Influential People

If you don’t know Mark Zuckerberg then you don’t know very much about pop culture. However, if you don’t know who Mark Zuckerberg then I’m in luck; now you get to read my article!

Well, I’ll break it down for you. There’s this thing called the Internet… oh wait… maybe I should fast forward a bit…

The connectivity provided to users of the internet wasn’t always the way it is today. In fact, Mark Zuckerberg was the catalyst for how the virtual world stands today. With the founding of Facebook, people have been able to create relationships, mend old ones, and maintain a social life with others from afar; and this is a phenomenon that is solely due to one man: Mark Zuckerberg.

In fact, the creation of Facebook has helped create an entire industry and even evolve the free-trade of information. With such a heavy volume of users, Facebook is an ideal spot to advertise! Plus, with the way Facebook has effectively filtered content of advertisements to only be seen by the client’s target audience based on search history.

Possibly known as one of the generations most profitable and influential software engineers, Mark Zuckerberg, for all practical purposes, owns the internet. 48% of Americans admitted that they receive their news through Facebook, as opposed to other mediums of information like newspapers, television, or radio broadcasts. A majority of the population uses Facebook as a way to communicate, and more than Eight Million status updates per hour, per day. With that much consistent communication between users, there is no wonder why Facebook could be considered the 8th wonder.

If you don’t yet have a Facebook account, you should probably get one. In the world we live in, it could one day become the only way people communicate! And if Facebook ever flops and becomes a communication that nobody is interested in, at least Mark Zuckerberg has an extensive software engineer resume!  Regardless of the future of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg is sure to remain on the A-List of social networking.

 John D. Rockefeller, the most recognizable of all American Industrialists, is one of  the most influential people in American history. Representing everything that the  American dream stands for, John D. Rockefeller was the first person in U.S.  history to surpass a net worth of one billion dollars. It can be argued that, due to  inflation, John D. Rockefeller was the richest man in history. if you could buy a  pound of candy for 5 cents in 1920, imagine how much you could get afford with  500 trillion nickels!

An entrepreneur and investor, John D. Rockefeller formed the company Standard  Oil in Ohio. Standard Oil quickly become the most profitable shipper of oil and  kerosene in the country.  However, with Rockefeller’s many successes came much  scrutiny. His wealth, as acquired from more than just the founding of a  monopolizing oil company, was achieved by many other investments. Creating a  name for himself; writing his way into history, “Johnny Dee Rocks” was a  household name in the 1880′ and on. Except, they called him by his God-given name, not “Johnny Dee Rocks”… (I bet that’s what his friends called him though!)

Also pursuing philanthropy by donating to charity, John D. Rockefeller was a huge advocate of higher education and proper distribution and spending of funds to better achieve that goal. In the eyes of Rockefeller, paying it forward is a civic duty of a successful individual. He also helped fund his church. In fact, from his very first paycheck, John D. Rockefeller donated 10% of his earnings to  his church.

Known all around the world for his accomplishments, John D. Rockefeller is everything that every American dreams to become.

As for me, I just play Monopoly any chance I get. Buying Boardwalk gives me the only rush I need to feel as though I’ve accomplished the American dream.

Jolly Ole Saint Nicholas is a influential figure for children worldwide. And  though he has many names, Santa Claus is the single leading representation  of  joy and cheer. Changing the lives of many tiny-tots, Santa also helps in  keeping  parents across the world sane.

Though some might think Santa to be a fictitious character, the delight spread  across the world is extremely real. In the eyes of children, who might not have  many  personal idols (with the numerous exceptions of a nameless police or  parole officer,  fireman, or astronaut circa 1970′s), Santa is the only face of  hope and promise. In  fact, Santa Clause is the one man every child can count  on.

Of course, I remember when I learned all about the secret of Santa Claus. One day, early December, my older brother took me into my parent’s bedroom to help him look for presents. Of course, at the time, I never considered that the “presents” we were looking for were, in fact, “Christmas presents”.

Long story short, we found a couple of Gameboy Advances in my parent’s closet. Then, my brother told me I couldn’t say anything about them and had to act surprised Christmas morning. That is when the cat came out of the bag.

…I never looked at my parents the same way ever again (until they started paying my college tuition).

And while not every family celebrates Christmas or humors the idea of Santa  Clause, many children rely on him. Whether you call him Santa, Kris Kringle, or  Saint Nick the representation stays the same. Putting a face and personality to amplify joy to reach the necessary Holiday glee is important.

Enjoy your holiday season and, no matter hat your beliefs may be, keep an eye on the sky. You may not believe in Santa, but those reindeer are legit.

 Geoffrey Canada is an advocate of advancing education to troubled, Inner-City  children. He was born in January 13, 1942 and has a Master’s Degree in  Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education. In the 1990’s Canada  started a nonprofit organization to help educate kids who were surrounded by  inner city conflicts, such as drugs, guns, and rampant homeless.

Before the futures of thousands of children began to shape, Geoffrey Canada  ”mentored” less than a hundred. Seeking to evolve his cause, Canada’s idea’s  bloomed faster than the crime and poverty could keep up. Today his  organization covers a whopping 100 city-block area.

“Osama Bin Laden is not going to come here and destroy America. Our education system is doing that just fine.”

Canada has accomplished a feat that many might have, at one point, considered impossible. With the large number of children whose lives have been touched, the accomplishments made by Geoffrey Canada are truly amazing.

Creating contributing members of society out of children that our general  public had forsaken was a task that no other had attempted. Of course, the task  was hard. To everyone’s surprise, Geoffrey Canada had much success. The  simple fact is that you can not separate a child from their hometown. The poor  social qualities and government funding surrounding poverty-stricken areas  should not negate the level of opportunity available to our nation’s youth. The origin of a child should not commit them to an online education, or even no education at all.

Though you may not have ever known who Geoffrey Canada was before today, he has been shaping our nation’s education system to promote a better world for generations to come.

Geoffrey Canada has turned the lives right-side-up for thousands of children; saving lives and building futures. The success surrounding Geoffrey Canada’s non-profit campaign is living proof that miracles do, in fact, exist.

Melvil Dewey

With no relation to Hewey and Louie, Melville Dewey created one of the better known organizational systems still taught to this day. If you didn’t know, or haven’t yet guessed it, we’re talking about the Dewey Decimal System.

Celebrating Dewey’s 160th birthday today, January the 10th, it is important to remember how Melvil Dewey has shaped the world into what it is today. Besides creating a classification system that is used in libraries, both public and private, nationwide, Melvil Dewey was an innovator and a volunteer. Dewey helped found the Lake Placid Club, dedicated to the teaching of proper spelling. Also, he independently founded a private company: the Library Bureau, dedicated to the furnishing of equipment and supplies available to libraries to better serve the purpose of widespread reliability.

However, Melvil Dewey accomplished far more in his life than even he knew himself. That accomplishment, of course, is the internet. The way things are classified online is mildly comparable to the structure of the infamous Dewey Decimal System. One might say the internet would not be what it is today if not for the meticulous upbringing of paper classifications. Though the Dewey Decimal System is not the basis of all paperless classifications, is has helped a great deal in evolving our current technologies.

Even before Amazon existed, and before you could attend school online, Melvil Dewey was working to thrust our world forward; into what it is today.