In Defense of Zuck: Mark Zuckerberg's Philosophy
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the executive everyone loves to hate. He's young, awkward, overly ambitious and more than a little juvenile. He's filthy rich at an age when most of us are still paying off our college loans. And he's built, not only the largest social network in the world, ever, but an entire cultural phenomenon.
That's one hell of a business model, if you ask me--regardless of the man in the corner office. The New Yorker's profile of Zuckerberg today is a fantastic read, and on the very first page, one line jumped right out at me: "Zuckerberg’s business model depends on our shifting notions of privacy, revelation, and sheer self-display."
That coupled with Zuckerberg's Facebook bio ("I'm trying to make the world a more open place") just about sums it up. Zuckerberg wants the world to be a little more open, because he thinks that's a good thing to have. His business model and philosophy also shows why maybe people should get off the poor kid's back and give him a little credit. I'll take it point by point.
Jealousy isn't an excuse for criticism.
Has Zuckerberg made mistakes? Sure. Plenty of them (just look at some of his college instant message conversations). But that doesn't make him a bad person. And just because he's successful doesn't make him evil or power-hungry either. Chances are, very few people really know Zuckerberg's true character and I'd be willing to bet those criticizing his success aren't in that category.
It's hard not to be a little envious of his success, but instead of blatantly criticizing based on hearsay and false reports, look at his current work and actions from a critical perspective and evaluate whether or not he truly deserves some of the harsh criticism he often receives. I'm still not convinced he deserves the words so often aimed in his direction.
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