TEDx Boston: It's Not Just About Information

I had the great pleasure of spending last Thursday at the TEDxBoston conference.  TED stands for Technology, Education, and Design. From my vantage point as a publishing industry consultant, I’d say  that the value of content is a function of technology, education, and design:  Content=f(T,E, D). 

Three talks at TEDxBoston that held the most for publishers were those by César Hidalgo, Seth Priebatsch, and Eric Mongeon.  Hidalgo spoke of the benefits of incorporating more complex relationships in predictive modeling.   He used the example from his studies of development economics, but on his website he also describes his collaborative research project related to predictive modeling of human diseases: HuDiNe.   Advances in computer technology and analytics have enabled his work that models complex relationships between a large number of variables.   Underlying his research are cross-discipline data sets, a trend that data publishers in all industry should take note of. 

Priebatsch, who is founder of SCVNGR, a game platform for completing place-based challenges, addressed how engaging users through interactive learning experiences that offer tangible or virtual rewards can guide behavior.  He referred to the medication compliance problem in healthcare where patients don’t take their prescriptions as directed and mentioned Cambridge-based Vitality that has a partial solution with its smart device GlowCaps.  Too bad he wasn’t aware of HealthPrize, [1]  another start-up that is targeting the same medication compliance issue with a solution that embraces the gaming mentality and rewards positive behavior.

Eric Mongeon, who includes the line “Denier of the death of print” in his Twitter profile, underscored how design can transform a publication into a multi-dimensional experience.   In his 4 by Poe series, design isn’t an afterthought, it’s an integral part of the publication.  The same thinking should hold for digital publishers that want to rise above commodity status.  Another lesson from Mongeon’s talk: publishers won’t enhance the lifetime of their print publications by scrimping on design and quality. 

TEDxBoston included an imaginative collection of speakers from academia, industry, non-profits, start-ups, students, musicians, artists, and journalists.  Every talk and performance was inspiring and passionate.   Filtering it for to B2B and healthcare publishers, the message was: always consider the three TED elements when planning content products and services.  Think beyond the informational value of your content to consider how to optimize the experience of consuming your content—that is, if you want to rise above commodity status. 

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1 HealthPrize’s  CMO, Dr. Katrina Firlik, will be speaking. at our upcoming Data Content 2010 conference.