Mark Zuckerberg, the man behind a social media empire
The world is on social media and Facebook is ruling the roost with Instagram in the foray; the circle is complete. Today we "Mark" Zuckerberg's birthday with a glimpse of the 33-year-old Internet mogul, whose handiwork is responsible for at least 3 hours of our online time a day. Here's a little peek-a-boo behind the curtains of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg.
We all love to be on Facemash, sorry Facebook
Facemash is a website that was created by Mark during his Harvard days and apparently university authorities were not a big fan. They had their reasons; this social media platform gave students the option to judge their peers based on looks, which caused mass outrage. The Facemash tag-line was, "Were we let in for our looks? No. Will we be judged on them? Yes"
Controversial but a good start nonetheless
The website had its fair share of popularity and criticism and before it shut down shop, it was constantly tremendous traffic from within the camous. Mark issued an apology, "I hope you understand, this is not how I meant for things to go, and I apologize for any harm done...I definitely see how my intentions could be seen in the wrong light."
The one-dollar theory
Starting from 2013, this CEO rakes a base salary of 1 dollar from the company for his efforts. However, he is not looking for a job anytime soon as his shares are worth millions. It's a symbolic stance practiced by many CEOs and also because the compensation committee believes "his existing equity ownership position sufficiently aligns his interests with those of our stockholders."
The giving pledge initiative
Like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to give 99% of his shares of Facebook during his lifetime to philanthropic work. In 2015, in a heartfelt open-letter to his then newborn daughter Maxima Zuckerberg, Mark divulged his plan by saying, "But right now, we don't always collectively direct our resources at the biggest opportunities and problems your generation will face."
Not a big fan of the movie
The movie, "The Social Network" portrayed Mark as a man desperate to make it to the top and who is not shy of making enemies out of friends in the process. It is evident, Mark didn't find the Hollywood portrayal of him entertaining. "There were pretty glaring things that were just made up about the movie that made it pretty hard to take seriously."
Love it or hate it, Facebook is here to stay
There have been a plethora of social media platforms in the past like Friendster, Orkut but Facebook is still going strong and Instagram is the darling of the social collectives. Facebook is not without its evils, but it is also great for making new connections and staying ahead of the curve, its how you use it, that matters. Thanks, Mark, we owe you one.
