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"For the past week, I've poured over notes, images and memories collected at TEDxRVA \u2014 the first independent conference to take place in my hometown Richmond, Va. The theme was \"CREATE,\" a tribute to creativity and innovation. \nTo anyone outside Virginia, this kind of event might not seem like a big deal. Small cities host TEDx events all of the time. And major cities like New York and San Francisco tend to dominate the tech, entertainment and design industries in the U.S. So what's the point of targeting a city that only reaches 1.2 million metro area residents?\nTED's whole mission is \"ideas worth spreading,\" which is exactly what small cities are doing when they create these independent events. It allows smaller pieces of the tech community to step up and become part of something much bigger. \nAfter all, in major cities people have access to startups and all kinds of digital innovation, but there is a world of opportunity outside those hubs, and we cannot ignore it.\nMore than 2,000 events have taken place across the U.S. out of the 6,417 total TEDx events in the past four years. That doesn't even include the applications that weren't approved. In New York, 50 TEDx proposals are submitted and only one is accepted each year.\nThe annual TED conferences cost about $7,500 per ticket, and hopeful attendees must fill out an application to even be considered for admission. Online, millions of viewers from all over the world seek motivation and education from the lecture series. \nSEE ALSO: Why We Can't Get Enough TED Talks\nSome people scoff when I explain leaving New York for a small city like Richmond. But when 600 people gather into a freezing warehouse, alongside massive turbines that powered the first street cars in the United States, I feel reassured that the tech community extends far and beyond Silicon Valley. \n\"Creativity is not just looking to the future and forgetting the past,\" said local historian Ed Ayers. The same can be said for the history and future of TED itself.\nMashable's deputy editor Chris Taylor attended the annual TED conference in Long Beach earlier this month. In his op-ed, Taylor says that the grandiose atmosphere and prestigiousness got in the way of the true TED spirit he felt 10 years earlier.\nMeanwhile, smaller cities host TEDx events that are gritty and unpredictable \u2014 and they inspire. They have motivated thousands of people who will never attend the annual conference \u2014 not by free swag and big, flashy tents but with a genuine spontaneity shared between the person on stage and his or her audience.\nTED is known as an institution for world-renowned speakers, but the independently organized events are keeping the original enthusiastic fire alive. When the guard is down, participants' speeches become less rehearsed and more emotional and raw. It is that same element of disruption that has made the tech industry what it is today. \nYou'll also find intimacy, an odd concept when you think about the millions of people watching TEDtalk videos around the world. But in smaller groups, we tend to absorb more and it becomes easier to feel a part of something. \n\nIn Richmond the community was involved with TEDxRVA before it even took place. An open mic night featured 31 speakers \u2014 selected from 500 YouTube submissions \u2014 competing for two spots at the actual event. The winners were a 15-year old student who spoke on education reform and a former heroin addict who shared why poetry saved his life.\nNearly every speaker was filled with passion and excitement. After each presentation chief curator Andy Stefanovich was literally moved to tears as he witnessed the event come to life. And the staff and attendees communicated sincere recognition and gratitude to the community and volunteers who helped shape the event.\nIt is in those kinds of unscripted, sincere moments that TEDx truly shines. TED inspires by showing how small acts can produce massive change. The independent TEDx events are the small pieces of a giant tech puzzle, and the industry needs them to thrive.\n\nImage courtesy of Mashable, Christine Erickson, TEDxRVA"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/03/28/tedx-small-cities/>