Infectious Generosity
The Ultimate Idea Worth Spreading
(Sprache: Englisch)
The bestselling author, media pioneer, and curator of TED explores one of humankind’s defining but overlooked impulses, and how we can super-charge its potential to build a hopeful future—“an essential read to kick off the new year” (Forbes, “16...
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The bestselling author, media pioneer, and curator of TED explores one of humankind’s defining but overlooked impulses, and how we can super-charge its potential to build a hopeful future—“an essential read to kick off the new year” (Forbes, “16 Must Have Books and Podcasts for Leaders in 2024”)“I flew through these pages with an increasing sense of joy. I hope that millions read this book.”—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love
Let’s face it: Recent years have been tough on optimists. Hopes that the Internet might bring people together have been crushed by the ills of social media. Is there a way back?
As head of TED, Chris Anderson has had a ringside view of the world’s boldest thinkers sharing their most uplifting ideas. Inspired by them, he believes that it’s within our grasp to turn outrage back into optimism. It all comes down to reimagining one of the most fundamental human virtues: generosity. What if generosity could become infectious generosity? Consider
• how a London barber began offering haircuts to people experiencing homelessness—and catalyzed a movement
• how two anonymous donors gave $10,000 each to two hundred strangers and discovered that most recipients wanted to “pay it forward” with their own generous acts
• how TED itself transformed from a niche annual summit into a global beacon of ideas by giving away talks online, allowing millions access to free learning
In telling these inspiring stories, Anderson has given us “the first page-turner ever written about human generosity” (Elizabeth Dunn). More important, he offers a playbook for how to embark on our own generous acts—whether gifts of money, time, talent, connection, or kindness—and to prime them, thanks to the Internet, to have self-replicating, even world-changing, impact.
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1Inside a Contagion
The surprising aftermath of a decision to give
Let me share with you the experience that opened my eyes to the Internet s potential to turbocharge generosity.
I m a media entrepreneur. For the first half of my career, I built a company in the UK and the US that published scores of hobbyist magazines, many of them about technology. In 1998 I was invited to attend a conference in California that, unusually, was devoted not to one industry but to three: technology, entertainment, and design. Yup, this was the TED conference.
Because of the conference s breadth of content, speakers had to make their work accessible to outsiders, and it turns out that when you do that, there is a crossover effect. Software creators were inspired by physical architecture, screenwriters and artists had their minds blown by technologists, and everyone felt the potential and significance of their work to be elevated. I was mesmerized.
A couple of years later, I had the opportunity to take over the conference from its charismatic co-founder. I leaped at the chance partly because there seemed to be good prospects of expanding its sphere. It wasn t just technology, entertainment, and design that could cross-pollinate with one another; it was every subject. All human knowledge is part of a single elusive reality. We don t fully understand anything until we understand how it connects to the other parts of knowledge.
I couldn t afford to buy TED personally the dot-com bust of 2000 2001 had ravaged my media company, Future plc. So, instead, TED became part of a not-for-profit foundation I had created a few years earlier, when times were good. And I left Future to focus full-time on this weird conference and to ponder how it might grow.
Since it was now a nonprofit, TED had to be run for the public good. And that meant trying to find a way to gain a wider audience for the inspirational talks that were given there. In the early aughts, this
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was harder than you may think.
We tried to persuade TV networks that TED Talks would make for excellent viewing. They laughed at us. Public lectures were about the most boring thing they could imagine. Then we had a more radical idea.
The Experiment
On the Internet, bandwidth was relentlessly increasing, and the fledgling technology of online video was starting to become viable. Back in 2006, it was often limited to a small low-res window in the corner of a desktop screen, but we felt it was worth a try. In an experiment, we posted six of the talks in full on our website.
To our surprise, they went viral, rapidly notching up tens of thousands of views. Not much by today s standards, but for a website that had been getting just a few hundred visitors a day, it was startling. And the feedback we received from viewers shocked us in its intensity. People didn t just like what they had seen. They loved it. They d been inspired. And suddenly we were faced with a dilemma. As a nonprofit, we felt we had an obligation to freely share all of our best content online.
Now, this was clearly a dangerous move. Our attendees paid a lot of money to come to TED. That was by far the main source of income we had. Why would they continue to do that if the content was freely available on the Internet?
We weren t sure. But we went ahead anyway.
The Response
What happened next was astonishing.
First, the bulk of our conference-going community quickly got behind the move. A small handful grumbled, but the vast majority were thrilled that they could now share a profound experience with others.
And the response from those viewing these talks for the first time online was even more surprising. We were deluged with messages from people expressing how deeply they&
We tried to persuade TV networks that TED Talks would make for excellent viewing. They laughed at us. Public lectures were about the most boring thing they could imagine. Then we had a more radical idea.
The Experiment
On the Internet, bandwidth was relentlessly increasing, and the fledgling technology of online video was starting to become viable. Back in 2006, it was often limited to a small low-res window in the corner of a desktop screen, but we felt it was worth a try. In an experiment, we posted six of the talks in full on our website.
To our surprise, they went viral, rapidly notching up tens of thousands of views. Not much by today s standards, but for a website that had been getting just a few hundred visitors a day, it was startling. And the feedback we received from viewers shocked us in its intensity. People didn t just like what they had seen. They loved it. They d been inspired. And suddenly we were faced with a dilemma. As a nonprofit, we felt we had an obligation to freely share all of our best content online.
Now, this was clearly a dangerous move. Our attendees paid a lot of money to come to TED. That was by far the main source of income we had. Why would they continue to do that if the content was freely available on the Internet?
We weren t sure. But we went ahead anyway.
The Response
What happened next was astonishing.
First, the bulk of our conference-going community quickly got behind the move. A small handful grumbled, but the vast majority were thrilled that they could now share a profound experience with others.
And the response from those viewing these talks for the first time online was even more surprising. We were deluged with messages from people expressing how deeply they&
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Autoren-Porträt von Chris Anderson
Chris Anderson has been the curator of TED since 2001. His TED mantra—“ideas worth spreading”—continues to blossom on an international scale, with some three billion TED Talks viewed annually. He lives in New York City and London.
Bibliographische Angaben
- Autor: Chris Anderson
- 2024, Internationale Ausgabe, 272 Seiten, 15 Schwarz-Weiß-Abbildungen, Maße: 14,2 x 20,8 cm, Kartoniert (TB), Englisch
- Verlag: Crown
- ISBN-10: 0593735137
- ISBN-13: 9780593735138
- Erscheinungsdatum: 23.01.2024
Sprache:
Englisch
Pressezitat
This book was a much-needed gift to my weary and news-battered heart. In a time when we are constantly being told that we are more divided and combative than ever, and that the future will bring only more calamity and despair, Chris Anderson presents an inspiring body of evidence to support the tremendous and transformative power of generosity that most beautiful of human impulses. Infectious Generosity is a combination of inarguable data and incredibly moving stories. How wonderful to learn that seemingly small and humble acts of kindness can create exponential whirlwinds of benevolent impact, and that generosity is just as contagious as any virus! I flew through these pages with an increasing sense of joy, and was left inspired and hopeful. Elizabeth Gilbert, bestselling author of Eat, Pray, LoveProfound and compelling . . . This book is a masterpiece, and an important one. I want everyone I know to read this and everyone I don t know, too. Andrew Solomon, author and speaker on culture and psychology
Truly inspiring! . . . This book is the first page-turner ever written about human generosity. It will change the way you see the world around you. Elizabeth Dunn, social psychologist and expert on the science of happiness
Concise and profound, this truly excellent book is going to have a big impact on the key issues of our times. Alain de Botton, author and philosopher
A beautiful book lucid, warm, intelligent, and persuasive. Steven Pinker, author and professor of psychology, Harvard University
Warning: Reading this book may give you an irresistible urge to get up and take action. This is simply a wonderful book. Rutger Bregman, bestselling author of Humankind
An inspiring, timely book about ways to bring out the best in people rather than focusing on the worst . . . a joyful road map away from a polarized, selfish society to the hopeful, humane
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place where we should be. Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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