What made a conference about technology, entertainment, and design become a viral video sensation and a global community of passionate people worldwide?

TED was founded in 1984 by Richard Saul Wurman, who saw a strong convergence between three areas: technology, entertainment, design and entertainment. The co-creation of the first TED was with Harry Marks. The demo included the compact disc, the book as well as cutting-edge 3D graphics. Benoit Mandelbrot showed how to map coastlines applying his theory of the fractal geometry.

Despite an impressive lineup, the event was unsuccessful and it took six years to convince Wurman and Marks to attempt a second time. In 1990 the world was in a state of readiness. The TED Conference became an annual event in Monterey, California, attracting an ever-growing and influential crowd of diverse disciplines, connected by curiosity and open-mindedness -- and also by their shared discovery of an exciting secret. TED was an event that was only open to invitations back in the day. This isn't the case anymore. It's encouraged and even encouraged to apply.