IT PRO’s tech heroes

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Sir Tim Berners-Lee

If you don’t know who he is, well, you should – after all, you’re using his greatest creation.

The man invented the web. And then he gave it away for free. If there’s any person who should be taught about in UK schools, it’s this Brit.

After pitching his interesting idea to his bosses at CERN in Geneva, Berners-Lee didn’t seek to make himself the richest man in the world with his clever idea. Instead, he humbly realised that others could come up with similar methods, and that making his widely available was the only way it would work.

So here we are. The guy could take his knighthood around the well-paying speaking circuit, pump out a few biographies extolling his own awesome-ness, or just sit at home knowing he’d accomplished more than most ever do.

Instead, he teaches, continues to research, and looks to take his creation further with his work at the World Wide Web Consortium.

On top of that, he’s evangelising for free data. You see, the more good data that’s made public, the more we can all analyse it to figure out how to make the world a better place. He actually lead TED attendees in a “RAW DATA NOW” chant.

He’s intelligent, talented, humble and cares about the world. What more could you want from any person, let alone any geek? – Nicole Kobie

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