Oh great digital prophet, tell us what the future will bring.
Lately it seems like everyone believes the young, rich, Internet entrepreneurs will help bring about world peace and provide a chicken in every pot. I just listened to an interview with Groupon CEO Andrew Mason done by Matt Lauer from the Today Show and it was quite nauseating.
Mason’s cyber coupon company reportedly turned down $6 billion to be bought by Internet giant Google, and everyone is freaking out over why anyone would say ‘no’ to a mountain of money. The media has also become obsessed with the kooky and confident 30-year old Mason; their latest in a string of young cyber entrepreneur love fests, most notably Facebook’s creator Mark Zuckerberg.
There’s already been a movie made about Zuckerberg. By contrast, one of the first feature films about Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company in 1903, “Ford: The Man and the Machine,” wasn’t made until 1987. It’s unclear if Facebook will even be around that long. But I guess we don’t always care about staying power. It’s all about the influential of the moment.
Lauer actually asked Mason how he, as the latest anointed digital pioneer, was going to use his “clout.”
First of all, it was unclear what Lauer was referring to. Clout in business? Clout in the United States? Clout in the Universe?
Second of all, why does our society now put so much faith in people like Mason and Zuckerberg? Yes, they both have business savvy, but why are we expecting these guys to change our world?
Mason came up with an idea to further boost our consumeristic society, something that really hasn’t helped the fabric of this nation given the economic hell we’re going through now. Yes, Groupon is making lots of money, but if we’re looking to these individuals to make a real difference in society, or we look to them as the pinnacle of what everyone, including our kids, should be striving for in our careers, there will be no artists, nurses or anyone who can really make our world a better place.
That said, I loved Mason’s reply to Lauer when asked what he was going to do with his new-found, I’m-a-really-rich-guy clout:
“I feel like clout is something that builds up on your teeth. I can’t even take that question seriously.”
OK, maybe I wasn’t entirely fair. Mason may have already made the world a better place with that comment.
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December 10th, 2010 at 11:19 am
While I’m sure some form of online social networking will continue into the future, it is likely that Facebook, in the broad context of history, will be nothing more than a fad–like pet rocks, zoot suits, and movies/TV shows featuring chimpanzees.
Remember AOL? They had a wonderful walled garden where they presented much of what the Internet could offer, in a user-friendly package, but with the assumption that they had to keep everyone “inside” the AOL-defined boundaries. In time, they learned that their users wanted full, unfettered Internet access,and they started offering it, but only if their users walked through that walled garden first. In time, users realized that there was much more to the world than the walled garden, and that the walled garden was by no means the only way to get there.
To me, Facebook seems to be trying to go about that process in reverese. They know how many people are online, and they know they are not starting from their doorstep, but that seems to be the goal. I imagine that Mr. Zuckerberg won’t be satisfied with Facebook until he convinces the masses that it is the new AOL–the place where you want to start your online experience, and the gateway to the rest of the Internet. I’m just shocked that so few companies see this as part of his plan, as so many are more than happy to put Facebook links (and Facebook Connect components) on every site they own.
Even if Mr. Zuckerberg does succeed in creating a new walled garden, one where users congregate at first by choice, but eventually by default, Facebook will ride the crest of the wave for a while. In time, however, some people will start to find the pleasures of exploring the less-visited parts of the Internet, and the joy of having a site or two that is not swamped on a daily basis by massess of people who are just passing through because someone sent them a link to something “cool”.
[Ah, yes, the pendulum swings both ways, Mr. Zuckerberg.]
As to Mr. Mason, he may be a fool, but only time will tell. Perhaps he is holding out for a more generous offer from another company (e.g., Microsoft), or perhaps he knows something we don’t know about how he plans to grow his business even further.
Still, the reason why these up-and-comers garner so much attention is that they can. Let’s face it, the instant-availability of today’s news and programming is far different than that which existed in Henry Ford’s day. I can only imagine that, were he alive and making his game-shifter changed in manufacturing today, he’d be getting just as much attention as these oft-called technology superstars.
December 10th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
I agree there is a lot of hoopla where it’s not necessary, but it’s not a very good argument to just say Groupon jobs are bad, but artists and nurse jobs are good. True good economic theory realizes everything is inter-dependent, and I’m not sure you can make such broad sweeping generalizations, or else you’re just as bad as the media.
December 10th, 2010 at 5:18 pm
Being part of the media Rebecca, I probably am just as bad.
But I am sorry it came off like I was saying Groupon jobs are bad but nurses aren’t. I meant, if we all strive to be Internet entrepreneurs then who will strive to do so many other great jobs.
December 10th, 2010 at 5:53 pm
Social media and the Internet is here to stay. There will be changes in how these mediums are used, but it’s still important to stay on top of them and use them to build our businesses. Embrace the changes! Thanks for the post
-Kate
December 13th, 2010 at 8:58 am
In healthcare professions, there’s a lot of ramping up right now to prepare for the aging baby boomer generation, and due to the fact that people in the United States are living longer than ever. Unless we see a population explosion in subsequent generations, we will reach a point where there will be a glut of healthcare professionals in the market while demands for such services will decrease. I’ve seen it plenty of times before as then current “hot careers” see their programs at colleges and universities flush with candidates who hope to ride the wave of demand. In reality, and in most cases, only those on the leading edge of such trends are going to see the hot market that was touted in the news. As more and more graduates complete their programs, supply begins to outpace demand. Sure, some trends may last longer than others, but no career path can guarantee life-long growth and steady (or growing) demand.