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The loss of Steve Jobs sent a shockwave through the tech world—not only did Apple lose its pioneering leader, but the industry lost a champion for using technology as a tool to encourage and advance creativity for the average computer user. There’s a reason that industries like music and movies are dominated by Apple products: it’s because those products were built with art and creativity in mind.

Apple has been a leader in the computer industry since Jobs’ return to Apple in 1996, and without him, Apple faces a void in leadership and creativity. But the technology no longer bears even a slight resemblance to what it looked like just thirty years ago—and while Jobs stood at the helm of technological progress for several decades, there are companies and entrepreneurs who are poised to create new types of computer-based innovation. Jobs’ death leaves an empty space in the tech world, but it won’t stay empty for long.

Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook

Zuckerberg and his social media platform Facebook stand to inherit the legacy of Steve Jobs when it comes to technology and innovation. Zuckerberg’s own rise to tech stardom mirrors Jobs’ in several ways: Zuckerberg conceived Facebook in his dorm room, then dropped out of college to concentrate on his fledgling company. Imaginative and quick on his feet, Zuckerberg quickly made social media—a form of communication that was just beginning to become popular—one of the most important online platforms of the past decade. Facebook also relies on the power of the individual to spur creativity and innovation: instead of focusing on the ideas of one person, Facebook uses the ideas of millions of its users to create the most populated online environment in the world.

And like Apple, Facebook’s ventures into education have made it easier for teachers and students to collaborate with each other, both inside the classroom and outside of it. Facebook’s growing bank of educational resources don’t just encourage teachers to incorporate social media into their teaching, but they also give students the ability to take learning into their own hands: apps like Hoot.me can be used by distance learning students and kids enrolled in increasingly popular online school programs. By making education accessible through social media, Facebook has helped shape the cybersphere.

Jeff Bezos and Amazon

Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos took a gamble in 2007 with the Kindle, an e-reader that signified Amazon’s opening move in the hardware game. It’s a gamble that paid off: while devices like the Nook and Apple’s iPad have become well-loved e-reader alternatives, the Kindle has been at the top of the e-reader market since its introduction.

And September’s debut of a new line of Kindles has the potential to turn Amazon into a tech groundbreaker. Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer, and with the Kindle Fire, Amazon has created a portable storefront for bookworms and Internet shoppers alike. The Kindle Fire also gives Amazon’s users an affordable alternative to the iPad—while Apple’s beats the Kindle Fire with specs, the Kindle Fire’s price makes it an attractive substitute. Amazon’s embrace of online commerce has revolutionized the way we shop.

Android operating system

Google’s Android operating system has helped usher in an era of mobile computing. Apple’s iPhone created the environment that made mobile computing possible, but Android’s OS and phones have made it accessible and affordable for millions of smartphone users.

Creating an open source OS was a direct answer to Apple’s closed mobile system, giving developers the freedom to create apps for everything from education to gaming. A collaborative approach to a mobile operating system has help propel Android phone sales—more than half of new smartphone buyers choose Android phones over iPhone, Blackberry or Windows Phones.

What Steve Jobs did for technology is being realized by companies like the ones above—and technology continues to evolve and advance under the direction of creative minds and eager startup companies. By bringing technology into people’s homes, backpacks and pockets, Jobs helped create a world in which creativity and technology work hand in hand.