Should Steve Jobs be TIME’s 'Person of the Year'?

The magazine that gave the award to "You" in 2006 and "the computer" in 1982 has never honored a deceased person. Is now the time to break the rules?

Steve Jobs
(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Earlier this week, TIME unveiled some unofficial nominees for 2011's "Person of the Year" award, and as expected, Apple icon Steve Jobs was on the list. His competition? Elizabeth Warren (the consumer advocate running for Senate in Massachusetts), Mohamed Bouazizi (the Tunisian fruit vendor who sparked the Arab Spring), Esraa Abdel (an Egyptian activist), Michael Pollen (a crusading food writer), and "angry people." Those were the choices of "six prominent panelists" whose advice TIME sought, apparently hoping for "a little inspiration." Panelist Brian Williams of NBC News nominated Jobs, saying that he not only changed the world, but "gave us that spirit again that something was possible." If chosen, Jobs would be the first person to receive the award posthumously. Does he deserve it?

Of course. It's about time Jobs won: To say that Jobs "'changed the world' isn't hyperbole," says Joshua Jackson at App Storm. "It's nearly impossible to imagine [the world] without the ripples of his influence present in personal computing, digital music, even animation." He also has history with the TIME honor. According to Walter Isaacson's bio, Jobs thought he would win in 1982 for his work on the Macintosh. Instead, the award went to "the computer" as "'Machine' of the Year," and TIME wrote a negative profile of Jobs that left the tech titan in tears. Now, almost 30 year later, it's time he finally won.

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