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Mark Zuckerberg Hits the Road To Meet Regular Folks -- With a Few Conditions (foxbusiness.com) 254

Posted by msmash from the zuckerberg-will-see-you-now dept.
Mark Zuckerberg is trying to understand America, so he's embarked on a journey to meet people like hockey moms and steelworkers who don't typically cross his path. But there are rules to abide by if you are an ordinary person about to meet an extraordinary entrepreneur. From a report: Rule One: You probably won't know Mr. Zuckerberg is coming. Rule Two: If you do know he's coming, keep it to yourself. Rule Three: Be careful what you reveal about the meeting. While the Facebook CEO has built a social network that inspired people around the world to share the most intimate details about their personal lives, his team goes to extraordinary lengths to keep his movements under wraps and control how he is perceived. Midway through a "personal challenge" to travel to 30 states he'd never visited, the 33-year old aims "to talk to more people about how they're living, working and thinking about the future," he wrote in January on his Facebook page. Among those people was Kyle McKasson, manager of the Wilton Candy Kitchen, a century-old shop on the town square in Wilton, Iowa. He was at work one Monday afternoon in June when two men and a woman dressed in jeans and button-down shirts entered the store, which is a regular stop on Iowa's presidential campaign circuit.
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Mark Zuckerberg Hits the Road To Meet Regular Folks -- With a Few Conditions More

Mark Zuckerberg Hits the Road To Meet Regular Folks -- With a Few Conditions

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  • What a pompous ass (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 12, 2017 @02:34PM (#54795715)

    "Meet regular folks". Yeah, you're the moron living in an ivory tower dude. Just fuck off and leave us alone.

    • Will Zuck's name tag be "H. E. Raschid?" Apologies to Allan Cole and Chris Bunch

      • I'm sorry, but if you think someone who founded a $300B company in 10 years before he was 30 to be "regular folk", sho me someone extraordinary. He learned Chinese and did after all, bring the worlds people together, reconnected old friends, and helped spread information into populations under total Ian regime rule. He isn't regular, he leads an incredibly productive life, and helping him understand the plight of people less successful, and fortunate, than him; if not for his money and how he could spend it

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by Anonymous Coward

          No...someone else wrote the code. He's no different than Trump...marketing, salesmanship, etc.

        • Re: What a pompous ass (Score:5, Insightful)

          by WrongMonkey ( 1027334 ) on Wednesday July 12, 2017 @05:38PM (#54796865)

          sho me someone extraordinary

          Most people have some special talent. Some people are good at math. Some people can run fast. Some people are good cooks. Some people are funny. Some people are sensitive and caring. The fact that Zuckerberg's particular set of talents happen to be financially lucrative does not automatically make him more extraordinary than anyone else with a different set of talents. In fact, our society's obsession with financial success above all else will probably be its downfall.

          • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

            by phantomfive ( 622387 )

            The fact that Zuckerberg's particular set of talents happen to be financially lucrative does not automatically make him more extraordinary than anyone else with a different set of talents.

            Which particular talents are you talking about? Effectively stealing ideas from other people?

          • The fact that Zuckerberg's particular set of talents happen to be financially lucrative does not automatically make him more extraordinary than anyone else with a different set of talents.

            I fully agree with you, but what I keep reading and hearing is that there is a general perception by others that because he's been really good at running Facebook (even if you hate Facebook, I don't see how you can't admit that it's been successful) that means that he is a genius at everything. Everything. This has definitely gotten into his own head. Honestly, the more I read about him, the more I dislike him. He's what the Seinfeld TV show called "a hipster doofus". He definitely is like most of

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by Anonymous Coward

          Ripping off someone else's idea and learning a foreign language makes you a visionary now? Call me when he comes up with something novel.

          Being rich doesn't mean you're worth anything; if he'd never have been born we'd still have a MyBook, FaceSpace InterSphere or whatever. If he wants to spend his money helping people then why not lobby for tax reform so that people like him have to pay their fair share in the first place?

        • helped spread information into populations under total Ian regime rule

          Umm... what?

        • He learned Chinese and did after all, bring the worlds people together ... he leads an incredibly productive life...

          Chinese is literally the least remarkable language to learn given that over 2 billion people have already done this. As for bringing people together, I think Facebook has done the exact opposite. It lets people post crap about their life online so they can avoid actually having any meaningful conversations with others.

          Numerous studies [theguardian.com] have shown that Facebook use leads to a decline in mental health. In many ways, it is the McDonalds of the internet: wildly popular but bad for society's health. I'd hardl

        • Ummm. I do not see Mark Zuckerberg as someone terribly special. He was in the right place at the right time and was able to capitalize on it. There is nothing terribly unique about any of it.

          If you want people who can blow your mind, think more along the lines of E=MC^2, or people who can hack current groupthink like Thomas Jefferson.

          Mark is no more amazing than Bill Gates. They would be more interesting if they had grown up in normal families with minimal resources. As it is, they are just normal people fr

    • Re:What a pompous ass (Score:5, Insightful)

      by ranton ( 36917 ) on Wednesday July 12, 2017 @03:16PM (#54795997)

      "Meet regular folks". Yeah, you're the moron living in an ivory tower dude. Just fuck off and leave us alone.

      There is a real problem in this country where people stay within their own "bubble", whether that is a liberal elite bubble or rural American bubble or whatever. Making a concerted effort to reach outside of those bubbles is a good thing and not something which should be criticized. You may criticize the method used to reach out if you feel it is ineffective, but deriding the entire idea of reaching out to people in different socioeconomic and cultural circumstances is hopelessly ignorant of this issue in our society.

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward

        rural American bubble

        The rural American bubble? What sort of imaginary nonsense is that? The rest of the planet has — as its mission — the duty to keep any such bubble from ever forming. There is no form of media from printed news to Facebook, foreign or domestic, broadcast or otherwise, that doesn't hesitate to shit on the deplorables of rural America. Nothing. It is simply impossible to come anywhere near any form of published or syndicated media and not immediately know what a irredeemable pile of excrement

      • Firstly, he is all about owning people's information. I would have no reason to believe he is doing this out of the goodness of anything - because he could do that without a press release.

        I don't necessarily disagree with your view in premise, but I don't understand this part:

        There is a real problem in this country where people stay within their own "bubble" ... hopelessly ignorant of this issue in our society.

        What exactly is the "problem" or "issue"? That people stay within their own areas of interest, or simply have subsets of our society that they are a part of, because of choice or otherwise? Why is reaching outside of your own bubble

      • Is he making a concerted effort to reach outside of his bubble? Do you really feel like those words belong to this situation? Does this look like reaching out, really?

        If you're bringing your bubble (and your rules) with you to visit where other people are, you're not making a real effort to get outside your bubble. That's exactly why he's being criticized here. The level of PR control over the interaction is the problem.

        I love politics, and think more people should be involved. To do that well requires th

    • Re:What a pompous ass (Score:4, Insightful)

      by phantomfive ( 622387 ) on Wednesday July 12, 2017 @03:25PM (#54796069) Journal
      He's planning on running for office. If Trump can do it, why can't he?
      Sadly, I can't disagree with that argument.
    • Interesting catch 22. If he stays in his "liberal elite bubble" he's a pompous ass. If he tries to venture outside the bay area, he's a pompous ass.

      Don't get me wrong, he probably is a pompous ass, but not because of geography, travel, or meeting people. Even the screamingly obvious moves to run for some type of office doesn't make him a pompous ass.

      Alright, MAYBE being a rich dude in the bay area does make one a pompous ass, so maybe geography a bit.

      At any rate, it's hard to deny that a billionair

      • Interesting catch 22. If he stays in his "liberal elite bubble" he's a pompous ass. If he tries to venture outside the bay area, he's a pompous ass.

        Well sure - this road trip won't change that either way. It's also the reason lots of people don't want to meet him.

    • >>"Mark Zuckerberg Hits the Road"
      Apparently he didn't hit hard enough.
      Climb up bridge and try again.

  • Be careful what you reveal about the meeting (Score:5, Insightful)

    by turkeydance ( 1266624 ) on Wednesday July 12, 2017 @02:34PM (#54795717)
    or what?
  • A lot of things Mark Zuckerberg says and does make he think he wants to enter politics. Most others will delegate and work on compiled reports - this attempt to reach out to the masses seems very politician like.
    • Judging from recent history, he's going to walk right into office. He's got all the qualifications:

      -Billionaire

      So it shouldn't surprise anyone.

    • A lot of things Mark Zuckerberg says and does make he think he wants to enter politics. Most others will delegate and work on compiled reports - this attempt to reach out to the masses seems very politician like.

      I agree that this seems very politician-like.

      I've been thinking about this a lot recently, in the frame of who will be running for president in 2000.

      Politics is a rough choice, and it takes a very seasoned celebrity to just shrug off the criticism. Add to that the dirty tricks (operation veritas), the completely made-up stories (pizzagate), and the public's general interest in anything that's shocking, unusual, or worthy of memes.

      Anyone who bases their self-image in any way on the opinion of others would be

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by DarkOx ( 621550 )

        please cite one example of a 'dirty trick' by Project Veritas.

        You mean the misrepresented themselves just enough to get the left to run at the mouth?

      • The contrast with Bezos or Musk goes deeper than that. Both those guys are actually doing something with their wealth. They have visions to pursue without grovelling to the average American voter. Running for office would actually be a step down for either of them. Zuckerberg doesn't have that. He doesn't have another billion dollar idea. He doesn't have a personally mission to change the world. So he falls back on the usual pastimes of the idle rich: charity and politics.

        Politics isn't for rich people, i

  • Rule 4: (Score:5, Funny)

    by John Jorsett ( 171560 ) on Wednesday July 12, 2017 @02:56PM (#54795851)
    Make no eye contact. Rule 5: Under no circumstances touch Mr. Zuckerberg. Rule 6: Do not speak unless Mr. Zuckerberg speaks to you first. Rule 7: When dismissed, leave as quickly as possible.

  • Maybe he forgot... (Score:3)

    by hcs_$reboot ( 1536101 ) on Wednesday July 12, 2017 @03:18PM (#54796009)
    ...he used to be an "ordinary" person as well.
    • He still is an ordinary person. He has no physical aspects, intellectual accomplishments or special ability that distinguishes him from the bulk of humanity.

    • Since Zuckerberg stopped being ordinary there has been major international shifts in politics, a major housing crisis, a major economic crisis, and one of the most powerful people in the world is ... well actually he would have gone from George W Bush to Trump so that won't have been too steep of a change.

      Point is if all he does is "remember" then he won't have a clue about what makes current ordinary people tick. Times change and it's important to refresh your view lest you get stuck with strange outdated

    • ...he used to be an "ordinary" person as well.

      He was? Didn't his parents buy him a spot at Harvard?

  • Sounds like this guy is running for president (Score:3)

    by MobyDisk ( 75490 ) on Wednesday July 12, 2017 @03:19PM (#54796019) Homepage

    Sounds like this guy is running for president. He's made a lot of public political comments, and now this. Hmmm....

  • Together with previous rumors of Z running for President, I think we can see what is going on here and where this is going. He's doing research on ordinary folk in preparation for, well, we'll see.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jandrese ( 485 )
      This is exactly the kind of thing you see from people gearing up for a Presidential run. I wouldn't think he has a chance, but I thought the same thing about Trump.

  • Too many... (Score:3)

    by Arkh89 ( 2870391 ) on Wednesday July 12, 2017 @03:28PM (#54796087)

    Too may resources, not enough problems...

  • Obey those "rules"? Ha, the regular steelworker would have no problem ripping off Mark Zuckerberg's head and shitting down his neck were Mark or his minions to try to tell said worker what to do

  • he's getting ready to run for office. That can't be a good thing. For one thing he raised money for Chris Christy of all people. At best he's another economically right / socially center politicians that'll cut taxes on the rich, cut services for the middle class (e.g. school funding, unemployment, medicare/medicaid). At worst he's another wolf in sheep's clothing that'll hand us over to Wallstreet the way the Clinton's did and roll back the progressive agenda Bernie was working on.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by DarkOx ( 621550 )

      Mark is about as lefty as they come. He is arguing for UBS from heaves sake.

      Now cynically I think this is about enriching himself. Force the middle calls tax payer to hand even more money to poor so they can misuse it, and spend it on Mark's crappy website.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Tailhook ( 98486 )

        Mark is about as lefty as they come.

        UBS, climate fear mongering, open borders, SJW grandstanding... He's threatened to fire anyone that dared replace "black" with "all" on Facebook's graffiti wall.

        Pure establishment group-think.

      • He is arguing for UBS from heaves sake.

        The Swiss bank? Is that where he stashes all his dough?

  • A Gentle Creature (Score:4, Funny)

    by tylersoze ( 789256 ) on Wednesday July 12, 2017 @04:28PM (#54796463)

    I don't know I've liked what I've seen so far.

    http://www.somethingawful.com/... [somethingawful.com]

  • why? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by jm007 ( 746228 ) on Wednesday July 12, 2017 @05:01PM (#54796659)
    some kid gets lucky with an app and becomes rich; sure, maybe he's a good programmer, dunno, but by far the majority of his financial success is from luck; good for him, no grudge on my end and maybe I could learn something from how it all happened

    so why does he get special air time for anything outside of that? our society has a strange way of giving folks who've done something of note in one area a free pass in other areas for which they have no credentials

    for example, asking an actor who they recommend for president..... really? someone who is good at pretending to be somebody else is now someone we should listen to about such weighty issues? sure, they *might* be a pundit of sorts but that credibility has to be earned outside of them being famous for acting

    similar to how we pedestalize sports and entertainment figures and report on their every mouth fart on topics far outside playing with a ball or singing and dancing

    if he had not become rich/famous at 20-ish and was just another programmer at some XYZ corp.... would he be listened to as intently by an eager reporter? has he enough life experience to run his mouth intelligently on anything? so since he DID get rich/successful while very young, and lived in a rich-guy bubble since then wherein his posse constantly cups his balls, do you think he's lived the kind of life to qualify as someone to be taken seriously outside of any of that?

    he's still a child, stunted by not having to live his critical 20's dealing with regular-guy shit like the rest of us; if he's got something important to say to me, it'll have to be done while NOT riding on the coat tails of his super-lucky app success

  • Maybe he should try to meet with the Hawaiians that he's attempting to sue into being forced to auction their family land because he feels it's too close to his estate. He could probably learn something interesting from them.

  • And if you are working on a great idea when he shows up, carefully turn all your papers over and change the subject.

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