A great naive or a wicked wolf? Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, at the age of 33, is facing the greatest crisis in the history of his social network, from which he is trying to save himself with a series of apologies and promises, but so far he has not succeeded in silencing the criticism.
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Facebook was “created to bring people closer together,” boasted the young billionaire who founded the company 14 years ago back in January. Today, critics are attacking the social network and its head because the British company Cambridge Analytica collected data on 50 million users from Facebook, which it then used for political campaigns.
After several days of silence, which also met with discontent, Mark Zuckerberg finally apologized on Wednesday.
– This was a very serious breach of trust and I am very sorry, he stated.
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Facebook has more than two billion users and was worth more than $500 billion on the stock market just last week. By Friday, its shares had fallen by 10 percent. And the problems are just beginning.
It appears to be headless
The young red-haired billionaire with a boyish face has already admitted mistakes in recent months. Facebook has been accused of helping to spread fake news, threatening democratic order, and creating addiction among users.
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Zuckerberg, through these discussions, promises, and apologies, “acts like a guy who doesn’t know where he’s going,” believes analyst Bob Enderle.
As the creator of Facebook’s success who refuses to relinquish even a fraction of his power, Zuckerberg embodies his company, but in doing so, he takes all the hits against it. The latest example is a recent issue of Wired magazine in which he is depicted with bruises.
– I started Facebook and, after all, I am responsible for what happens, he said on Wednesday, exposing himself even more to criticism from analysts, experts, and officials.
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Zuckerberg, who despite being worth more than $70 billion still wears plain t-shirts and jeans, is accused by Wired magazine of “failing to address fundamental issues.” He is also criticized for reacting too late and thinking he could fix everything entirely on his own.
His creation has slipped from his hands
The former Harvard student, who has been in the computer world since the age of 11, has had the image of an inexperienced and somewhat arrogant entrepreneur return to him like a boomerang, which he has only recently shed.
– His inexperience has shown itself again, said Enderle, claiming that Zuckerberg should have accepted help to better manage such crises.
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– He is no longer the hero many once considered him to be; his reputation and image have significantly declined, the analyst adds, concluding that “if Facebook were a traditional company… Zuckerberg would have been history long ago.”
– I believe he is sincere and truly motivated by his proclaimed desire to bring people closer together, but he is probably becoming increasingly frustrated by the unintended consequences of his naive ambition, writes author and journalist Devin Coldewey in TechCrunch magazine.
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– I think we have reached a point where the best way for him to achieve his ambition has become to leave.
Many believe that Facebook has slipped from the hands of its own creator, who launched it at a very young age, envisioning it as an online version of a college yearbook before discovering the magic formula that made him rich – user personal data. This extremely successful economic model attracted the powerful world of the marketing industry, eager for more efficient reach to their target audiences.
However, the model is fragile because it is based on user trust, and that is now on shaky ground, as evidenced by the significant drop in stock value and reflecting the unrest of investors.
