I Love Jonathan Seybold

Second in a series of tributes.

I was lucky enough to be mentored by Jonathan Seybold when I was too young and naïve to understand the intentionality that went into everything he did. One of the original thought-leaders in digital publishing and technology transformation, he anticipated game-changing platform shifts before they became mainstream. Today, he is known as the Godfather of desktop publishing, which may not mean anything to some of you, but think “next-gen Guttenberg.” Jonathan personally empowered Steve Jobs and democratized design; I was there to see it.

But my Jonathan Seybold—the man I grew to love—was an educator at heart. He saw the value of rubbing new ideas together to create a spark of innovation. That’s why he created his eponymous seminars and, later, the first Digital World in 1990. He curated a safe, dynamic community where tech geniuses who’d been working on isolated projects could connect with hundreds of other like-minded people. And he pushed me into that world to help channel and direct the energy and innovations that emerged.

It all felt so natural and obvious at the time that I didn’t recognize his crystal sense of purpose. He was quiet, unimposing, respectful. He listened. He mentored. He showed how things could work better. And somehow, he aligned people to move mountains. He was the first “boss” I had who modeled true industry leadership. And that’s why I love Jonathan Seybold.