5 resolutions to change the world in 2012

Computerworld - We lost a legend this year. All Steve Jobs ever wanted was to change the world. And whether you love Apple or hate it, you have to admit that Jobs achieved his goal.

At a minimum, he mainstreamed a lot of things we now take for granted: downloadable music, super elegant hardware, multi-touch user interfaces, app stores, Apple Stores, voice-based virtual assistants and white earbuds, to name just a few.

Jobs was as controversial in life as he has been since his death; his bio has only sharpened controversy over whether he was a brilliant visionary, a totalitarian task-master or, most likely, both.

I think one of the most interesting things about Jobs is his lifelong insistence that you could "change the world," as he put it. With the right perspective, as well as determination and effort, any of us could "make a dent in the universe," he believed.

Call me one of the crazy ones, but I think he was right. The world he and many other tech visionaries shaped now gives us the tools to connect with people almost anywhere; join movements that pressure companies and governments to change their policies; and learn just about anything.

So as we make our New Year's resolutions, here are a few suggestions on how you can leverage new technology to change the world:

Embrace Google+

I know I've been a relentless cheerleader for Google's social network in this space since it launched in the summer. But to me, Google+ is the most transformative new technology product to come out in the past decade.

For starters, Google+ is radically international. My Twitter followers, for example, are about 80% Americans. Facebook? Forget it. About 95% of my friends on Facebook are American -- and probably 75% are in either California or New York, where I have lived and left behind a trail of family and friends.

But on Google+, fewer than 10% of the people who have circled me are Americans. As a result, I have meaningful conversations every day with people in Pakistan, Nigeria, India, Indonesia, and just about every country you can think of. And there's something about the network, something about how conversations unfold on Google+, that favors substantive conversation rather than frivolous banter or pointless trolling.

I've travelled all over the world, but I find Google+ far more broadening and enlightening even than travel.

Facebook is easy and comfortable because most of the conversations are with and about people you already know. But Google+ involves deep conversations with brilliant strangers, and is mind-expanding and radically educational. At least, it has been for me.