I watched the PBS special on Nov 2, 2011 and took to heart the words that Steve Jobs spoke.

“everything around

that you call life

was made up

by people who

          were no smarter than you.

And you can change it. You can influence it. You can build

your own things

that other people can use.

Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”

I believe that just as the personal computer was Steve Job’s vision and changed the world,  the Personal Data Coalition’s vision is for a personal database for every person on the planet.   We believe that without our “on-line proxy”, the 24 by 7 version of us that we cannot survive the oncoming digital world.  We cannot go backwards… and to go forward is to become digital.  Hang on and enjoy the ride.  The technology has to get better, faster, more reliable and more secure.

Of note is a “never-before broadcast interview” with Jobs from 1994, two years before Apple would buy NeXT and bring Jobs back at the start of the company’s comeback. Jobs appears with a thick, shaggy beard and glasses, and discusses his findings on life:

“When you grow up, you tend to get told that the world is the way it is, and your life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family life. Have fun, save a little money. That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader, once you discover one simple fact, and that is everything around that you call life was made up by people who were no smarter than you. And you can change it. You can influence it. You can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”