10.06.10
Gemini version available ♊︎TED Brand is Being Hijacked by Microsoft, Now With TEDxRedmond
Summary: Bill Gates has bought a TED event and Microsoft is buying some too, coercing this brand to ‘TED-wash’ its goals or portfolio
ON several occasions before we mentioned TEDxChange [1, 2] (brought to you by the Gates Foundation so that the keynote talk will be Melinda Gates lobbying the UN, also via satellite) and TEDxRedmond [1, 2], which are both a case of using the “TED” brand (associated with some authority and trust) to promote Gates’ business agenda, including Microsoft’s. Gates has in some ways tarnished the “TED” brand and we discussed this with some parties, including those who help organise TEDxRedmond (“Microsoft Studios is providing streaming services to TEDxRedmond,” says one Web site and Microsoft is apparently also a sponsor of this event, which helps the company capture young people). What is TED turning into? It liaises with monopolists now? So that they can ‘TED-wash’ their own brand? It’s funny how companies use independent outside brands to market themselves and a Red Hat-run blog is currently running a small series about the “TED” brand. It’s like when the tobacco industry recruits celebrities.
“Those who will attend TEDxRedmond ought to know that it is being used as a demo venue/platform for Microsoft products.”In the Indian press, Microsoft markets “Azure” under the faux “open” banner right about now. That is what’s known as “open-washing” (there is also "Seven-washing") and it needs to be exposed because it’s PR, i.e. it’s deception.
Those who will attend TEDxRedmond ought to know that it is being used as a demo venue/platform for Microsoft products. It can be seen as an extension to Bill Gates’ attempt to capture the US school system, even if it’s just a small component of that ongoing crusade [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
The TED brand/franchise was so good it had to be put up for ‘sale’ and that’s just a shame and a real loss to society. As stated yesterday at Identi.ca, in relation to Bill’s and Melinda’s appearances at TED, “[t]he speech writer of Gates is reported to have begun working for Hilary Clinton last month. For those who think that Gates writes them…”
It’s all PR. TED has begun leaning too much towards money, mostly at the expense of objectivity and neutrality. As always, be sceptical. █
“He who does not need to lie is proud of not being a liar.” –Friedrich Nietzsche
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