Reflection – written February 13 , 1997

It is so exhilarating to be up there at the podium sharing a vision of the future of the Internet with 2,500 people! I know when I address such a large audience that some of the people know a lot more than I do and that some will learn a great deal. I love the challenge of trying to find a balance that makes most of the audience feel glad they came. This afternoon I got an email from a school teacher in Iowa. She said, “This morning I saw a Real Audio link to your L.A. keynote speech in PC Week Online. I assumed it would be a typical marketing speech and didn’t plan to listen for more than one or two minutes. Instead, your visionary description of the Internet kept me online for your entire speech.” She asked if she could put a link to it for use in teaching other teachers about the Internet. She had taken the challenge I gave for all of us to embrace the Internet and share our knowledge with others. That made it all worthwhile!