[转帖] [2012.11.03] Corporate TEDucation TED企业启示录

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http://www.ecocn.org/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=166594
Lessons from TED
TED带来的启示

Corporate TEDucation
TED企业启示录

What a nonprofit events group can teach business
一个非盈利组织可以教会企业什么

Nov 3rd 2012 | from the print edition

WHEN it started in 1984, the TED【1】 conference (an abbreviation of “Technology, Entertainment, Design”) brought together a few hundred people in California. It has since grown into a global craze. It will soon pass a milestone: the one-billionth download of an online TED speaker video.

第一届TED大会于1984年在加州召开，当时几百个人参加了此次大会。TED是科技（Technology）、娱乐（Entertainment）、设计（Design）的缩写。发展到今天，它已经成了风靡全球一项大会。很快它将迎来它的一个里程碑：TED在线演讲视频下载次数将达到十亿次。

How did it get so popular? The internet played an important role. So did social media. But part of the success is the result of untraditional management. Instead of controlling the most valuable parts of the business, the group took the riskier path of opening them up to everyone. The method may hold lessons for other companies.

为什么它会如此受欢迎？网络和社交媒体在其中发挥了很大的作用。但是它的成功部分要归功于其颠覆传统的管理方法。TED并没有像其他机构一样将业务最有价值的部分牢牢控制在手中，相反，它走上了一条风险稍大的发展之路，将最有价值的部分开放给大众。这种发展方法可能会给其他公司带来一点启示。

In 2009, as it was becoming well known, TED decided that, instead of managing its brand more tightly as conventional wisdom instructs, it would create a free licence for others to host local conferences, called TEDx. Now, six or seven TEDx events are held every day. These events seem to add to the lustre of the main conferences, rather than dilute them. The talks are also posted online free, with little advertising. By not milking things, TED has inspired people to contribute to it for nothing: 8,000 volunteers have translated subtitles for thousands of videos into more than 90 languages. And by getting consumers to do things for nothing, TED has managed to innovate with fewer resources.

2009年它才开始崭露头角，TED决定颠覆牢牢控制品牌的传统思维，将品牌放开，通过创立免费的许可证，当地人只要申请到免费许可证就可以组织本土的TED大会，这被称为TEDx。现在，每天都会举行6-7场TEDx大会。这些TEDx大会只会给主要的TED大会增光添彩，而不会减少它的魅力。TED大会的演讲也会发布在网上，免费而且广告较少。TED并不大肆榨取利润，这也鼓励人们不图回报，为TED做出贡献：8000名志愿者已经将数千个视频的字幕翻译成90多种语言。消费者不计报酬地为它做出贡献，使得TED可以用更少的资源进行创新。

All this requires establishing a community of users and accepting some loss of control. Such tactics might not work for, say, Coca-Cola or Intel. Yet they may work for others. A kitchenware-maker might want to create a place on its website for amateur chefs to show off their skills and recipes, for example, or a sporting-goods firm could encourage local tournaments with its brand.

所有这一切都要求建立一个用户群，少一点控制。这样的经营策略可能不适用于可口可乐或者是英特尔。但是可能适用于其他公司。比如一家厨房用具生产商可能想在它的网站上空出一个地方以供业余厨师展示他们的厨艺和食谱，或者是一家体育用品公司可以鼓励当地的比赛使用它的品牌。

To critics, TED is emblematic of a world of short attention spans【2】 and passive entertainment. To satirists, it is smug and self-important: the Onion【3】 parodies it with video talks such as: “Compost-Fuelled Cars: Wouldn’t That Be Great?”【4】 But to supporters, TED has inspired millions to pursue lifelong learning. And for business, it shows what is sometimes possible by taking what is valuable and giving it away.

对于批评者来说，TED象征着注意广度短，被动娱乐的一个世界。对于讽刺者来说，它自以为是，妄自尊大：洋葱头滑稽地模仿TED制作了视频演讲，比如：“用复合肥料作燃料的汽车：难道这想法不伟大吗？”但是对于支持者来说，TED已经激励数百万人去追求终生学习。对于企业来说，它将有价值的东西分享给大家，这一做法有时也是可以成功的。

from the print edition | Business

译者注：
【1】the TED：TED（指technology, entertainment, design在英语中的缩写，即技术、娱乐、设计）是美国的一家私有非营利机构，该机构以它组织的TED大会著称，这个会议的宗旨是“用思想的力量来改变世界”。TED诞生於1984年，其发起人是里查德·沃曼。2002年起，克里斯·安德森接管TED，创立了种子基金会（The Sapling Foundation），并营运TED大会。每年3月，TED大会在美国召集众多科学、设计、文学、音乐等领域的杰出人物，分享他们关於技术、社会、人的思考和探索。http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TED_(conference)

【2】attention span：在同一时间内一个人能够清楚地觉察或认识客体的数量。也叫注意范围。注意广度也表明知觉的范围。在同一时间内注意广度越大，知觉的对象就越多，注意广度越小，知觉的对象也越少
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_span

【3】the Onion：洋葱头是一家具有讽刺意味的美国新闻组织，专注于那些讽刺国际国内的文章。官网：http://www.theonion.com/

【4】Compost-Fuelled Cars: Wouldn’t That Be Great?”观看地址：http://theonion.tumblr.com/post/ ... uldnt-that-be-great