The keynote by Dr. Larry Smarr at the GSC on April 24, 2013, discusses the concept of the quantified self in relation to personal genomic observatories, highlighting the infrastructure provided by the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology for microbial ecology research. The talk emphasizes the importance of understanding the human microbiome and its relationship to health, as demonstrated through personal metagenomic sequencing experiences, and the distinctions found in microbial diversity among healthy and diseased states. It further explores the need for adequate metadata to comprehensively analyze the human microbiome and its influencing variables.