I have composed about a dozen different, long-winded blog entries in my head while in the shower… while driving to work this morning… tossing and turning in bed last night. In each one, I expounded on some quality of Steve Jobs, some way that his work touched my life or the lives of others.
“Things don’t have to change the world to be important.” They only have to change one person’s world. Like the autistic child who can now communicate with his parents through the direct interaction of an iPad.
I thought about analogies to show how important he was to my generation.
Steve Jobs was our generation’s Walt Disney. Steve was inspired by Walt’s creativity, attention to detail and ability to meld those qualities together with savvy business sense. In many ways Steve exceeded the accomplishments of his inspiration. The next generation will have it’s Walt, too. And it’s a safe bet that he or she will have been inspired by Steve Jobs. I can’t wait to see how they exceed what Steve accomplished.
I wondered what would happen next.
Few of us know what the future holds. But I’m betting Steve did. And I hope he wrote it down, took notes, and instilled it into his team at Apple.
I thought about how I’ve been using Apple products since the early 80s, how I transitioned from rub-on lettering, graph paper and pencils and clip-art books to MacDraw and MacPaint; about how if it weren’t for the way he helped push away the technical barriers for creative people like me I would probably never have had the career I have. That career has grown from everyday graphics to interactive design, creating mobile apps for handheld computers that Steve brought us, to putting together a film festival that has been wildly successful for 8 years using Apple products and built-in free software to present more than 60 shows in multiple theaters. Steve Jobs brought us graph paper and pencils in computer form.
So, what do I say? I say thank you, Steve. Thanks for making me one of the crazy ones.
