Zuckerberg=Person of the year 2010

Lev Grossman writes,

"He is formidably quick and talks rapidly and precisely, and if he has no data to transmit, he abruptly falls silent. ("I usually don't like things that are too much about me" was how he began our first interview.) He cannot be relied on to throw the ball back or give you encouraging facial cues. His default expression is a direct and slightly wide-eyed stare that makes you wonder if you've got a spider on your forehead. "


I can't help but wonder how our world would be like today if not for this 26 year-old mastermind of FACEBOOK. I mean, if it were a country, it would rank 3rd next to China and India. That blows my mind! How did a single man create a social network that connects 550 million people speaking 75 languages? DISTRACTION. He wanted his dorm at Harvard to connect with other dorms on campus and then to other Ivy Leagues like Princeton and Yale and then eventually people caught on. Every 1 out of 12 people alive right now has a Facebook page. Our quench for connectivity and closeness to our loved ones, even those remote people that would never know our name in a million years could now share a site to do just that. CONNECT. ENGAGE...distract. YES. Distraction. The amount of time spent face-stalking or reading about a new band or retail shop or restaurant is mind-boggling. Mapping out our social networks in a very intricate and meticulous way (much like Mark's attentiveness to his fingernails) is both genius and detrimental to our health. I find myself logging on for hours to try and reconnect with old friends who are now proud parents or are expecting or feel like I attended a wedding I was invited to but could not make. Even in tragedies like my mom having cancer last year was alleviated because of all the prayer posts and support that my friends and family wrote on my Facebook 'wall'. It is used as a springboard for ideas, a therapy session, a soapbox for opinions on current events or favorite foods. Incredible idea spawned from DISTRACTION and need to connect.

There are things in life that should be kept private and for those of us living the entrepreneurial route, we like to PROMOTE, ENGAGE and INCLUDE our faithful followers/friends in what we're trying to sell. COMMERCIALIZE. Even the fact that I have a 'blog' about my everyday musings is inspired because of social networks. Having a beautiful mind like Zuckerberg's is a thing to be envious while simultaneously glad NOT to have because it could be very dangerous and wonderful all at once. I cannot even begin to see the little hamsters rolling around in HIS brain at night. I could hardly keep mine at bay and as a result, insomnia takes over and keeps me hostage for hours upon hours. 

As it is now, I have about 23 tabs above connecting me to distractions that feel relevant for the work that I do, but really? Finding out the balance between work and distraction. It's a fine line but I owe it all to Mark Zuckerberg for making me the social network manager of my life (and my clients). Whew. Thank goodness for FB and a hearty CONGRATULATIONS to the man behind it all!