Fed - the precursor of Ted

The Inspace building

TedGlobal is an international conference this week in Edinburgh's International Conference Centre devoted to innovative thinking about the stuff of life.  Running from Monday to Friday this coming week I was too late to register (!) but I note that TedGlobal 2012 is also being held in Edinburgh and we can all book now for a cool $6,000.

With that in mind I though it might be worth attending the FED - Ideas to Sustain event at the Inspace building in Potterrow this afternoon.  After all it was free. It was sponsored by New Media Scotland which describes itself as a national development agency fostering artist and audience engagement in new media practice.

Unable to stay for the whole afternoon, I can nonetheless give the event some publicity by reporting on the two talks I managed to take in (Inspace is in the ward).  The plea of one speaker for democracy to engage with the new media, using the internet and smartphones to vote on a range of issues was engaging and stimulating, if underdeveloped.

Alas the talk on the 'lack of 'real' thinking and ideas in current Scottish society was especially tedious, not in presentation - which was passionate enough - but in its presuppositions, narrow outlook and partisan narrative. I am afraid the 'thinking' lacked intellectual rigour and originality.

I am sure the meeting improved after I left - but perhaps the EICC will offer more value!