I was really excited that a TEDx event was being planned for Calgary. I was looking forward to TEDxYYC, and was planning to attend and help out in any way that I could. The website for the event went live today, so I went to register.
I got to the registration form. Except it's not a registration form. It's an application-to-register form. okaaaaaay... That's unusual...
I proceed to fill the form in.
First Name. check.
Last Name. check.
Company/Organization. (hmm... whatever.) check.
Job Title/Role. (ummm... why is this relevant? fine.) check.
Email address. check.
Address. (maybe they mail the pass?) check.
Phone. check.
Tell us about yourself. (maybe for a bio on the website? um... okay.) check.
List some of your lifetime achievements. (wait. what? To attend? Really? No. Not appropriate. Closetab.)
The demographic info, I get. The address, sure, for correspondence. The company and job title may even be okay, but questionable for just attending the event.
But Lifetime Achievements? What the fuck? That's not cool. That's an elitism filter. That's exclusionary. Even if they "allow" people with lesser lifetime achievements, it sets the tone for the event. It's about Awesome Peopleâ„¢ being hand picked to hang out together and watch Even More Awesome Peopleâ„¢ talk about Awesome Stuffâ„¢.
I told my wife about this, and she wondered why I was so upset. "Hey, you'd probably get in. What's the problem?" She may be right. I don't know. But there shouldn't be a worthiness filter to register to an event about making the world a better place.
Not interested. I'll stick to the TED Talks website, where I don't need to prove my worth to gain access.