TED 2008: It's a Wrap

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The main auditorium only seats 300 people, so the other 800 attendees watch proceedings from one of two simulcast rooms in which live action is broadcast on big screens. And yes, sometimes the references to "TED moments" or the "TED community" became slightly tiresome, while flagrant pushes by organizers for some of the event's sponsors were heavy-handed. (Yes, spend time on stage listing every item in the gift bag if you must. But was it really necessary later to go through every additional item in the three TED prize-winners' loot?)

Anderson himself is a somewhat shambolic figure on stage, regularly forgetting people's names or handing out apparently thoughtless, backhanded compliments ("I was one of the few people who actually listened to the Boomtown Rats," he said by way of introducing rocker-turned-philanthropist Bob Geldof). But he was also brave enough to open the floor to questions regarding the conference's somewhat controversial move, next year, to a larger space in Long Beach, Calif. And he was perfectly prepared to disagree with any of the ensuing suggestions. Previous years' presentations are now streamed, for free, on the organization's Web site (this year's will be rolled out later). For those who for whatever reason can't make it in person (the $6,000 price tag is, after all, fairly steep) these talks are an invaluable resource.

The conference wrapped up with a session appropriately entitled, "And the point?" Geldof had the job of answering the question. Appropriately enough, he referred to one of the event's first talks, in which anthropologist Wade Davis had warned of the dangers of the world's cultures and languages disappearing at an exponential rate. Geldof called for help in "mapping mankind," to prevent such "lights of human genius" from winking out. The point, he said, is you, me, and us.

The challenge now is to see how members of the TED community respond in the real world, away from the somewhat unreal atmosphere of the Monterey conference center. It's all very well asking the big questions; it's the answers that actually matter.

Helen Walters is the editor for BusinessWeek.com's Innovation and Design Channel .