{{short description|Multimedia web portal}} {{Infobox website | name = Big Think | logo = Logo of Big Think.svg | url = [http://bigthink.com/ BigThink.com] | type = Web portal | author = Victoria Brown and Peter Hopkins | launch_date = {{start date and age|2007}} | current_status = Active }} '''Big Think''' is a multimedia web portal founded in 2007 by Victoria Brown and Peter Hopkins.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/technology/07summers.html|title=Ex-Harvard President Meets a Former Student, and Intellectual Sparks Fly|last=Arango|first=Tim|date=2008|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-03-26|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/54689-95|title=Big Think Company Profile: Valuation & Investors {{!}} PitchBook|website=pitchbook.com|language=en|access-date=2018-03-26}}</ref> The site publishes interviews and round table discussions with experts from a wide range of fields. Victoria Brown is the acting CEO and Peter Hopkins is the acting president of the company.
== History == The company was founded when Brown and Hopkins met while working with Google Video to digitize the VHS archives of The Charlie Rose Show in 2006.<ref name="Melber">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/youtube-smart-people/|title=YouTube for Smart People|last=Melber|first=Ari|date=2008-03-31|work=The Nation|access-date=2018-03-26|archive-date=2018-03-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330144510/https://www.thenation.com/article/youtube-smart-people/|url-status=dead}}</ref> They began contemplating how to organize information into "short-form intellectual videos targeting online audiences"<ref name="Melber"/> and envisioned "an online platform where the world's leading experts could weigh in on current issues".<ref name="Kanani">{{Cite news |last=Kanani |first=Rahim |date=24 May 2012 |title=Cofounder and President of BigThink Talks Getting Smarter Faster |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/rahimkanani/2012/05/24/cofounder-and-president-of-bigthink-talks-getting-smarter-faster/#584983685e77 |access-date=2018-03-26 |work=Forbes.com}}</ref>
In 2008, they launched with only video content. The materials involve short clips but with enough content so that they foster thinking, learning, and debate.<ref name="Bonk">{{Cite book|last=Bonk|first=Curtis J.|year=2009|title=The World Is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education|pages=226|location=San Francisco, CA|publisher=Jossey Bass|isbn=9780470461303}}</ref>
In 2009, they branched into blogs and written content. Their first notable blogger was Michio Kaku. Other personalities include Angelina Jolie, who joined a panel of experts in a discourse over displaced children in Iraq, and Esther Dyson who talked about the opportunities from space exploration.<ref name="Bonk" />
In 2012, Big Think started live-streaming and providing individual and companies with "real-time interaction with notable guests". The platform also serves as a resource for educators and researchers, facilitating online learning.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sutton|first=Brian|last2=Basiel|first2=Anthony|year = 2014 | title=Teaching and Learning Online: New Models of Learning for a Connected World| page=xi| location=New York | publisher=Routledge | isbn=9780415528566}}</ref> As of March 2012, the Big Think YouTube channel passed 20 million views, and the video archive of the website included more than 12,000 clips from more than 2000 of its designated experts.<ref name="Kanani" />
Big Think has created video series on "Courageous Collaborations", "Academic Freedom" and "Education Innovation".{{when|date = February 2024}}{{cn|date = February 2024}}
Big Think spun out other sites: Big Think Edge for Business and Floating University for Higher Education.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bigthinkedge.com/|title=Big Think Edge {{!}} Modern Video Learning for Your Organization|last=Edge|first=Big Think|website=www.bigthinkedge.com|access-date=2018-03-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://bigthink.com/floating-university/welcome-to-the-floating-university-big-think-launches-e-learning-platform|title=Welcome to The Floating University: Big Think Launches E-Learning Platform|work=Big Think|access-date=2018-03-26}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{official website|http://bigthink.com/}}
Category:American entertainment websites Category:Online mass media companies of the United States Category:Internet properties established in 2007 Category:Education-related YouTube channels