On the heels of Sacramento's first TEDx conference, grads from California State University, Sacramento, will launch a TED Talks spinoff on Thursday.

"Talks Unleashed" is one of several local events created in the vein of TED Talks, a social movement that began in Monterey in 1984.

TED Talks are conferences organized to inspire the spread of ideas to benefit the world through 18-minute lectures and collaboration opportunities. They originally featured talks on technology, entertainment and design. Now focused on science and culture, the events have spread throughout this country and into Europe and Asia, as well as on the Internet.

About 200 people filled Sac State's Hinde Auditorium Friday for the first TEDx Sacramento conference. That event was organized by local creative professionals led by Brandon Weber, co-owner of The Urban Hive.

On Thursday, "Talks Unleashed" will offer a smaller, shorter event designed to draw in young professionals and college students for idea-sharing and networking around those ideas. Jeff McLeod, a 1998 Sac State grad and now a senior enterprise information technology manager for Intel in Folsom, is partnering with a Sac State student association, the Management Information Systems Association, to offer the event.

"We're really focused on getting those young ideas," said McLeod, who also founded a website that springs from mashup culture: www.nicetoga.com, an aggregator with social media components.

The free event is open to everyone. Nearly 35 people have confirmed participation, but more are expected, said Kate Taylor, a public relations professional with Astone/Crocker/Flanagan and a Sac State grad volunteering with the event.

"Talks Unleashed" will differ from TED Talks and other TED Talks spinoffs not only in its attempt to bridge the gap between professionals and students, but with its format. The event will feature five people — professionals and students — who will speak for five minutes each, followed by networking. Topics will lean toward technology and leadership, McLeod said.

Speakers include lawyer/lobbyist Josh Golka, currently in grad school, who will discuss "How to Juggle Jello;" Dorado Software Online Marketing Manager Eden Mondanaro with "Three Musts for Doing Business on the Web;" McLeod with "Lone Nut to Leader;" and students Ali Davutoglu, "Business Intelligent Evolution" and Nadir Hajiyani, "Schools in 2020."

The short talks offer people a chance to meet and build relationships in a format unlike other networking groups, McLeod said.

"There are lots of different networking events. Normally, you just show up. And normally, you're like, 'Okay, who am I going to talk with? What am I going to talk about?' " he said. "The nice thing is these talks are actually a springboard to having conversations."

Talks Unleashed will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Sac State University Union's California Suite, 6000 J St. The event is expected to be held every three months.

The Urban Hive, 1931 H St., hosts TED Talks Tuesday at 8 a.m. weekly and Lunch with TED at noon Thursdays. Another TEDx event is being planned for November.