Alright, let’s talk about this fella, Andersen Chris. Don’t rightly know him from Adam, but I heard some things, you know? Folks talkin’.
Who is this Andersen Chris anyways?
Well, some say he’s a big shot businessman, American-British, they say. Born way back in ’57, same year my Bessie got married, Lord rest her soul. This Chris fella, he’s the head honcho over at somethin’ called TED. Sounds fancy, don’t it? Like somethin’ you’d see on the TV.
TED, they say, is where people go to yap about ideas. They got this big meetin’ every year up in Canada, Vancouver, they call it. Never been myself, too cold for my old bones. But this Chris fella, he’s the one runnin’ the show. He weren’t always doin’ that though. Folks say he started some publishin’ thing and wrote about them video games the young’uns are always playin’. I don’t get it myself, all that noise and button pushin’.
- Born a long time ago.
- Used to be a newsman.
- Now he’s the big cheese at TED.
What’s all this TED talk about?
From what I gather, it’s all about sharin’ ideas. Like, folks gettin’ up on a stage and talkin’ about all sorts of things. Science, life, how to fix a leaky faucet, I reckon. And this Chris fella, he’s the one pickin’ who gets to talk and makin’ sure it all runs smooth. Sounds like a handful, if you ask me.
Now, I heard tell there’s a book too, somethin’ about givin’ speeches. See, this Chris fella, he thinks talkin’ good is important. And I guess he’s right. You gotta speak up if you want folks to hear ya. This book, it’s supposed to help you do just that. Teach you how to talk so folks’ll listen, I reckon.
Is there more than one Andersen Chris?
Now, hold on a minute, ’cause things get a bit muddled here. Seems like there’s another Chris Andersen, or maybe it’s the same one, I don’t rightly know. This other one, they call him “Birdman.” Heard he played some kinda ball game, basketball they call it. Big fella, covered in tattoos, from what I seen in the pictures. Not my cup of tea, all that ink. But he was good at that ball game, folks say.
And then there’s this other Andersen, Christopher this time, with a “topher” at the end. He writes books, a whole heap of ‘em. Best sellers, they call ‘em. Folks line up to buy his stories. Now, if you ask me, that’s a lot of Andersens. Hard to keep ‘em all straight.
So, what’s the deal with all these Chris Andersens?
Well, the one we started with, the TED fella, he’s all about ideas and talkin’. He wants to make the world a better place, I guess, by sharin’ what folks know. The “Birdman” fella, he bounced a ball and got into some trouble with the law, somethin’ about stealin’ someone’s name. And the writer fella, he just tells stories. Different folks, different paths, I reckon. But they all got that Andersen name, makes you wonder if they’re all related somehow. Distant cousins, maybe?
What about this Chris Andersen and that free stuff?
Oh, and I almost forgot. This TED Chris, he wrote somethin’ about “free” stuff. Now, that caught my ear, ‘cause who don’t like free stuff? He was talkin’ about how businesses can give things away and still make money. Sounded like hogwash to me at first, but I guess these city folk have different ways of doin’ things. He’s talkin’ about the internet too, and how it changes everything. I don’t know much about that internet thing, seems complicated. But this Chris fella, he seems to think it’s a big deal.
And what about Chris and kindness?
And get this, he’s also on about somethin’ he calls “Infectious Generosity.” Says bein’ kind spreads, like a cold, but in a good way. He thinks the internet can help with that too, spreadin’ kindness all over the place. Well, I always say a little kindness goes a long way. Maybe this Chris fella ain’t so bad after all.
So that’s what I know about Andersen Chris. Or at least, what I heard tell. He’s a businessman, a talker, a writer, maybe even a basketball player, depends on which Chris you’re talkin’ about. But he seems to be a fella who wants to make a difference in the world, one way or another. And that ain’t such a bad thing, I reckon. He’s always curious and asking questions, so maybe that’s his secret, asking questions until he knows everything.
Tags: [Chris Anderson, TED, Public Speaking, Free, Generosity, Birdman, Author, Businessman, Ideas]
