Method

Among the world's leaders in their fields, no gathering is more revered than TED. Held globally, the conference is famous for bringing together top thinkers and artists around critical topics and fascinating themes.

Challenge

For years, TED's acclaimed lectures and performances played to an exclusive audience. Only those privileged enough to secure an invitation could see them. Then, in 2006 TED opened up with a series of acclaimed video podcasts, TEDTalks. The next leap forward was a website truly capable of becoming a champion of "ideas worth spreading." TED aimed to engage, entertain, enlighten and influence millions worldwide.

Approach

While TED looked to many social networking sites and considered incorporating many ideas, Method believed that their core offering remained in the TEDTalks. David Lipkin, Method's president, explains: "The content is really what makes TED TED. It's totally unique, it's what people are looking for. So, we had to bubble it up to the top." The result was a homepage visually featuring TEDTalks. Users can shape their own menu by subject area and a unique set of ratings. The ratings, developed by Method, abandon the traditional five-star paradigm. Instead, viewers judge each TEDTalk according to a range of tangible descriptions, from "inspiring, "beautiful" and "informative" to "courageous, "funny" and "persuasive." Selected talks can be watched immediately or downloaded for later viewing. The user can also skip at will to specific parts of the talk, or select subtitles in a range of global languages.

TED.com also incorporates a range of popular social tools, allowing users to comment and "favorite" talks, post videos to other sites, and create profiles that enable interaction with other members of the TED community. For the individuals behind TED, Method customized a robust content management system, simplifying updates as new lectures and performances are recorded.

Outcome

Method's strategy--letting the content shine--has been immensely successful. Since launch, TED.com has become one of the most popular video sites on the web, a channel known for some of the most sophisticated, thought-provoking content available. In the first year, page views soared to 46 million. Unique visits jumped an order of magnitude--to 15 million. Currently, unique visits to the site are running over 17 million a month. TED.com has been recognized for its clarity and ingenuity, capturing Webby Awards for visual design, navigation and technological achievement. Most importantly, says curator Chris Anderson, it has accelerated the TED phenomenon: "We've dramatically expanded our community to millions of knowledge seekers across the globe."