Connecting the TEDxAmsterdam 2011 crowd

Connecting people is what drives us all. In telescope view, when we’re hauling in ideas worth spreading from all over the globe. In microscope view, when people like Rogier van der Heide and Rob Baan offer their knowledge to Award winner John Apesos. And back again to what Gary Wolf has called the macroscope view: making sense of those new connections and bringing it back to society. That is what the entire team strives for in organizing TEDxAmsterdam and I hope you will agree with me that we are working our way to reach that goal better each year. So take your time, sit back and join our trip down the already memorable lane of all things TEDxAmsterdam 2011.

Here is how to look back

TEDxAmsterdam's YouTube channel with handy playlists

Our indispensable video partners Feller Media and Hoens Facilities have produced many hours of videos worth watching. Not counting the persons interviewed, a willing crew of more than 40 TED fans worked on organizing, editing and uploading all this material. Thanks to all of them, we have made several playlists on our YouTube channel:

- TEDxAmsterdam TV “the day before” including the 10 full hours of the recorded livestream with interviews and behind the scenes reports, anticipating the event to come

- Behind the scenes videos from during the event, capturing the buzz, excitement and inspiration on the spot

- Visitor’s quotes on their Human Nature experiences, exploring the theme by digging into personal life changing events

- Interviews with speakers on the interview set just before of right after their TEDxAmsterdam Talk, brought to you by our partners Sanoma and Achmea and hosted by Aldith Hunkar

Are you looking for the TEDxAmsterdam 2011 Talks? Those are posted on the official TEDxTalks channel!

Want to read instead of watch?

I get it, you’re at work or some other place where you can’t watch videos. There are more ways to learn!

- Get an overview of the day on nubijlage.nl/TEDx and read Dutch articles on the ideas speakers presented.
- Watch Jan-Jaap Heine’s and Maurice Mikkers‘ official TEDxAmsterdam photos on Flickr.
- Read all the live blogs our social media team wrote from the balcony of the Stadsschouwburg
- Mindblown? Get back on track with this mindmap.

What happened at the simulcast events?

Most retweeted @TEDxAms tweet on 25 November, 2011

We aren’t talking about Vegas, here. You know we like to share stuff, so we created a special page collecting tweets, photos and other material from the simulcast events with the help of Storify.

Surely you’ve seen the living brain from our friends at MediaMonks? It was fed by the amount of tweets sent last Friday and you could filter it by location, for instance. It’s being revamped to maximize it’s use as an interactive story about the day itself (adding videos and more).

If you were present at the Stadsschouwburg we ask you kindly to fill in the TEDx questionnaire – if you attended a simulcast event we would love to hear everything from you at office@tedxamsterdam.nl.

Fun fact: our most succesful tweet (being retweeted 40 times) was about the National Dutch Ballet performing the opening choreography.

We can’t stop thanking you

Experience director Marian Spier took some stage time to thank all of our wonderful partners. Without them, we would not be able to do all the things we can. Every partnership is important to us – check out the full list of people we love working with. If there is any way we can connect you with each other, just let Oliver know. We’re happy to build connections!

What does it feel like being a speaker on stage?

TEDxAmsterdam 2011 volunteers on stage

You couldn’t miss C360’s Henri when he was making a crispy clear new 3D panoramic photo of the audience! Taken from the centre of the red dot, this photo will allow you to tag yourself and share the view on Facebook.

Keep spreading ideas, and we’ll be back in 2012 updating you on the progress of speakers and events we’re organizing.

On 24 November, the day before the event, TEDxAmsterdam presents a dedicated channel from 10 in the morning until 10 in the evening completely dedicated to TEDxAmsterdam topics. You could see the crew hard at work to prepare the big day, witness live interviews with speakers that arrive in Amsterdam, meet important TED guests and watch their favorite TED Talks. Where can you find the livestream and all video on demand footage? A dedicated tab on the Netherlands’ most popular news site NU.nl will give immediate access to the stream as well as all social media activity. Of course the TEDxAmsterdam website will also guide visitors to all video material.

Thanks to our partners

The webcast of TEDxAmsterdam TV is made possible by partners Sanoma Media and Achmea. And the outstanding quality of the video is the result of the hard work by the producers of Feller Media and technicians of Hoens Broadcast Facilities. On behalf of thousands of viewers, we want to thank them!

Marck Feller, general manager Feller Media: “This is the third time we’re producing this amazing multimedia event. Is has been an adventure in exploring the possibilities to give our viewers the best TEDxAmsterdam experience possible. This year we are pushing the envelope a bit more by adding an extra 12 hours livestream as a taster for the day to come. The conference live registration is produced by an outstanding team of media professionals, directed by Dutch award winning tv director Henk van Engen. By combining thorough professional broadcast experience with innovative production methods and creativity we are confident that we will bring our TEDxAmsterdam viewers a real live TED experience.”

Tune into webcast “TEDxAmsterdam TV” on Thursday 24 November from 10.00 until 22.00 or walk into our open studio in the Amsterdam Stadsschouwburg (the Gijsbrecht foyer). Join us there in real life or chip in with your questions on Twitter using #TEDxAms. Besides entertainment and inspiration you might also get the very last ticket to TEDxAmsterdam on the 25th or win a copy of the TEDxAmsterdam book “Het begint met een idee” by Carolien Vader.

What’s on the program?

• Session 1 (10-11) “TEDxAmsterdam as a stage to spread ideas”

Hosted by Sylvana Simons, television host

Guest: Carolien Vader, author and magazine producer

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• Session 2 (11-12) “Reflecting on TEDxAmsterdam 2009 and 2010″

Hosted by Ronny Overgoor

Guests: Rogier van der Heide, Chief design officer, Philips Lighting & Christine Meindertsma via Skype from South Africa

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

• Session 3 (12-13) “TEDx as a source of inspiration: Conventie van Achlum”

Hosted by Janneke Willemse

Guests: Marjanne Mulder, organiser Conventie van Achlum on behalf of Achmea & Monique van der Vorst, athlete and speaker at the Conventie

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• Session 4 (13-14) “Media innovation and disruptions”

Hosted by  Aldith Hunkar

Guests: Igor Beuker, LaCommunidad & Eric Ariens, Content Publishing Director Digital & Print at Sanoma

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

• Session 5 (14-15) “Social innovation”

Hosted by Janneke Willemse

Guest: Bert Rensen, spokesperson Achmea

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• Session 6 (15-16) “What inspires TEDxAmsterdam 2011?”

Hosted by Joris van Heukelom

Guests: Jim Stolze, founder TEDxAmsterdam & Esra’a al Shafei, founder and Executive Director of MideastYouth.com

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• Session 7 (16-17) “TEDx events as a source of inspiration”

Hosted by Meike de Jong

Guests: Anita Mooiweer, Business Developer and editor-in-chief TEDxAmsterdam 2010 magazine & Vivianne Bendemacher, editor-in-chief Kijk (magazine) & Ellen de Jong, editor-in-chief Esta (magazine)

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

• Session 8 (17-18) “TEDxAmsterdamWomen”

Hosted by Ruud Hendriks

Guests: Marian Spier, initiator TEDxAmsterdamWomen & Noa Lodeizen, speaker at TEDxAmsterdamWomen 2010

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

• Session 9 (18-19) “TEDx events in other Dutch places: Delft and Maastricht”

Hosted by Aldith Hunkar

Guests: Simone de Jong, initiator TEDxDelft & Lucien Engelen, initiator TEDxMaastricht

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

• Session 10 (19-20) “Sports and new media”

Hosted by Jan Paul de Wildt

Guests: Boy Sleddering, Rabosport & Geert Slot, spokesperson NOC NSF

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

As TEDxAmsterdam sustainability coordinator Irene Rompa has told us, TEDxAmsterdam is making an effort to compensate for the fact that speakers from nine countries are flying into Amsterdam to be with us today. Apart from the choice for tap water and gift baskets that are more environmentally friendly than last year’s goodies, the lunch is all sustainable today.

Talia Amsterdam

Photo: Maurice Mikkers & Jan-Jaap Heine

The catering is provided by Nicola Olivieri and Michele Giordani from Talia Amsterdam. Their philosophy is quite simple: pure food at its purest. That means organic ingredients and fresh ingredients, no frozen products or microwaves.

Their lunch menu for today includes three focaccias with Italian cheeses and delicate pastes of artichokes, radicchio and black truffle. Owner Nicola tells about the hard work they have done to feed all the TEDheads: “The two of us have worked continuously to prepare lunch and dinner since yesterday morning at eight. Fortunately, we had the support of a couple of friends to help us out.” A look in the lunch hall makes it perfectly clear: their hard work is definitely appreciated by the TEDx public.

Community lunch

But at lot more was happening around lunch time. Alliander and Connekt organized two community lunches on energy and mobility, respectively. The latter organization, a mobility network, asked the TEDxAmsterdam guests to share their ideas on methods for business and administrations to reduce their CO2 emissions by 20% over five years. It’s all about smart and sustainable mobility!

Sprouts entertainment

But that’s not all! The guys from Koppert Cress demonstrated how fun sprouts are. In a tasting session, the public could enjoy the diverse flavours of green and red sprouts – from beetroot to Japense siso and from begonia to Sezchuan button. Can you imagine there are sour, salt and even spicy sprouts?

In a mixture of jokes and strict advice, volunteer coordinator Salmaan and guest list curator Jan tell the volunteers what their role will be in the event tomorrow. For instance, it is very important to distinguish between all the different badges: the red ones are for the main hall, the white and blue ones for the balconies, the yellow ones for press and the black ones for crew. Every single seat will be occupied tomorrow, so it’s important to firmly say no to unwanted guests. Even two bouncers have been appointed.

Photo: Jan-Jaap Heine

Volunteers are involved in many things. Firstly, they’ll welcome the guests. “We feel very much at home in the Stadsschouwburg. And since it’s sort of our home, we want to receive the guests with that spirit”. Other volunteers will keep an eye on the doors of the hall. This is, after all, a theater, and it’s a good custom in theaters to only enter and exit during the breaks. Apart from those, people have appointed for all types of functions: two runners have been designated to bring items from one place to another in the last minute chaos; other will be granted the responsibility to pick up the daughter of one of the speakers and accompany her home.

In this way, almost all subjects are covered. Only one fundamental question remains: there is going to be coffee, right, when we meet again tomorrow morning at 6.45 A.M.?

Liveblog and more

Our 10-headed social media team will type as fast as they can to keep the liveblog on TEDxAmsterdam.com up-to-date with what’s happening on stage. We have 2 photographers walking around publishing to Flickr live. On Facebook we keep track of fun facts and share behind the scenes video footage from our 4 mobile reporters. We will continuously update YouTube with the latest interviews and the first TEDxAmsterdam Talks of the day, which you can also view from the top of our website. What about that thing called Twitter, you say? We haven’t forgotten about our tweeps at all! We’ll tweet about all news items. Since we were trending topic all day in 2010 (with an average of 900 tweets per hour) you might find it convenient to follow the Twitter list of speakers.

TEDxAmsterdam TV (webcast) on the 24th

We will start livestreaming on the 24th with a special webcast program. Tuning into nubijlage.nl/tedx from 10.00 until 22.00 hours you can see several presenters and journalists interviewing TEDxAmsterdam speakers, organizers and partners who will showcase inspiring TED Talks. Every hour a different duo will take place in our open studio, so drop by the Stadsschouwburg (we’re in the Gijsbrecht Foyer)!
Viewers are able to ask questions on Twitter (#TEDxAms) and among those questions we actually use during the day, we will raffle some special prizes: 5 TEDxAmsterdam books and the very last exclusive entrance ticket. To me, that’s TV worth watching.

We’re making headlines on NU.nl

The TEDxAmsterdam TV webcast is aired on nubijlage.nl/tedx and the fun doesn’t stop then and there. On the 25th you can not only watch the live stream there, you will also find a mashup of the twitter feed (anyone tweeting with the hashtag #TEDxAms) and special reports by the NU.nl editors with insights in the speaker’s TEDxTalks and background reports.

We couldn’t have the livestream without our partner SURFnet who is technically making the high quality livestream possible. As a result, all universities and ‘hogescholen’ networks are equipped to watch the livestream in the highest definition! If you’re in college, you should check out www.surfnet-tv.nl/TEDxStreaming.

Simulcast events

Nothing beats watching TED Talks together and discuss your different views about a speaker’s ideas. Luckily a lot of people think alike and organize simulcast events to watch the TEDxAmsterdam livestream in various places. Many of them extend our program with a local surplus of speakers, performers and other creative efforts! Check out the Google Map below with information for each simulcast event whether you need to reserve a spot. One of our livebloggers will collect tweets sent from the simulcast events to showcase the nationwide experience TEDxAmsterdam has become.

TEDxAmsterdam Simulcast Locations 2011 weergeven op een grotere kaart

Keep track of the program with Twoppy

Twoppy, the app, is freely accessible via m.twoppy.com/tedxams11 and provides you with all the info you need on the event, the up-to-date program, the performers and locations. Additionally it gives you the opportunity to connect with each other and follow all #TEDxAms tweets closely.

Tag yourself on panorama photos

C360’s Henri will return this year making crispy clear new 3D panoramic photos! See them here, here and here. This year’s photos will allow you to tag yourself and share the view on Facebook.

Connecting brain waves

Creative agency WE ARE Pi orchestrates a series of ‘living brains’ for the ‘Human Nature’ themed TEDxAmsterdam event on 25 November. One of those will be an online ‘talking brain’ that feeds off of all the #TEDxAms Twitter banter per simulcast location and from the Stadsschouwburg combined.

People who do a lot of presentations know the feeling: when working on your Powerpoint, you’re looking for some images that illustrate your story.  However, on Google you can’t easily find images of abstract themes as change management, happiness or passion. And maybe, somewhere inside your consciousness there is a little voice reminding you that you don’t own the rights to the image. Then Slideshots is there to help you.

On a cold Monday night, Rob Jacobs explains how the idea works: “Especially for professional speakers, it is important to have the images that exactly transmit the message of your story. Also, when you are speaking in a corporate environment, you need to have the legal right to use the image. I even have spoken to lawyers that are working on intellectual online property and don’t own the rights of the images they are using.”

So how does it work in practice?

Jacobs has been working with photography for press agencies. For use in print media, a photo can cost 50 to 200 euro – not something you’d spend on one image for a presentation, right? Jacobs, however, negotiated a deal with AFP (Agence France Press) to license photos for use in presentation tools (Powerpoint, Keynote, Prezi) for less than one euro a photo.

Just like other corporate presenters, it is fundamental for TED(x) speakers that they have taken care of their legal obligations. Did you know they even have to sign a statement saying that they have the legal right to use the images in their presentation? Therefore, Slideshots is helping our speakers by granting access to Slideshots’ database and further help to tell the visual story if they want to.

One week away from TEDxAmsterdam, Slideshots has already been working with some of the speakers for 2011. So if you are enjoying the Talks next week, take a good look at the images of speakers as Harald Doornbos, Jonathan Baij or Joris Luyendijk. It might be the invisible hand of Slideshots that has helped transmit their messages so well.

Now in our third year, we have different means of channeling the potential in our TEDxAmsterdam community by picking three opportunities for you to contribute to this year’s event:

Ideas Worth Doing: TEDxAmsterdam aims to practice what it preaches. If we share great ideas, we would like to support their execution, too. That’s why we set up Ideas Worth Doing – a chance for our community to submit an idea that TEDxAmsterdam can help take that one step further for it to really accelerate into real-world results. For that we call upon you again, as a community of experts and enthusiasts to play the role of mentor or process manager of a great idea. Sign up for the event, or the newsletter and tick the Ideas Worth Doing box for updates.

Become a volly! TEDxAmsterdam is growing, teams are expanding and our activities require increasingly specific skills. Every so often we post specific openings, so don’t hesitate to contact us if you think you’ve got what it takes to bring TEDxAmsterdam to a higher level. Do keep in mind that we will start our volunteer inventory from September onwards.

We welcome speaker suggestions, too. The world is full of interesting people with compelling stories. Are you one of them, or do you know inspiring storytellers who know how to get their head around this year’s theme: “Human Nature”? Then, fill out this form or visit our Facebook page and submit your suggestion! Our Facebook page also features new talks every Sunday morning, room for discussion and interesting shareables on anything that thouches upon this year’s theme.

Suggestions that will eventually really take the stage have a chance at winning a ticket to TEDxAmsterdam! And when you volunteer on the day itself, or join any of our teams for the long-term, also means you can pick the fruits of your efforts by participating in the run-up to our exploration of “Human Nature”.

So, come and co-create with us!

This year’s TEDxAmsterdam aims to bring you some of the most valuable insights on ourselves: the human being. “What is it like to be human?”, we ask. When we choose, the impact of our choices is unknown. We’re focusing on human accomplishments, people’s unbreakable spirits and practical wisdom able to change the natural environment we’re living in. Next to that we will take you a step further and invite speakers that highlight irrationality, human error and unexpected connections: exploring the darker sides of our mind is intriguing.

Sharing the brain, by Maurice Mikkers

“Humans always seem to know why they do what they do, but is that really how it works? We want to provoke attendants with questions and stories about what it means to be human”, founder Jim Stolze tells us. The most fascinating about the theme “Human Nature” to us at TEDxAmsterdam is the blind spot we have: we are so common with being human, yet we know so little about ourselves. “Speakers from all over the world will tell us about our deepest motivations, how genes influence important parts of our behaviour and where our feelings come from. Special attention will go into the future – how will we influence, improve and alter our brain? This is all about who we truly are and can become”.

A small step for TEDxAmsterdam 2011, a big step into the unknowns of the human mind.

“We’ll mind pick your brains today as trusted members of what we call our “Braintrust”: all of you have some kind of relationship with TEDxAmsterdam”, Jim Stolze opens this gathering. The goal is to discuss three matters open to discussion. First, how do we stand out from the thousands of TEDxEvents in the world? Secondly, what theme could we choose that both helps the organization, speakers and visitors focus and yet is broad enough to capture all that’s interesting? Last, but crucial, is asking suggestions for speakers.

TEDxAmsterdam Braintrust meeting

Louise Fresco took the attendants by the hand and had everyone introduce themselves shortly – not all advisors had met before. What lessons were learned from the first two editions? To some, Claron McFadden was a highlight “as she touched me deeply and opened my mind, heart and spirit to new impulses.” In a spirit of constructive criticism, points of improvement mainly concern guiding speakers earlier on, both in content and in presentation form. “I love science, but I want to crack it down to practical realism at times. What can I do with it after the talk?”, one advisor said. Also, the team will probably develop slide design guidelines to help put the speaker central, not their slides in the background.

An entirely other set of improvements discussed is the atmosphere and how spatial design can facilitate visitors’ interaction amongst each other. What some of the experienced TED(x) visitors value the most is feeling stimulated both intellectually and emotionally, not just by the remarkable stage speakers but especially meeting new and interesting fellow visitors during the breaks. All advisors agreed and a few specific ideas were shared. “What if we gave everyone this very big name tag? Or if you can not choose your own name and have to find your badge around somebody else’s neck?”. Let’s say we’re not sure yet, but helping visitors connect is an important point of attention.

“So why do we need a theme?”, Louise asked the group daringly. And if so, how does a theme make TEDxAmsterdam stand out from other TEDxEvents? Are we going for international speakers or is it best to focus on local strength, building on Amsterdam’s melting pot community? Now that’s quite a juxtaposition to choose between in itself, so wrap yourself for the next contrast: society seems to value ratio, analytical measurement and algorithms, but everyone agreed we need to do more with our emotions, passions and humanity. “We’re onto something, this tension between keeping control and giving room for irrationality, intuition and serendipity should lead to a theme soon”, curator Monique van Dusseldorp said.

Without pinpointing this year’s theme I left inspired, with a mind full of interesting discussion points and frankly, a bit confused. Maybe that’s the typical TED experience, right?

Further reading:

About the TEDxAmsterdam Braintrust