TED – Auckland

Well this week I got the letter from the organisers of the Auckland TED event inviting me to attend.  The letter got me thinking.  Quite clever, really, the whole impression of exclusivity around the application and acceptance process – and the attempt to lift the tone of the event high above the general noise of competing events, functions and happenings around town.  These guys are good – they have created an expectation of something special.  Here’s an except from the letter of acceptance:  

“Finally, we’ve made our choices and we have some good news for you and as such you are hereby formally invited to attend TEDxAuckland.  

TEDx’s audience is as extraordinary as its speaker line-up: Internet pioneers, movie producers, architects, creative directors, CEOs, perhaps a dozen millionaires, authors, investors, celebrities, philanthropists and leading opinion formers of every kind.”

I’m not sure which of the categories above I fit into, but the whole process made me feel as though I was applying to attend something very special – and was rather fortunate (and maybe not quite deserving) to have been selected from a long list of hopefuls.  But the final paragraph let on that there might be an element of hype here:

“If you would like to bring someone that has not registered, that’s fine, but allow plenty of time on arrival as they will have to fill out a registration form.”

Obviously no major pressure on space after all, and my good buddy Colin – who was a bit daunted by the application form – can come along with me after all. 

But smoke, mirrors and clever hype aside, I’m sure the event will live up to the expectations created by this process.  I’m looking forward to the day, and will blog here about it straight after the event on 1 October.

Fraser Hurrell is one of three directors of Elevate CA Limited, Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors in Whangarei, New Zealand.