Evan Sims

GPD08: Who Inspires You to “Do Good”?

So, Gary Vaynerchuk over at Wine Library TV posted a call for action yesterday: if we can create these huge viral memes on the web for stupid crap like what our favorite colors are or, god help us, figuring out innovative new ways to rickroll each other, why can’t we do it for something positive and maybe even productive? Gary declared April 3rd “Good People Day”, in which he wants Internet folks to Twitter, Pownce, Flickr, Blog or otherwise just share their positive thoughts about people who have had a measurable and meaningful impact in their lives personally, or on the lives of people worldwide. I think it’s a brilliant idea.

I think it’s important to be clear, since a lot of people seem to be mistaking the spirit of it: this action isn’t about singling out people who are great and people who aren’t. This isn’t about choosing sides or making enemies. It’s about about showing your thanks, your respect and your good will about the people who mean something to you, whether you know them personally or not.

I like to think of myself as a good person, more or less. I go out of my way to be helpful to friends and strangers alike, and am always willing to help folks out. There are people I look to who keep me inspired and positive, and that’s what my Good People Day post is going to be about.

First, and most obviously, my family. I honestly don’t believe you could have to better parents than mine. They’re the most supportive, loving, caring people I’ve ever known, and that compassion is not limited to me or my sister. They really go the extra mile for the people they care about, and that is reflected in the quality of friends they keep.

Next are my closest friends. Ryan, Jim, Will (get a fracking livejournal or something for me to link to already, dude. jesus. hehe.) and, of course, my oldest friend Brian. These guys are principally responsible for who I am today. We’ve known eachother for well over half my life now, talk almost constantly nearly everyday, and never have a shortage of good times. These guys have made me a better person because of their friendship, and I hope they feel the same way. Not bad for a bunch of geeks who met in Ultima Online, eh?

Now, the folks who I don’t know personally but have a huge respect for. Though I take some issue with his business practices, I have a huge admiration for Bill Gates and his wife for their philanthropic and humanitarian work, namely through the forming of their Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Obviously, the Gates aren’t the only ridiculously wealthy folks who have donated a big chunk of their cash to important causes, but you’d be hard pressed to find people who have done so much.

Of course there are lots of other folks doing important humanitarian work. Bono of U2 has done a hell of a lot in helping to raise awareness, especially through the popular media, about his causes. Likewise, you’ve got to have a hell of a lot of respect for Richard Branson and his work.

Now, I’m a gamer and geek, and there’s no shortage of folks in my industry who inspire me there, either. Creatively, I find myself hanging on the every word of people like Wil Wright, Peter Molyneux, Richard Garriott, Rand Miller, Hironobu Sakaguchi and Shigeru Miyamoto. These guys wield innovation and brilliance like a wand, and everything they create seems to be a work of genius. Clearly their work does not come easy to them, nor does it come easy to anyone in the gaming industry, but these guys have excelled at producing content that never lets me down, and always surprises me with fascinating new ways to look at games as a whole.

Great folks, certainly, but these are household names that everyone (well, everyone like me) will recognize; who are the lesser knowns that really strike me at a personal level? One of the great things about this whole “Web 2.0″ thing is the new style of business we’re seeing: product teams are not only personally identifiable, but they’re personable. You can talk with a developer on their blog, or pop them an email and they’ll actually respond, or have a conversation via Twitter. Heck, you can even video conference with them via Skype, or Yahoo! Live, or ustream, or… you get the picture. The Web 2.0 mindset has made the web personal again, not just in terms of services and data, but in meaning. There are too many folks in the Web 2.0 field who have struck me as inspiring for their kindness and compassion for their users, but some that immediately come to mind are Colin Devroe and Robert Sandie of Viddler, the whole Twitter team (in particular Blaine Cook and Alex Payne), Bret Taylor of FriendFeed and Chris Wetherell of Google. Likewise, I can’t forget Eric Rice, Chris Messina Scott Jarkoff and Lisa McMillan, all of whom constantly inspire me with their sheer brilliance, insight and senses of humor. The list could go on and on, but these are a handful of the people that have really struck me as being great, personable folks.

So, there’s my list for Good People Day 2008. I could go on and on and I’d still have overlooked so many, but that’s it in a nutshell. Get out there and post about the people who inspire you!