a way to sleeze $7k out of pretentious rich people, but they do actually
provide a lot of intellectual sparks to the benefit of the world outside.

------
ChrisNorstrom
So are you going to post videos of the talks on YouTube? It would be really
nice.

~~~
ideawave
Yes! You can see the first year's videos online now:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBQMVF7CPuc&list=UUIpFa-L...](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBQMVF7CPuc&list=UUIpFa-
LdeEcPWZe1aVTYALg&index=10&feature=plcp) I hope to start posting the 2011
videos this week.

The pirate ship of Theseus talk would probably also interest hackernews
readers and/or Canadians, as it's perhaps even more politically relevant today
as it speaks about copyright.

