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Why I Didn't Buy TED

2026-07-03 · letter vlog · Hank · 8:19 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Personal life (also: Projects, Internet & YouTube) · mode: Personal update · tags: self promotion

Hank tells John how Chris Anderson's open call for a new TED steward tempted him for a week before he decided not to apply, praises Sal Khan's selection, and announces Something Worth Knowing, a small TED-like event and Complexly fundraiser on the theme of where hope comes from.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — What TED is and Chris Anderson's weird, delightful choices: free talks online and free TEDx licenses

  • ★★ Hank says TED is not just the big conference: there is TEDx for local events, the TED-Ed YouTube channel of educational videos, TED podcasts, a radio show and fellowships. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ Hank says TED's Audacious Project has helped raise over a billion dollars for huge philanthropic projects, which makes him a little jealous. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ Hank says Chris Anderson, the person most associated with TED, bought it in 2001. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ Anderson bought TED through his nonprofit, effectively converting it into a nonprofit; TED was then already beloved but a very small conference of a few hundred people. — 00:00:58
  • ★★★ Hank says Anderson's weird choice to give the talks away free online, when people paid to see them, turned out to be genius and made TED what it is. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ Anderson gave the brand away in limited ways through free TEDx licenses, with conditions, so people all over the world hold local versions of TED Talks. — 00:01:27
  • ★ Hank says one of his sisters-in-law once did a TEDx talk, correcting himself to say it was the other one. (playful) — 00:01:27

00:01:56 — Anderson's open call for TED's future; Hank's week of temptation, his decision not to apply, and Sal Khan's selection

  • ★★★ When Anderson decided to move on, instead of selling TED to a private equity firm, a very rich buyer or a media conglomerate, he 'Willy Wonka'd' it: a letter asking who should help shape TED's future and why. — 00:01:56
  • ★★★ Hank loves the choice because his prior as a businessperson is to always do the weirder thing: businesses don't do the weird thing enough anymore. — 00:02:26
  • ★★ Hank was enticed; he voices John's and viewers' objections: he has too many responsibilities, knows how miserable fronting an influential media event can be, and wears a Garfield shirt. (playful) — 00:02:26 · John Green
  • ★★★ For about a week Hank let himself believe he, who has never attended a TED, should apply: he has run events and businesses, has an internet audience and friends at TED. — 00:02:55
  • ★★★ After studying TED's strengths, opportunities and problems and imagining being the Charlie Bucket of the story, Hank concluded absolutely not: applying just to see if he would be selected, and then being selected, would be a terrible outcome. — 00:03:24
  • ★★ Hank says he loves and believes in events, which can do things internet spaces cannot. — 00:03:53
  • ★★ Hank says just understanding TED would have been a huge job on top of his others: Good Store, DFTBA, Complexly's giant transition to a nonprofit, videos, podcasts and family. — 00:04:22 · Good Store, DFTBA Records, Complexly
  • ★★★ Hank says TED ended up with Sal Khan of Khan Academy as its vision steward. — 00:04:22
  • ★★ Hank thinks Sal Khan is a better outcome than him: a fantastic Charlie Bucket who has been to TED, with sensibilities aligned with TED's; in Anderson's place he would choose Khan. — 00:04:52
  • ★ Hank says he would love to go to TED; last year's (2025) looked really good and Maya Higa was there. — 00:04:52

00:05:21 — Something Worth Knowing: a small TED-like event and Complexly fundraiser, its speakers, theme, tickets and sponsored seats

  • ★★★ Inspired by that week, Hank is starting Something Worth Knowing: a tiny, goofier, messier TED-like gathering of curious people, out of the world's spotlight, that is a fundraiser for Complexly. — 00:05:50 · Something Worth Knowing, Complexly
  • ★★ Speakers who said yes include Mark Rober, Abigail Thorn, Katie Mack, Simone Giertz and Connections writer Wyna Liu, who is doing a secret game; Hank gives a talk six months in the making. — 00:06:19 · Something Worth Knowing
  • ★★ The theme of the first Something Worth Knowing is the question Hank put to the speakers: where does your hope come from? — 00:06:49 · Something Worth Knowing, hope
  • ★★ Because it is a fundraiser, tickets are expensive: $500 base level, $2,500 VIP with a dinner. — 00:06:49 · Something Worth Knowing
  • ★★ Hank likes that TED fills the room not only with people who can pay but with fellows, because a room is better with people there for different reasons. — 00:06:49
  • ★★ Donors including Hank sponsored free tickets; people within driving distance, in Southern California, can apply in the description (no flights or hotels), or buy a ticket. — 00:07:18 · Something Worth Knowing

00:07:47 — VidCon trauma, saying no but 'what if', and sign-off

  • ★★ Hank is excited to scratch the event itch in a way that seems safe, noting that VidCon traumatized him a little. (playful) — 00:07:47 · VidCon
  • ★★ Hank says he can look an opportunity in the face and say no, though not without also saying 'but what if?' (playful) — 00:07:47

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Chris Anderson · Something Worth Knowing · TED

Also: People: Abigail Thorn · Katie Mack · Mark Rober · Maya Higa · Sal Khan · Simone Giertz · Wyna Liu

Projects: Complexly · DFTBA Records · Good Store · VidCon

Works: Connections (game)

Organizations: Khan Academy · TED-Ed

Concepts: decision-making · hope · Nonprofit organization · Private equity

Places: Southern California

Characters: Charlie Bucket · Garfield · Willy Wonka

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