Strength in Diversity

Every so often, if we’re lucky, we find that we’re given opportunities in life to pause, and reflect. To think about our values, and the things that are important to us. Like many, I’ve certainly found myself reflecting on a whole bunch of stuff lately. I know it's a bit mushy, but one of the things I care a great deal about is SketchUp. Not just the products we make, or the people I'm fortunate to work with, or the tens of millions of people from around the world who use our tools, but all of that, plus the freedom our products provide. The freedom to create and express ideas, to communicate, to learn, to teach, to build things, and at their best, to make the world a better place.

I think our ability to communicate is such an amazing thing. By sharing things about ourselves: our hopes, our interests, the places we come from, the stuff we think is cool—we most often find ourselves on common ground, simply as people.

One of the places that SketchUp users go to share is 3D Warehouse. In fact, 3D Warehouse is perhaps the greatest reflection and greatest accomplishment of our community, as a whole (our user forums are also pretty fantastic!). Over 22 million people from every country in the world have visited 3D Warehouse in the past year alone. And since its initial launch back in 2006, over 600,000 users have shared one of their own creations, amassing a library of over 3,200,000 models in total. I think that's astounding, and certainly worth taking a moment to appreciate the values those acts of sharing represent.

My daughter is 3 years old. So, we talk all the time about sharing. “Sharing is caring,” I always tell her. When her friends are feeling a bit grabby, and she's desperately clutching whatever toy has suddenly become her most prized possession, reminding her of that simple phrase almost assuredly helps loosen her grip. She's got such a big heart. In those moments, I'm reminded that as human beings we have a such an incredible capacity for kindness and compassion.

3D Warehouse is a magnificent example of what we can accomplish when we take a moment to express a simple act of caring for each other. It's a reminder that irrespective of our differences, it's the things that we have in common that pave the way for us to do some ridiculously cool stuff together.

So today, we’re taking a moment to celebrate all of you who have contributed. All of you who have helped make 3D Warehouse such a wonderful example of#StrengthInDiversity.

I invite you to take a minute or two to explore 3D Warehouse (or better yet, share something of your own). There are over 1,100,000 geo-located models to browse through. Find one that illustrates a place you know nothing about. Think about how similar it is to the place where you live. Think about who created that model, and about how similar they most likely are to you. And maybe even go so far as to strike up a conversation with the person who created that model. I know at least one thing you’ll both have in common.