TED

My day job is seriously getting in the way of my real passions. (Three more years!) The Internet has done some amazing things. Not only am I slowly getting up to speed on Twitter, but I also now regularly run my English through a German translator and vice versa. I can get the gist of what Germans are writing to me. Google Translate, for German at least, keeps getting better and better. You just move the verb from the end of the sentence and jam it somewhere back in the middle until it all makes sense.

A friend recommends TED Ideas worth spreading and raved about Ethan Zuckerman "listening to global voices." I haven't watched it yet, but thought you might want to get a jump start.

Sure, the web connects the globe, but most of us end up hearing mainly from people just like ourselves. Blogger and technologist Ethan Zuckerman wants to help share the stories of the whole wide world. He talks about clever strategies to open up your Twitter world and read the news in languages you don't even know.

Our mission: Spreading ideas.

We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we're building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other. This site, launched April 2007, is an ever-evolving work in progress, and you're an important part of it. Have an idea? We want to hear from you.