The TED Talks began as exclusive talks about “Ideas Worth Spreading” that attendees paid 5-figure fees to attend. Talks must be less than 20 minutes, and in many cases around 10 minutes. Growing from one location that met annually, the franchise has spread across the globe and now there are thousands.

Industry, or manufacturing, seldom is a topic. So when I heard this one from the chief economist of GE, I thought it was worth sharing. The official TED blurb is below, but understand that “Industrial Internet” is GE’s pet term for the Internet of Things. This is a growing trend that will be significant in industry. But reading the comments on the TED page reveals how much more education we in the field need to provide to the general population.

Everyone’s talking about the “Internet of Things,” but what exactly does that mean for our future? In this thoughtful talk, economist Marco Annunziata looks at how technology is transforming the industrial sector, creating machines that can see, feel, sense and react — so they can be operated far more efficiently. Think: airplane parts that send an alert when they need to be serviced, or wind turbines that communicate with one another to generate more electricity. It’s a future with exciting implications for us all.

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