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Academic lecture conference TED releases shorts

25. 05. 23.

The American non-profit foundation TED has introduced a new short-form video content feature called 'TED Shorts'. TED announced on the 21st (local time) that this feature is available within the TED app, and users can move to a vertically swiping video feed by pressing the button in the center of the navigation bar. The feed provides highlights of TED talks and original content in the form of short clips, and also supports communication features such as likes, comments, and shares.

This feature was implemented through collaboration with the generative video platform Genuin. TED introduced a personalized content curation system that recommends videos based on users’ interests, popular topics, and personal signals based on artificial intelligence (AI). This is the biggest change in 15 years since the app was launched in 2010, and is interpreted as a strategy to complement the existing long lecture video format and lower the barrier to entry for users.

“Apps have been a bit of a back-burner for some time, but the introduction of Ted Shorts is a game-changer for the user experience,” said Trisha Maia, Ted’s head of product. “Our AI recommendation system will help you access deep content in an age of fragmented attention.” Ted already has millions of followers across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, and it seems like an attempt to absorb those social media experiences into its own app.

The Ted app has surpassed 100 million cumulative downloads to date, and is expected to reach 1 million downloads in 2024, down 17% from the previous year. Ted aims to revive its declining user base and reach a larger global audience with Ted Shorts.