from Hacker News

2005 Zuckerberg Didn't Want To Take On The World

by JJMalina on 8/14/11, 12:32 AM with 49 comments

  • by thinkcomp on 8/14/11, 2:04 AM

    2005 Zuckerberg also lied point-blank when he claimed that nothing like The Facebook existed at Harvard (1:32 in the video). He knew about it, was a member and heavy user during the period in which he coded his version (http://www.thinkpress.com/authoritas/timeline.pdf). He repeated this false claim in his talk at Stanford's ETL lecture series and I find it absolutely infuriating.

    It's also relevant that Mark appears so non-chalant about the whole endeavor in the video. That's more or less how he came off when I spoke to him a month before the site launched, except he was more coy, refusing to divulge what he was actually working on. It didn't sound like a business seeking venture capital financing whatever it was, and so I had no reason to think I should get involved. Nor did I suspect that he was actually willing to torpedo our relationship by copying my work feature for feature, seeking funding without mentioning it, and simultaneously asking for advice. Nor did I suspect anything about the fact that he was searching my Facebook for "winklevoss."

    And yes, I've moved on, but each time these lies are uncovered fresh, no one else takes him to task for them.

  • by Swizec on 8/14/11, 1:28 AM

    Just goes to show, you don't need a grand vision, all you need is a vision you believe is achievable. Once you've reached it, there's always enough juice to re-asses and readjust. With enough luck you will take over the world.

    This probably also helps in getting the people around you to take you seriously.

  • by jhdavids8 on 8/14/11, 6:52 AM

    "So, um, like", "So, um, like"...videos like this of Zuckerberg really irritate me. Of course he didn't want to take over the world, he simply saw a profitable idea (after it was given to him by someone else) and took advantage of that. The main reason someone takes an idea that isn't theirs is for their personal gain, not because they truly want to do something substantial. Only someone who has the initial idea, someone who sees the problem area and can see a way to fix it, those are the ones capable of changing the world for the better (ok, ok, the Winklevoss twins probably didn't want to change the world for the better, but at least they had that initial thought). Otherwise, you're left with some d-bag taking advantage of something someone else saw simply for personal, profitable reasons. This video is proof the guy is no 'trendsetter' in technology. Hell, he sounds like a dude who was briefed on what exactly Facebook is 10 minutes before the interview.

  • by biot on 8/14/11, 3:25 AM

    Similar to how Larry & Sergey were shopping their search engine around for $1 million [0]. They certainly weren't looking to organize the world's information at that time.

    [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google#Financing_and_initial_pu...

  • by nxn on 8/14/11, 8:19 AM

    People really like to try to make him look bad; I mean, is it just me or does this article portray him to be some clueless dimwit that was standing on a goldmine and didn't know it until his face hit the ground so hard that he finally saw the shiny gold stars?

    The reality is that it's very difficult to know what ground you're standing on until you dig deep enough to just see it with your own eyes. Predicting the future and investing in that wishful vision is a much more risky strategy than just acknowledging the current moment and trying to lead it closer to where you'd like it to go. I do not know whether he looked at the situation in this type of manner or not, but that's how I justify facebook's success.

    As a side note, I wish people would stop pretending they never drank out of a big red cup before.

  • by _pcpe on 8/14/11, 5:36 AM

    Of course he didn't want to take over the world. No wonders, most of the so called "Next Big Thing" goes this way...

  • by bmac27 on 8/14/11, 3:29 AM

    The irony of "changing the world" is that the ones who've pretentiously bastardized the phrase as a way of hobnobbing with the Web 2.0 elite never do.

    The few that actually do change the world don't usually set out with that goal in mind. Either that or they don't go out proclaiming they'll do it. They just do it.

  • by seagaia on 8/14/11, 1:28 AM

    1:00-1:15 or so. "Find information about you." Heh heh, well that part certainly works now.

    I think it's perfectly fine his view changed from '05 to now about the use of Facebook.