Yes, the average quality will probably fall, but the total amount of "good" talks will vastly increase. As with any popular content platform. A problem yet to be solved is how to highlight the better talks, because the current approach of featuring a talk a day on TED.com doesn't scale.
By the way, TED never expected TEDx to grow this big, so there is little strategy in what's been happening so far. There are I think 6 or 7 TED staff responsible for the whole TEDx program, with its 3000+ events.
Agreed, andr, that the number of new good talks can continue to increase. This is an interesting story and relates to a variety of other organizations seeking to scale quickly, whether from necessity or ambition. Is there an ongoing discussion of it as it pertains to TED & TEDx anywhere?
By the way, TED never expected TEDx to grow this big, so there is little strategy in what's been happening so far. There are I think 6 or 7 TED staff responsible for the whole TEDx program, with its 3000+ events.