Susan Wojcicki gave the commencement address to the 2014 graduating class of Johns Hopkins University.She spoke about how Google was started in her home garage in Menlo Park, California, how You Tube was invented, and how to face failure.
About the Speaker
Susan Diane Wojcicki (born July 5, 1968) is an American businesswoman and CEO of YouTube.
Wojcicki had served as senior vice president of advertising and commerce at Google, a company founded in her family's Menlo Park, garage. She led teams that helped define the vision and direction of Google's monetization platforms, helping the company become a $43.7 billion business responsible for more than 40 percent of total digital ad revenue in the United States.
Transcript
THANK YOU, PRESIDENT DANIELS, FOR INVITING ME HERE TO SHARE THIS SPECIAL DAY WITH ALL OF YOU. I'M HONORED TO BE HERE TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, ESTEEMED FACULTY, ALL THE PROUD PARENTS, SUPPORTING FRIENDS AND FAMILY, BUT ESPECIALLY LET'S GIVE A BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BLUE JAY CLASS OF 2014. [APPLAUSE] I'VE THOUGHT LONG AND HARD ABOUT WHAT I WANTED TO SAY TO ALL OF YOU HERE TODAY. I THOUGHT ABOUT MY OWN COMMENCEMENTS BEAKER, LESSONS LEARNED, AND AFTER THINKING VERY DEEPLY ABOUT IT, I REALIZED I REMEMBERED ABSOLUTELY NOTHING FROM THAT SPEECH. I'LL REMEMBER THIS A SUCCESS IF YOU REMEMBER JUST ONE THING. HERE'S THE FIRST THING YOU CAN REMEMBER. SETTING ACHIEVABLE GOALS IS IMPORTANT. LET'S GET STARTED. IT TURNS OUT MOST OF YOU WERE BORN THE SAME YEAR AS THE INTERNET AS WE KNOW IT. YOU PROBABLY CANNOT IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT TEXTING, E-MAILING, BLOGGING, GOOGLING, AND WATCHING YOUTUBE VIDEOS PROBABLY WHEN YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE STUDYING ON D LEVEL. YET NONE OF THOSE VERBS EXISTED WHEN I WAS IN MY CAP AND DOWN AND NOW THE WORLD HAS OVER 2 MILLION PEOPLE DOING THOSE THINGS EVERY DAY. BACK THEN, ONLY THAT THINGS WENT VIRAL LIKE MONO. [LAUGHTER] THINGS YOU DEFINITELY DID NOT WANT. NOW THINGS LIKE DAVID AFTER DENTIST, PSY'S GANGNAM STYLE, OR THE RECENT VIDEO OF CATS RESCUING KIDS FROM VICIOUS DOGS. IT PROVES THAT THE WORLD HAS CHANGED SINCE I GRADUATED. THE ACCELERATION OF TECHNOLOGICAL PROCESS IS UNMATCHED. IT WILL NOT SLOW DOWN. IT WILL ONLY SPEED UP. I WANT TO SHARE THREE STORIES FROM MY LIFE AND HOW I THINK THEY CAN HELP YOU IN THE NEW, FAST MOVING WORLD YOU ARE ABOUT TO ENTER. I JOINED GOOGLE DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE FIRST DOT COOM M BOOM IN THE 1990'S. AT THE TIME, I WAS NEWLY MARRIED IN WE DECIDED TO BUY A HOUSE WHICH WAS A HUGE DECISION. WE CAN BARELY AFFORD THE MORTGAGE SO WE DECIDED WE WOULD RENT PART OF OUR HOUSE AND THE GARAGE. THANKS TO A MUTUAL FRIEND, WE RENTED OUR GARAGE TO TWO GRADUATE STUDENTS AT STANFORD WHO WERE LOOKING FOR OFFICE SPACE. THEY SEEMED NICE. [LAUGHTER] THEIR IDEAS SOUNDED KIND OF CRAZY. BACK THEN, NO ONE HAD HEARD OF THERE A PAGE, SERGEI BRIN, OR THE NEW COMPANY WITH A FUNNY NAME. -- NO ONE HAD HEARD OF LARRY PAGE. GOOGLE? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? IT DOESN'T MATTER. AS LONG AS YOU BUILD -- PAY YOUR RENT ON TIME, YOU CAN BUILD YOUR GOOGLY THING HERE. THEY WOULD TALK TO ME ABOUT HOW THEIR TECHNOLOGY COULD CHANGE THE WORLD. THEN THEY WOULD GO ON EQUALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE FACT THAT MY HOUSE HAD A WASHER AND DRYER. [LAUGHTER] THEY MADE BOLD PROCLAMATIONS. WE WILL ORGANIZE THE ENTIRE WORLD WIDE WEB FOLLOWED BY -- WHICH IS RECYCLING DAY? WHEN I ASKED THEM HOW MUCH EXPERIENCE THEY HAD TO BACK THIS AMBITIOUS PLAN THEY WOULD SAY, OUR COMBINED AGES ALMOST 50. THEY WERE ENTERING A COMPETITIVE AREA. THERE WERE MANY WELL-FUNDED SEARCH ENGINES. FAMOUS AT THAT TIME, ALTHOUGH YOU'VE PROBABLY NEVER HEARD OF THEM, ALTAVISTA, LYCOS, EXCITE. CAN YOU IMAGINE IF YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING ONLINE AND YOU SAID YOU NEEDED TO ALTAVISTA THE ANSWER? LET'S EXCITE THAT? YOU SHOULD BE THANKFUL TO THEM FOR THE NAME ALONE. I WAS WORKING AT INTEL AT THE TIME AND I THINK I CAN SAY THIS NOW. I THOUGHT THEY WERE CRAZY. THEN, ONE DAY SOMETHING FUNNY HAPPENED AT WORK. I OPENED UP MY BROWSER TO LOOK SOMETHING UP AND IT TURNED OUT THAT GOOGLE WAS DOWN. THERE WAS AN ERROR PAGE. I COULD NOT GET MY WORK DONE BECAUSE I REALIZED NO OTHER SEARCH SERVER COULD FIND THE INFORMATION. I HAVE BECOME DEPENDENT ON GOOGLE FOR DOING MY DAY-TO-DAY WORK. THEN IT HIT ME. GOOGLE HAD BECOME SO INDISPENSABLE TO ME THAT MAYBE THE VISION WAS NOT SO CRAZY. MAYBE THERE WERE PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD SITTING IN THEIR COMPUTERS UPSET RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT YET WITH A NEEDED2 DONE BECAUSE THE SITE DEVELOPED2 BY THOSE TWO DUDES IN MY GARAGE WAS DOWN. INFORMATION MATTERS TO A LOT OF PEOPLE. ACCESSING THAT INFORMATION COULD INSTANTLY EMPOWER PEOPLE ACROSS THE GLOBE. I DECIDED I WANTED TO WORK FOR GOOGLE WHICH, AT THE TIME, WAS ALSO CRAZY. WITH A MORTGAGE TO PAY, STUDENT LOANS, I WOULD HAVE TO LEAVE A COMFORTABLE JOB AT A FORTUNE 500 COMPANY AND WORK FOR THE GUYS WHO LIVED IN MY GARAGE AND A HANDFUL OF MALE EMPLOYEES AND ALSO DID I MENTION THAT I WAS PREGNANT? NOW PEOPLE THOUGHT I WAS THE CRAZY ONE. LOOKING BACK ON THIS, I'VE LEARNED THAT LIFE DOES NOT ALWAYS PRESENT YOU WITH THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY UP THE PERFECT TIME. OPPORTUNITIES COME WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT THEM. RARELY ARE OPPORTUNITIES PRESENTED TO YOU IN THE PERFECT WAY AND THE NICE LITTLE BOX WITH THE YELLOW BOW ON TOP. OPEN THIS. IT'S PERFECT. YOU WILL LOVE IT. OPPORTUNITIES, THE GOOD ONES, THEY ARE MESSY, CONFUSING, HARD TO RECOGNIZE. THEY ARE RISKY. THINGS HAPPEN SO FAST BECAUSE OUR WORLD IS CHANGING SO MUCH. YOU HAVE TO MAKE DECISIONS WITHOUT PERFECT INFORMATION. BELIEVE THAT THE STATUS QUO WILL BE SUPPLANTED BY SOMETHING BETTER, SOMEONE'S CRAZY BUSINESS IDEA WILL BECOME REAL AND IMPORTANT. BELIEVED THAT THIS TECHNOLOGY WILL BE BIG IN THE FUTURE. THIS GROUNDBREAKING CANCER RESEARCH WILL SAVE LIVES. NEXT YEAR, JOHN HOPKINS LACROSSE CROSS WILL WIN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. [APPLAUSE] LOOK. I KNOW THAT THE OPPORTUNITY I'VE HAD WITH GOOGLE MAY SEEM ONE-OF-A-KIND BUT THINK HOW MUCH OUR WORLD HAS CHANGED SINCE EVOLVED GROWN UP. THINK OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND DISCOVERIES JUST IN YOUR LIFETIME. SMARTPHONES CAME OUT WHEN YOU WERE IN HIGH SCHOOL AND NOW YOU CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT THEM. YOU CAN SHARE YOUR VIDEO WITH THE WORLD IN JUST A FEW CLINICS. TAKE A PICTURE. PUT A FILTER ON IT. YOU CAN LISTEN TO YOUR MUSIC IN THE CLOUD. YOU COULD BE DOING THIS RIGHT NOW. INSTEAD OF SAYING NOT TO DO THAT, IF YOU ARE, JUST SAY SOMETHING NICE ABOUT MY TALK. #JHU2014. IT IS NOT JUST THE WEB. NANOTECHNOLOGY, HEALTH, MEDICINE, ALL PARTS OF SOCIETY. YOU HAVE OPPORTUNITIES THAT YOU CANNOT EVEN IMAGINE RIGHT NOW SO HERE'S THE ONE AND YOU CAN CHOOSE TO REMEMBER. IT'S THOSE OPPORTUNITIES, THE ONES THAT MAKE YOU BELIEVE IN THE FUTURE THAT WILL BE THE BEST ONES. THOSE THE ONES THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE AND CAN CHANGE THE WORLD. NOW I WANT TO TALK ABOUT YOUTUBE. DO YOU GUYS USE YOUTUBE? [APPLAUSE] I WANT TO TALK ABOUT HOW I FIRST DISCOVERED IT AND THEN ALMOST LOST IT. IT'S A STORY ABOUT RECOGNIZING AN OPPORTUNITY BUT ALSO ABOUT FACING FAILURE. I KNOW IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE, BUT IN 2004, THERE WAS NO YOUTUBE. VIDEO ON THE INTERNET WAS RARE. WE WERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE RIGHT STRATEGY FOR GOOGLE TO BE IN THE ONLINE VIDEO PROCESS. NOTHING WAS GETTING TRACTION. ONE DAY, WE DECIDED WE WOULD ALLOW USERS TO UPLOAD THEIR VIDEO TO GOOGLE. WE DID NOT TELL USERS WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THEIR VIDEO AND WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT USERS WOULD SEND TO US. IT WAS AN EXPERIMENT IN EVERY SENSE. AMAZINGLY, PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD UPLOADED LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF VIDEOS AND IT JUST WENT INTO A DATABASE AT GOOGLE THAT NO ONE COULD SEE. FRIDAY NIGHT, WE GOT TOGETHER AND DECIDED WE WOULD WATCH SOME OF THESE VIDEOS AND SEE WHAT WE SHOULD DO WITH THIS NEW EXPERIMENT. WE OPENED IT UP AND WAITED. IT WAS OF A PURPLE FURRY PUPPET DANCING AND SINGING IN SWEDISH. YOU KNOW, JUST WHAT WE'RE ARE USED TO WATCHING ON TV. IT WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE FIRST USER-GENERATED VIDEOS ANYONE HAD EVER SEEN. HONESTLY, I HAD NO IDEA WHAT THE TANK. MY KIDS KNEW WHAT TO THINK. THEY CHEERED. PLAY IT AGAIN. I PLAYED THAT VIDEO A LOT. THE VIDEOS WERE UNUSUAL. I HAVE NOT SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT BEFORE. EVERYONE WANTED TO SEE MORE OF THEM. WE STARTED BUILDING OUT A PLATFORM CALLED GOOGLE VIDEO FOR USERS TO UPLOAD AND SEE THEIR VIDEOS. EVERY DAY WE WERE GETTING MORE AND MORE UPLOADS TO GOOGLE VIDEO. WE HAD OUR FIRST HIT AND IT WAS NOT FROM WHERE YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FROM. IT WAS TWO COLLEGE STUDENTS IN THEIR DORM ROOM SINGING AND DANCING TO THE BACKSTREET BOYS WITH THEIR ROOMMATE DOING THEIR HOMEWORK IN THE BACKGROUND. IN SPITE OF THIS, IT BECAME THE FIRST VIDEO TO REACH ONE MILLION VIEWS, WHICH WAS A LOT THAT THEN. THAT GAVE US AN INSIGHT TO THE FUTURE OF VIDEO. ONLINE VIDEO WAS A NEW MEDIUM AND IT COULD UNLEASH THE CREATIVITY OF PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD AND SPARKED CURIOSITY OF PEOPLE WHO WANTED TO WATCH THEM. EVEN THOUGH WE KNEW IT WAS EARLY , IT HAD THE POTENTIAL TO BE BIG. SOON AFTER WE HAD OUR INITIAL SUCCESS, ANOTHER SITE LAUNCHED, YOUTUBE. AND IT STARTED GROWING FASTER, A LOT FASTER. ALL OF A SUDDEN, WE SAW OUR NEWFOUND SUCCESS SLIPPING AWAY. JUST AFTER WE THOUGHT WE WERE WINNING, WE FOUND OUT WE WERE LOSING. WE WERE SCARED AND CONFUSED. VERY QUICKLY, I HAD TO MAKE A TOUGH CALL. DO WE PRETEND THINGS ARE OK AND TRY TO FIX THEM, CONTINUE TO BUILD GOOGLE VIDEO AND HOPEFULLY CATCH UP? DO WE ADMIT OUR FAILURE MAY LOOK TO ACQUIRE YOUTUBE, A COMPANY WITH NO REVENUE, LOTS OF LEGAL LIABILITY THAT WAS ONLY ONE YEAR OLD AND PAY $1.6 BILLION FOR IT? JUST AS WE WERE MAKING THIS DECISION AS IF IT WAS NOT HARD ENOUGH, AN INDUSTRY VETERAN PUBLISHED A WELL READ ARTICLE SAYING ONLY A WOULD BUY YOUTUBE. [LAUGHTER] -- ONLY A MORON WOULD BUY YOUTUBE. YOU KNOW HOW THIS ENDED. I GUESS YOU CAN CALL ME A. I HAD TO GO AND SAY GOOGLE VIDEO WAS LOSING AND WE WOULD HAVE TO SPEND OVER $1.5 BILLION TO FIX THE MISTAKE. IT WAS PAINFUL HAVE A PUBLIC. ONE OF THE HARDEST DECISIONS I'VE HAD TO MAKE. PEOPLE ON MY TEAM QUIT AND RUFFLE -- IN REVOLT. ACTING FAST, FACING UP TO THE PROBLEM, MAKING A DECISION, BUYING YOUTUBE AND INVESTING HEAVILY WAS ALSO ONE OF THE BEST DECISIONS THAT WAS EVER MADE. TODAY, YOUTUBE HAS OVER ONE BILLION USERS AROUND THE WORLD AND IT HAS BEEN USED TO DEVELOP STARS LIKE MACKLEMORE AND JUSTIN BIEBER, ALTHOUGH WE WILL NOT DWELL ON THAT ONE FOR TOO LONG. [LAUGHTER] IT HAS HELPED TO BUILD COMPANIES LIKE GO PRO AND HAS SHINED LIGHT ON VENEZUELA, EGYPT, AND UKRAINE. THEY SHARE SONGS LIKE PHARRELL'S "HAPPY" AND VIDEOS LIKE THIS ONE. (music) DO THE HARLEM SHAKE (music) THAT'S THE SHORTENED VERSION. [APPLAUSE] THAT WAS IN THE LIBRARY. ANYWAY, YOU GUYS ARE VERY TALENTED. THAT WAS REALLY GOOD SHAKING. [LAUGHTER] YOUTUBE OVER A RELATIVELY SHORT TIME HAS BECOME THE PRIMARY PLATFORM FOR PEOPLE TO ENTERTAIN, DANCE, SING, LAUGH, LOVE, LEARN. IF I HAD NOT OWNED UP TO MY MISTAKE AND CONFRONTED FAILURE FAST, I WOULD NOT BE HERE TODAY. MAYBE ANOTHER POSSIBLE THING FOR YOU GUYS TO REMEMBER -- I'M TRYING TO HELP YOU GUYS. WHEN YOU FAIL, FACE YOUR FAILURE . FACE IT HEAD-ON. ADMIT IT AREA TO GROW FROM IT. NO ONE KNOWS WHAT THE RIGHT ANSWER IS AND EVERYONE WILL FACE FAILURE. IDEAS THAT WERE ONCE CAN'T MISS, MISS. COMPANIES THAT WERE SUREFIRE WENT DOWN IN FLAMES. IT'S WHAT YOU DO WHEN THAT HAPPENS THAT DETERMINES WHO SUCCEED TO DOES NOT. IT'S PART OF THE PROCESS. IT'S WHAT MAKES US WHO WE ARE. AS I LOOK OUT AT ALL OF YOU, I'M REMINDED OF MY OWN GRADUATION. I REMEMBER THERE WERE AN AWFUL LOT OF QUESTION MARKS FORMING. GRADUATING, LEAVING BEHIND MY FRIENDS, MY COLLEGE LIFE IN THAT IT HAD TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH MY REAL LIFE. I HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS GOING TO DO. I HAD NO JOB LINED UP, NO PROSPECT. MY BIG PLAN WAS TO GO HOME, LIVE WITH MY PARENTS, SHARE THE FAMILY CAR WITH MY LITTLE SISTER. FOR SOME OF YOU, THAT MIGHT SOUND LIKE A STRANGE FEAR. HOPKINS IS A UNIQUE PLACE. SOME OF YOU HAVE KNOWN EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO SINCE YOU SET FOOT ON THIS CAMPUS. MANY OF YOU HAVE USEFUL DREAMS, BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING. PUBLIC HEALTH. ECONOMICS. [LAUGHTER] APPLIED MATH. COMPUTER SCIENCE. WHAT ELSE AM I MISSING? OK, ALL THOSE OTHERS. THOSE, TOO. THOSE ARE USEFUL DEGREES. I HAD A DEGREE IN HISTORY AND LITERATURE. WHICH IS A GREAT DEGREE, TOO, BUT THEY ARE SOME OF THE LEAST PRACTICAL MAJORS AND I COMBINED THEM. IT'S NOT LIKE I DIDN'T HAVE AN IDEA ABOUT WHAT TO DO AFTER GRADUATING. I THOUGHT ABOUT TAKING THE FOREIGN SERVICE EXAM, SPENDING LIFE AS A DIPLOMAT. I EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT MEDICAL SCHOOL AND HOW I COULD SAVE SICK PEOPLE, BUT THEN I ALSO THOUGHT ABOUT WAITING TABLES, MAYBE OPENING A CUPCAKE SHOP. IN THE MEANTIME, LIFE INTERVENED. I BECAME PRACTICAL. I NEEDED MONEY AFTER GRADUATION AND MY PARENTS WERE NOT GOING TO PAY MY WAY ANYMORE. I STOPPED WORRYING ABOUT GETTING THE RIGHT JOB AND I FOCUSED ON JUST GETTING A JOB. ALTHOUGH IT WAS QUITE DIFFICULT THAT THE TIME, I NEED TO THANK MY PARENTS FOR FORCING ME OUT INTO THE WORK FORCE. MY MOM AND DAD ARE HERE TODAY. THANK YOU FOR MAKING ME GET UP, GET OUT, AND DO SOMETHING. [APPLAUSE] THAT SOMETHING TURNED OUT TO BE TECHNOLOGY. WITH JUST A FEW COURSES OF COMPUTER PROGRAMMING, I FOUND WORK FOR A SMALL EDUCATIONAL STARTUP IN PALO ALTO. TECHNOLOGY WAS CREATED. I COULD BUILD WINGS FOR PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD. IT WAS THE START OF A JOURNEY THAT HAS LED NEED TO INCREDIBLE PLACES. IT WAS NEVER MY PLAN. MAYBE ONE THING MORE TO TRY TO REMEMBER IS PLANS ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN. YOU NEED TO BE PREPARED TO EXPLORE A BIT, MAKE DECISIONS ON WHAT YOU FIND, ENJOY, DISCOVER. I NEVER WOULD HAVE EXPERIENCED ANY THAT OR STARTED MY CAREER IN TECH, JOINED GOOGLE, LED YOU TO IF I TRIED TO STICK TO A SPECIFIC PLAN THAT I HAD MADE WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE. THE INTERNET AS WE KNOW IT DID NOT EXIST YET. WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT OUR PLANS BEING WRITTEN IN PENCIL, NOT PAN. I GUARANTEE YOU WILL CHANGE COURSE, GO BACKWARDS, SIDEWAYS. SOME OF YOU WILL NEED TO ADJUST THE PLANS YOU CURRENTLY HAVE BECAUSE THEY WILL TURN OUT TO BE THE WRONG FIT. SOME OF YOU WILL START A BUSINESS. SOME OF YOU WILL FALL IN LOVE AND MOVE HALFWAY ACROSS THE WORLD. SOME OF YOU COULD OPEN A CUPCAKE SHOP. THANK YOU, IN ADVANCE, TO THOSE PEOPLE. THERE'S THE OLD JOHN LENNON QUOTE. LIFE IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE BUSY MAKING OTHER PLANS. AS YOU SIT THERE AND LOOK AROUND SAYING YOU STILL HAVE A LOT TO FIGURE OUT, I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE I'M HEADED, JUST KNOW THAT IT'S OK AND YOUR PARENTS SHOULD HEAR THAT, TOO. IT'S OK. IF YOUR PARENTS HAVE CONCERNS, THEY CAN TALK TO MINE. THEY ARE RIGHT OVER THERE IN THE FRONT ROW. MY PARENTS COULD PROBABLY WRITE A BOOK OF THEIR ROUND ABOUT THE THREE CRAZY DAUGHTERS AND THE JOURNEYS WE TOOK ALONG THE WAY THAT ENCOMPASSED A BABYSITTING, INVESTMENT BANKING, SIBERIA, LEARNING SWAHILI, CHILDHOOD OBESITY, AND STARTING A PERSONAL GENOMICS COMPANY. SO FAR, WE'VE TURNED OUT OK. I'D LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO BANK OUR PARENTS AND THOSE WHO HAVE SUPPORTED US TO GET TO THIS POINT SO FAR IN THANK THEM IN ADVANCE FOR THEIR SUPPORT AS YOU FUMBLE, FRIGID, AND FAIL SOMETIMES AND FIGURE OUT THE RIGHT PATH FOR YOU. FOUR WERE EVER THAT PATH GOES, I PROMISE IT COULD NOT HAPPEN WITHOUT THE PEOPLE SUPPORTING YOU, FILLING THE STADIUM WHO ENCOURAGE AND INSPIRE YOU TO GET THERE. LET'S GIVE THEM ALL A BIG THANKS NOW. [APPLAUSE] IF YOU HAD TOLD HOPKINS CLASS WHEN I GRADUATED BUT THE WORLD WOULD BE TRANSFORMED BY THE INTERNET, THAT 2 BILLION PEOPLE WOULD BE CONNECTED ONLINE, THAT YOU WOULD FIND ALL THE WORLD'S KNOWLEDGE IN YOUR POCKET, THAT YOU COULD MAP FULL GENOMES FOR A FEW THOUSAND DOLLARS, DEVELOPED TECHNOLOGY LIKE STAR TREK COME AND NO ONE WOULD HAVE BELIEVED YOU. ACTUALLY, THIS IS HOPKINS SO THERE PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN A FEW WHO SAID, "DUH. WE KNEW THAT." FOR MOST OF US, THE FUTURE WAS BEYOND OUR IMAGINATION AS IT IS BEYOND YOURS. THIS GENERATION THAT HAS GROWN UP IN A DIGITAL WORLD, YOU UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF CONNECTION LIKE NO OTHER CLASS THAT CAME BEFORE YOU. YOU CAN MAKE AN IMPACT FAR GREATER THAN THE ENGINEERS, SECRETARIES, AND 22 NOBEL LAUREATES WHO CAME BEFORE YOU ON THIS CAMPUS. YES, YOU. ALL OF YOU HERE WEARING THOSE BLACK HATS AND BLACK ROBES. YOU HAVE OPPORTUNITIES THAT NONE OF THEM COULD HAVE IMAGINED AND NOW YOU HAVE AN EDUCATION THAT WILL ALLOW YOU TO DESIGN AND CREATE THE FUTURE FOR ALL OF US. THE WORLD IS SPINNING FASTER, BUT IT'S AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. YOU CAN SPIN IT FOR YOURSELF. YOU, AS BLUE JAYS, CANCEL SOAR. REMEMBER THIS IF YOU REMEMBER NOTHING ELSE. YOU CAN BE THE CRAZY KID AND SOME LADIES ARRIVED GOING ON AND ON ABOUT HOW YOU WILL CHANGE THE WORLD AND THEN YOU CAN GO OUT AND ACTUALLY DO IT. SO THANK YOU, CONGRATULATIONS JOHNS HOPKINS CLASS OF 2014. KEEP ON THINKING.
