I seem to have had my fix of Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, this past weekend: first in “The Social Network” and then in an interview of him on “60 Minutes.” The 26-year-old billionaire is doing quite well, thank you very much. He seemed a bit more relaxed in the “60 Minutes” interview than in past ones and wasn’t sweating it as much over the security of people’s info on the Facebook site as he was in Kara Swisher’s longer, tougher interview with him in June. Though it still remains the biggest concern for users.
On “60 Minutes” he said Facebook doesn’t sell your info and advertisers don’t get access to it. Though applications on Facebook have been known to. “It’s really an important thing for everyone to just be thinking about. Privacy and making sure people have control of their information is I think one of the most fundamental things on the Internet,” Zuckerberg said. He went on to discuss Facebook’s newest projects, which are steering the company to get more involved in your life: in sharing more activities, grouping your friends more around your interests, and in getting the real you more out there etc.
As for “The Social Network,” it’s an entertaining look at the start-up of Facebook. Aaron Sorkin’s script hums along with fast-paced dialogue of Mark’s character and his buddies at Harvard and the beginnings of the site. At the crux of the film, are the snags and enemies Mark’s actions make along the way, notably one lawsuit that accuses him of stealing the site’s idea and another for ditching his CFO. The film switches back and forth entertainingly between the two lawsuits and Mark and Facebook’s rise. The best part seems to be Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of the prodigy, which is convincing and at times quite amusing. I’m not sure it’s really the very best movie of the year, which others claim, but it’s a timely hit on an Internet craze that’s still exploding all around us.
