If you’re born between 1981 and 1996, you count as a millennial! Being a millennial can often be a blessing and a curse, as we knew life well before technology, but also the vast majority of us (from 1990 onwards the most) grew up on the internet and the latest trends and tech that came with it!
Whether it was the first MP3 player you used, or turning on Bluetooth to send songs to each other on the bus; millennials were the generation whereby technology was experimented on the most and set the tone for how we digest and respond to technology even today!
So, for all the millennials out there - here are our top 5 tech heroes! We’re sure you’ll know them all…
Tony Fadell | Creator of the iPod
All hail Tony Fadell, who was the individual who came up with the concept of the iPod and also created it! From the first generation which came out in 2004, through to the “shuffle” the “nano” and the “touch” - the iPod was a staple for many millennials to listen to their favourite songs, play games, and watch music videos in the early 2000s and 2010s! Although a lot of the iPods are discontinued, they will always hold a special place in our hearts.
Tom Anderson (Tom, from MySpace) | Creator of MySpace
Everybody was friends with Tom on MySpace. Who remembers the picture of him in the white T-Shirt looking back, smiling? He’s an individual who is imprinted into everybody’s minds because of the sheer impact he had on the internet and in pop culture.
MySpace was (and still is) an expressive platform where you can create your profile, share music, and communicate with friends. Although many of us don’t use MySpace anymore, it was one of the most popular platforms and apps a lot of us grew up using.
Whitney Wolf-Herde | Creator of Bumble
Although many of us roll our eyes at the thought of using dating apps, Bumble is one of the few that is still incredibly popular, and this is completely down to Creator Whitney Wolf-Herde and her team.
The concept of Bumble puts the onus on the female to message first, creating a different dynamic which can’t be found on apps like Tinder or Hinge. A lot of Millenials (and Gen Z) now wholly rely on dating apps to meet their match, and Bumble continues to sit in the top 3 dating apps used in the UK.
David Karp | Creator of Tumblr
Who remembers the t-shirts with moustaches, cryptic written messages, and sad songs by The XX? If so, you probably spent some time on Tumblr. It’s still used widely today but went through a considerable boom in the late 2000s/early 2010s when the latter millennials started to hit their teenage years. Tumblr was a respite in comparison to several other social media apps, due to its customisation for ultimate privacy, and the option to simply “reblog” pictures and quotes. It was an aesthetic platform for self-expression and a “safe space” for many millennials!
Ada Lovelace
She is arguably the most famous woman in technology, but Lovelace wasn’t a millennial, nor was she scouring Tumblr for the latest post to re-blog. She was, in fact, the first person to design the first programmable computer machine in the 1840s, and worked on some of the biggest engineering projects, and cemented herself as one of the greats, even in modern technology today.
Who is your tech hero?
Although some of us millennials may feel old (and a lot of us who sit on the “cusp” of Gen Z will be hitting our 30s soon) we were a part of a technology revolution without even realising it. Tech has (and hasn’t) been part of our lives in many ways, and we can reflect on the nostalgia that it brings even 25+ years later.
Who is your tech hero? We’d love to know…
