Well, it’s official, controversial Mark Zuckerberg, age 26, is the Times Man of the Year. He is the second youngest person so named, after Charles Lindberg who was 25 when he was selected in 1927; although a whole generation “Under 25” was named in 1966. What makes this a Little Bit of Beauty™ you ask? I say it’s inspirational for a person, any person, to think out of the box! This young man has literally changed the way that we communicate and relate to each other; he defines the face of a new generation, the millennials; and he is named in the top 10 youngest billionaires in the world. Whether you are a fan or not, it is quite an accomplishment. 
when there is technological change, if it is truly significant, what changes is not what is viable or what is actual; what changes is what is possible.
As an interior designer and ex member of the corporate world in the 80’s and early 90’s, I am fascinated by their work environment. It’s open; airy and light; messy, nothing cold and techie about it. It’s a casual place to go to work and it looks like…dare I say it, a FUN place to work. What might an environment like this do to create out of the box thinking? The latest neuroscience reports show that when people are in a relaxed, mellow state, the brain slips into a deeper, richer, more intuitive mode of thought. Psychologists actually call this Slow Thinking.
Artists have always known that you cannot hurry the act of creation and increasingly businesses are realizing the same thing: that workers need moments to relax, unplug, or be silent in order to be creative and productive. So when you see the Facebook headquarters with it’s music corner; wide isles to RipStik from point to point; large cafeteria room that serves three free meals a day; many skylights with large colorful flags hanging down; and casual seating areas built for lounging…well, it might make you wonder if any work is actually getting done? I can assure you that there is, here are some factoids from the Times article:
- Conference rooms are a big deal at Facebook because they’re the only places anybody has any privacy at all, even the bare minimum of privacy the Aquarium gets you. Otherwise the space is open plan: no cubicles, no offices, no walls.
- In less than seven years, Zuckerberg wired together a twelfth of humanity into a single network, thereby creating a social entity almost twice as large as the U.S. If Facebook were a country it would be the third largest, behind only China and India.
- This year, Facebook added its 550 millionth member. One out of every dozen people on the planet has a Facebook account.
- They speak 75 languages and collectively lavish more than 700 billion minutes on Facebook every month.
- Its membership is currently growing at a rate of about 700,000 people a day.
- Facebook has merged with the social fabric of American life, and not just American but human life: nearly half of all Americans have a Facebook account, but 70% of Facebook users live outside the U.S.
- Whereas earlier entrepreneurs looked at the Internet and saw a network of computers, Zuckerberg saw a network of people.
What really struck me, though, was knowing that the lines didn’t represent coasts or rivers or political borders, but real human relationships. Each line might represent a friendship made while traveling, a family member abroad, or an old college friend pulled away by the various forces of life… When I shared the image with others within Facebook, it resonated with many people. It’s not just a pretty picture, it’s a reaffirmation of the impact we have in connecting people, even across oceans and borders.
To me it’s a great equalizer as I can be “friends” with my husband, sister, daughter-in-law, nephew, neighbor, competitor, old college roommate who lives around the world from me, the leaders of my industry, my networking team and my plumber all at the same time. And I don’t have to leave home to do so. By the way, this does not replace face time spent with real people. But rather it’s a way to play in a big back yard with no boarders, in a visual way. As a matter of fact I am beginning to meet some of my FB friends in person as I travel to their neck of the woods or they travel here. Today I am meeting two FB interior designer friends, from Paris and from San Jose, in San Francisco for lunch. Now this is fun!
*1st & 3rd images from the Times and the map from Fastcodesign
So what do you think about this new technological age of communication we are in? Do you appreciate the creativity of this new way to communicate?
Leave a comment below, I’d love to know what you think!
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15 Comments
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Love this Irene. Fitting that Zuckerberg is named man of the year. I love this whole new world we have stepped to on so many levels. Adore the idea of “working” in a play space and encouraging new thinking. The irony is that once the different is embraced by the establishment it can often change tactics. Nevertheless I am enthralled with connecting and interconnecting and love the idea that people we meet “in space” become real live friends. Cant wait to meet you!
Jennifer Duchene
Home Makeover Mixtress
http://home-decorating-makeovers.com/ -
I agree with all of your closing statements Irene. Like you, I spend a good portion of my time in the furnishings and design industries, and find that Facebook enables us to enrich relationships. Whether it’s at a High Point Furniture Market, or a design or association conference, less time is spent asking people what’s going on in their lives; rather we start right in and comment about what we know is going on in our “friends” lives. It can lead to deeper and more meaningful relationships. PS, loved the video you put together!
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I originally was a big Facebook user; however, since starting my blog I’ve become a huge Twitter user. It’s been a great way to connect with other bloggers. I typically use Facebook now for keeping up with personal friends
As for their offices, I love how they’ve created a place to encourage creativity. Being boxed in a cube all day doesn’t do much for new ideas. I have a friend who works for a huge .com company. The offices are wonderfully creative & they do most things out of the box. Great environment!
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Interesting Robyn, I’ll have to spend a bit more time in and around Twitter to fully understand it. I find the conversations more choppy for me as I seem to miss so much and with FB It’s always there on my profile page or in my email. But, Your point about spreading your blog through twitter and because of the SEO benefits, I’ll have to get a bit more savvy with twitter. Thanks for commenting.
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I’ve bookmarked, Dugg, and I joined the RSS subscription. Thanks!Chinese gender chart
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The Facebook offices are very neat, looks like a good place to think and collaborate with co-workers.
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