A man saw an old woman stooped over on a beach covered with starfish. He asked her what she was doing, to which she replied, "I am throwing the starfish back into the sea - if I don't, they will dry up and die."
Laughing, the man said, "But Old Woman, there are so many starfish on the beach, you can't possibly make a difference."
She picked up a starfish and threw it back into the sea. Then looking at the man, she said, "I just did to that one."
The next day, the old woman visited the beach to check on the starfish. She saw the same man and his children throwing the starfish back into the sea. "Hello, Old Woman," he said with a twinkle in his eyes. "We are here to make a difference to a few more starfish."
Adapted from The Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley 1907 - 1977
There are hundreds of variations of this lovely little starfish story on the web.
Making a difference can seem overwhelming, especially if you view your actions to be inconsequential. But if enough individuals impact just one other person, then collectively we can impact the world.
On a much smaller scale, in the Knowledge Management sphere, start sharing knowledge yourself - don't wait for everyone else - you may wait for ever! And you might just start to make a difference within your own organization.
What is Web 2.0? - Ian McNairn
Mini-clip interview for Gurteen Knowledge with Ian McNairn. What is Web 2.0? Shot at the Unicom Seminars Conference on Social Networking Tools In London, September 2006.
Ian McNairn is Program Director, Web Technology & Innovation, Global e-business Transformation, IBM SWG.
Media Information:
The Gurteen Knowledge Search Engine is a customised Google search engine that searches over 800 KM related websites and weblogs.
David Gurteen
Giving a talk at the Graduate School of Bangkok University, January 2008.
I help people to share their knowledge; to learn from each other; to innovate and to work together effectively to make a difference!
on the web. 
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