Lessons Learned from 60 Minutes’ Interview with Zuckerberg: Brandee Barker is a Genius and Zuck Wears Nice Moccasins
Posted by Dave Ambrose on January 13th, 2008 9:15 PMTo say that the Lesley Stahl’s profile of Mark Zuckerberg tonight on 60 Minutes was “groundbreaking” would be a great exaggeration. Hell, to me, the most groundbreaking discovery of the entire interview was the fact that Zuckerberg owns a nice pair of leather driving moccasins. Sure, she asked some tough questions about Beacon, IPO and leadership worries, but the entire discussion was controlled and filtered by his PR machine, notably Brandee Barker, Head of Corporate Communications.
She did an AMAZING job of prepping Zuckerberg for what to say and what not to say. With the exception of Zuckerberg’s awkward or funny response (depending upon which camp you’re in) of “Was that a question?” to Stahl’s statement, “You’re being compared to the Google guys,” the interview left a lot, and I mean, a lot of unanswered questions about how Facebook will begin to make a viable chunk of change.
Although the company makes somewhere near $200+ million in revenue a year, has a staff of 400 in offices throughout California, New York, Chicago and London, and more importantly, has enough in the bank to begin the so-called “next revolution of the Internet,” Facebook is still much of a mystery to many within the industry when it comes to an actual business-model for developers and (down the road) us. (For more information about Facebook’s real problem and the relation to Google’s early days as a business platform, read Dave McClure’s post about monetization and corresponding solutions.)
Overall, I think 60 Minutes did a good job at showcasing what Facebook is, how it works and some of the recent controversy surrounding the site. But I wanted to know more. Here’s some of the questions I would have asked Zuckerberg:
- Does DataPortability.org ring any bells?
- How do you and Steve Ballmer get a long? “Steve and Zuck kissing in a tree, k.i.s.s.i.n.g…”
- What’s the progress like for fbFund?
- Do you feel your company is heading down the road AOL before the first bubble burst?
- Lastly, can I come over for some keg parties on Thursday in the office?
What do you think should have been asked?
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http://www.centernetworks.com/facebook-zuckerbe...
I think your questions are good ones, but this was more of an infomercial than anything - probably to make 60M look hip?
The average American would have no idea what dataportability is nor cares.
I do agree that Lesley should have pushed the advertising and revenue a bit more. Would also have been good to see him sweat a little.
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and um...
Kara Swisher should DEFINITELY have been left out of that interview. What the hell was she doing there anyway? She's a total moron.
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Besides, what did you really expect Mark to say? In repeated public appearances, he and the company reveal very little. So yes, kudos to Brandee and her team. It's a real coup for Facebook.
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the list is long of what i would ask him
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The worst part is that I had to sit through the preceding 60 minutes expose on tuna fishing.
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Mark, please wear socks. Going sockless is unsanitary.
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@scott i think this is something that charlene does a great job at detailing in her post from this afternoon, http://blogs.forrester.com/charleneli/2008/01/f...
@jonathan sweet! thanks man!
@charlene true. what kind of viewpoint did you expect coming from a site titled "All Facebook." my obsession borders on unhealthy...maybe even worse than Dave McClure's :). in all seriousness though, i agree with your comment about google v. FB.
@gregory the spying part is NOT that of a big deal IMO. i know of people at different social network sites that do this all the time. it's a "benefit" of the company. that's a great question about the enormous amounts of data before the govt. kind of eerie the amount of power zuck could leverage if he wanted.
@danny "Stahl not only asked dumb questions, but refused to interview anyone of significance for a different point of view." i don't know about dumb, but i agree with you completely when it comes to another side. you're right too about the ignorance when it comes to young guns out west.
@TK "I’d guess the reason Zuck chose 60 minutes is that they just don’t know enough about Facebook to ask the hard questions." i noticed on twitter last night that there were some awesome reporters out there offering some groundbreaking coverage, i.e. ben kessler: http://twitter.com/Fourbin/statuses/595913372. also, about the socks deal, he's following suit with the westchester crowd. they only roll with fine italian leather driving mocs.
@anon i'd love to see a picture of that :)
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