Earlier today I spoke to some colleagues and none of them knew who Steve Jobs was, well one did, the rest just weren’t informed. Its not a bad thing not to know, its not good either, because I believe you have to know about the people who make visible contributions to technology and lifestyle. Apple, for instance, is not a PC that I work with everyday but I have respect for the brand, and I understand what the Apple brand has done. Just think about the IPhone and the IPod, two outstanding devices that have changed the way we look at cellphones and MP3 players.

In the same conversation I asked the people around me who Eric Schmidt was, and none knew. I wonder if I ask them who Sergei Brin and Larry Page if they would know. Google has come to not only revolutionise internet search but have been pioneering all kinds of development, from browsers to cellphone operating systems. True movers and shakers in every sense, the same goes with Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Linus Torvalds, Bjarne Stroustrup, and the list can go on and on.

Coming back to the question though, are these ‘big names’ bad for us? I don’t think so because its the populace that determine the extent of the influence that these ‘big names’ have.