TED!

I had a great time at TED, and follow on meetings in Los Angeles with many of the people I met. It was my second TED, and both Lorraine Justice and Jose Rueda were with me (we were the only ones from Hong Kong). I ended up sharing a room with Michael Highland who spent time in Hong Kong working at our lab. The TED talks have been covered by many of the blogs on the Internet and in the press and will gradually make their way onto the TED website over the next few months. I spent a large part of the conference sitting in the front, left side (facing the stage). In fact, I was stung on the cheek by one of the mosquitos that Bill Gates unleashed in his talk. My awesome seats were courtesy of Steve Goodling who I met at TED U. Steve was part of the team that brought TED to the City of Long Beach.

For me this year, TED was more about what was happening around the sessions rather than the content of the sessions themselves. I ended up at some amazing breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, and meeting new friends at the parties and after-parties. There was also the after-after party at Patti and Danny Hillis’ place as well as the after-conference, BIL, that was held at the nearby Cal State Long Beach. One of the major after-highlights were the impromptu concerts conducted by Eric Lewis in the lobby of the Westin. I had the pleasure of witnessing his last encore lying underneath the grand piano as he played. Sound was amazing and it was an unforgettable experience (check him out on Youtube as his album isn't out yet). The piece he played is on his website http://www.ericlewisgroove.com/ titled "(Here) In Your Arms."

On the second night of TED, I was invited to a dinner by Tony Tjan and Jason Pontin (Tony also blogs about it here - http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/tjan/2009/02/ted-diary-cars-20-and-a-tianan.html). One of the topics of discussion before meals were served was Tiananmen. This year marked the 20th anniversary of the “massacre” and Li Lu, who was at Tiananmen during the event got up and gave a talk. I ended up speaking after him and ended up singing excerpts from the musical I wrote in ’93 on the topic. It was quite intimidating as Tony Award Winner Glenn Close was also at the dinner (not to mention Alan Hassenfeld, Craig Mundie, or Steve Jurvetson). The songs and singing were well received and I got a few e-mail complements afterwards. I was also invited to a lunch on the following day with Tony Tjan and a few of his friends.

We (Lorraine, Jose, and myself) hosted a dinner of our own, “Game Developers at TED” which drew 25 or so people. It was also a great event that included Louis Castle, David Perry, Noah Falstein, Larry Holland, Keith Boesky, Henk Rogers, Ben Sawyer, Marc Prensky, Stewart Bonn, and Raj Kapoor, among many others. John Abele, Dean Kaman, and Marc Hodosh also joined. There are so many great ideas at TED, and video games are the new media to get ideas out to the younger generation. Game developers at TED have a role to play, especially when it comes to behavior modification. This was also the message I communicated to Al Gore during his “working breakfast.” Addressing this opportunity and potential is why we are also rebranding our laboratory, MERECL, to PLAYLAB to focus specifically on “Meaningful Games.” I hope that we start a TED tradition with this meal and look forward to hosting another dinner at next year’s TED.

The best part of TED, of course, is meeting new people and forming new friendships. There are so many inspiring people in attendance and not just only on the stage. Everyone is open and approachable. Interactions standing in line, during one of the many parties, or walking from one venue to another become fascinating learning experiences. This year’s TED made it easier as well with each person’s “talk to me about these three things” listed on their badge. I had a good laugh with Robert Thurman who I sat next to for a breakfast. We both had “joy” listed as a conversation topic. I also met him the day before in the lobby of the Westin where Goldie Hawn and Donna Karan were also talking about their efforts to bring mindfulness training to schools. I became friends with Patrick Newell who founded the International School in Tokyo after meeting him at the gala party. I also had a great conversation with Michael Martin who is involved in “meaningful media” using music to “change the world.” Chris Traub, based in Taiwan, sent me a mail before TED and we were able to find each other and meet up for a conversation on meditation and spirituality (though we have yet to finish). I hope to visit with many of the people I met during the coming year. I have more people to visit next time I’m in New York!

After TED, I spent an afternoon at the BIL conference. It felt very different from the polish of TED, but there were a lot of interesting memes being passed around. In one of the presentations, the presenter released butterflies into the audience. I was amazed that Bill Gates could inspire such performance art. I had a surreal moment at the BIL event when I asked a stranger to borrow their iPhone (to call my ride), dialed my friend’s number, and had his name show up on the iPhone. It really is a small world.

After BIL, I was able to catch up with friends and family in LA. I also had the opportunity to visit some of the people I met at TED including the guys at Participant Productions, William Morris, Paula Wagner, and Brian Boesky. I got a sense of the media industry and the role of agents in putting deals together (or not). I also met with some friends I made on previous trips, potential clients, and Carl Bressler, a person that three other friends told me I had to meet. Carl, in turn, knows lots of people in LA and just hanging with him for a few days felt like an extension of TED. My sister drove up from San Diego with my nephew and brother-in-law.

Overall, it was a great trip. I am still following up on all of the potential collaborations and projects that resulted from the chance encounters. Its a great time to be alive and working in the field of media and consciousness! If you are in Hong Kong on the 21st, we are hosting another Phusikoi event (http://www.phusikoi.org).