Facebook Frolics 6
Scott Herhold is puzzled by Mark Zuckerberg’s transition into a PAC-man:
Neither of those messages is central to the thinking of Silicon Valley. In fact, they would irritate a lot of Facebook users and managers.
In adopting Machiavellian tactics, Zuckerberg has done more than upset his core constituency. In a real sense, the Facebook CEO has raised questions about what he and his company stand for.
“It’s incredibly cynical,” says Phil Trounstine, my former colleague and the co-founder of the political website Calbuzz. “It makes people believe that it’s all just a game. And it’s not a game. People are struggling for real stakes.’
Hmmmmm.
“Incredibly cynical.”
“Zuckerberg.”
Who could possibly have ever expected to hear those two in the same breath?
Who, indeed?
May 7, 2013 at 11:12 am
There’s another theory that may be applicable. He’s just another run of the mill SV libertarian. Tech libertarians are all right with every one of those positions. Someone should ask if he thinks if he takes enough nutritional supplements he’ll live to be 120. Peter Thiel, after all, was a member of the Facebook board.
May 7, 2013 at 11:18 am
It looks to me like the politics of “I want what I want.”
He wants cheap programmers and doesn’t care who he sleeps with to get them.
As an aside, whenever I’ve scratched a “libertarian,” I’ve found a selfish egotist.
May 7, 2013 at 2:31 pm
Hmm, swallowed my comment. Anyway, you may have seen Zuckerberg’s NY Times editorial in which he lobbied for more immigrant visas, particularly programmers. That’s for his neck of the woods, a very specific locale. However, California employs far more immigrants without legal visas in the fields. Far, far more. And their labor harvests a good part of what goes into America’s food basket. However, they aren’t programming and big data whizzes.
May 7, 2013 at 9:34 pm
At least an immigrant programmer working for the Zuckerborg would get a living wage. Can’t say the same for the farmworkers.
Funny how things keep going back to theft of labor.
What means this “Swallowed my comment”? At first, I thought you meant it disappeared. If you mean that I was still “plussed,” as opposed to “nonplussed,” I am usually “plussed.” It’s my blog. I can be as plussed as I wish.
May 8, 2013 at 12:03 am
Ah, my first edit just disappeared into thin air when I hit post. I doubt it went to Akismet. Using WordPress as a vet like you I’ve a feel for when something just inexplicably vaporizes. Anyway, you should know how valuable your blog is to me for working out and mulling over stuff I keep in the mental queue. This thread is an example, the importance of keeping the idolatry of Mark Zuckerberg types in mind.
May 8, 2013 at 8:15 am
I didn’t see anything awry in Akismet. I’ve got some rules that hold certain posts for moderation (more than two links, cz and ru domains, certain words, and so on) but there was nothing in the moderation queue. They have ensnared you from time to time, but, when I see your name, I just click to approve without reading further.
Must have been an errant electron.
Thanks for the compliment. Shortly after I started this, I decided that, rather than to go for long, analytical posts, I owuld try to identify interesting reading material and give it what little publicity I could, while adding a dollip of snark.