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Zuckerberg Gets a Crash Course in Charm. Will Congress Care? (bgr.com)
An anonymous reader writes: It goes without saying that no tech CEO ever wants to make the trek down to Washington D.C. and appear before congress. And Zuckerberg -- at a surface level -- seems particularly ill-suited for the task. Though clearly an incredible mind, remember that Zuckerberg is a tech-minded programmer and far from a savvy and political operator. That being the case, many people are curious as to how the Facebook founder, who it's worth noting is just 33 years old, will fare when confronted with hard hitting questions from politicians.
In an effort to ensure that everything runs smoothly and that Zuckerberg's appearance goes off without a hitch, The New York Times is reporting that Facebook recently hired a team of experts and coaches tasked with ensuring that Zuckerberg has the tools to deftly navigate the potentially deep waters of Congress. Of particular interest is that Zuckerberg has been learning how to be charming and exhibit humility in the face of heavy-handed and probing questions. The report says, "It [ Facebook] has also hired a team of experts, including a former special assistant to President George W. Bush, to put Mr. Zuckerberg, 33, a cerebral coder who is uncomfortable speaking in public, through a crash course in humility and charm. The plan is that when he sits down before the Senate Commerce and Judiciary committees on Tuesday, Mr. Zuckerberg will have concrete changes to talk about, and no questions he can't handle."
In an effort to ensure that everything runs smoothly and that Zuckerberg's appearance goes off without a hitch, The New York Times is reporting that Facebook recently hired a team of experts and coaches tasked with ensuring that Zuckerberg has the tools to deftly navigate the potentially deep waters of Congress. Of particular interest is that Zuckerberg has been learning how to be charming and exhibit humility in the face of heavy-handed and probing questions. The report says, "It [ Facebook] has also hired a team of experts, including a former special assistant to President George W. Bush, to put Mr. Zuckerberg, 33, a cerebral coder who is uncomfortable speaking in public, through a crash course in humility and charm. The plan is that when he sits down before the Senate Commerce and Judiciary committees on Tuesday, Mr. Zuckerberg will have concrete changes to talk about, and no questions he can't handle."
If "Charm" is being used as a euphemism for donations, they'll care all right.
Congress critter: "Were you aware that user data was accessible by third parties and open to abuse?"
Zuckerberg: "I do not recall."
Congress critter: "How much of Facebook's income is derived from providing user data to third parties?"
Zuckerberg: "I do not recall."
Congress critter: "Does Facebook store or monetize deleted data, data from users that have deleted their accounts, or data collected on people who do not have Facebook accounts?"
Zuckerberg: "I do not recall."
Congress critter: "Was Facebook aware that foreign, state-sponsored actors were utilizing Facebook's data?"
Zuckerberg: "I do not recall."
Congress critter: "What steps are Facebook taking to ensure this doesn't happen again?"
Zuckerberg: "Here's $50,000 to each Committee member's reelection campaign."
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
What do you call a person who learns to interact socially but doesn't feel the emotions and empathy that drive normal people to be sociable? The ones who have to study social interaction like they study coding, sometimes with people to teach them, rather than intuiting it...
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
> Though clearly an incredible mind Really? isn't this confusing success with brilliance. There are many programmers who have pioneered areas of compsci and created impressive technical work with deep insights all while on the job that deserve to be called brilliant... if zuck has done anything like that it's not publicly visible, all I can see is another lucky businessman, the fact that he can code seems more circumstantial to the success of his idea than the other way around. I fail to see the brilliance of intellect of a lucky one trick pony.
When one is called to appear in front of congress. The Congress isn't interested in the Truth, they will just try to trick you into saying something criminal.
Their constituents are pissed about this. So I think both sides will be hard on him. The Democrats don't like the idea that Facebook slandered Clinton. The republicans like the fact they can distract the Russian meddling investigation to Facebook and away from the folks in the White House (Granted they are separate investigations) to a Liberal California man.
Politically both sides have interest in seeing Zuckerberg suffer. So it isn't much about any particular facts. Cambridge Analyitica paid Facebook a lot of money, Facebook didn't bother to dig into what they were doing with the data. Facebook put trust into an algorithm, that other people figured out and manipulated to their benefit.
Are we expected to get anything new? No, but congress can parade Zuckerberg around as the ultimate bad guy and make them look like they were standing up for their constituents.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
What do you call a person who learns to interact socially but doesn't feel the emotions and empathy that drive normal people to be sociable? The ones who have to study social interaction like they study coding, sometimes with people to teach them, rather than intuiting it...
The sociopaths I've known have been glib and charming. They didn't have a particular problem engaging in convincing social interactions, and I'm pretty sure nobody taught them how to do it. Zuckerberg isn't necessarily a sociopath / psychopath. He may have Asperger's Syndrome, or a mild form of some other Autism Spectrum Disorder that prevents him from gauging and expressing emotions and empathy.
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.