10 TED talks on social media and community

by Quiip Team February 12, 2016

I love TED talks. Often, when I’ve got 10-20 minutes to kill, I turn to TED talks on social media and community, as well as digital culture, and the Internet in general.

These are subjects that fascinate me, that I love, and so it’s no wonder that I made a career out of it. I’m not alone. Looking around the Quiip virtual office, it’s clear that we were community members long before we became community managers, and we’re all interested in digital culture and how it relates to offline culture, if it’s even possible to make such distinctions anymore. We also love to learn, to be challenged, and to look at things differently.

Here are ten funny and not-so-funny, but always thought-provoking TED talks on social media and community.

Messy and hopeful

No registration, no memory, no archives, and totally anonymous. Would you build a community like that? That’s what Christopher Poole did when he launched 4chan.

Social media gives a voice to the voiceless. It can start a movement, but it can also make a mountain out of a molehill. Writer and documentary filmmaker Ron Jonson looks at online public shaming.

Monica Lewinsky knows all about public shaming. In this brave TED talk, she takes a hard look at the culture of humiliation.

Movements

Seth Godin argues it’s tribes, not money or factories, that can change our world. You don’t need everyone, just the right people. Who are you connecting and leading?

How do you start a movement? In what’s become a classic and beloved TED talk, Derek Sivers explains.

Finding success

Alexis Ohanian of Reddit gives a funny 3-minute guide to social media success.

YouTube’s trends manager Kevin Allocca shares four reasons a video goes viral.

Twitter co-founder Evan Williams reveals how users shaped the social media site.

Keeping communities safe

Twitter’s Del Harvey spends her day thinking about how to prevent worst-case scenarios while giving voice to people around the globe.

The future of social media advertising

Can you imagine a media atmosphere that isn’t dominated by lame stereotypes about gender and other demographic characteristics? Media researcher Johanna Blakley explores the possibility.

How many ads do you see and roll your eyes at, ignore, and block because they’re not relevant to you? Advertising researcher Kristi Rogers imagines a different future for advertising.

 

Looking for some more binge-worthy content? Check out our post with 10 Essential Documentaries for Community Managers!

 

What are you favourite TED talks about social media, online communities, and digital culture?