美国国家公共电台 NPR The Rise — And Stall — Of Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

This week Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg tells Congress he's sorry.

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

He'll testify twice about how Facebook let data on up to 87 million users get into the hands of the political firm Cambridge Analytica. In prepared remarks, Zuckerberg says the company did not take a broad enough view of its responsibility. He says that was his mistake because he started Facebook and he runs it.

CORNISH: But this is just the latest controversy¹ for the 33-year-old billionaire who famously started the social network from his Harvard dorm room. For a look at Zuckerberg's trajectory² we've called upon Mitch Kapor. He's a Silicon³ Valley entrepreneur himself. He now runs Kapor Capital and the Kapor Center for Social Impact with his wife Freada. Welcome to the program.

MITCH KAPOR: Pleasure to be here.

CORNISH: Now, Mark Zuckerberg in a way is like the original hoodie-wearing savant CEO. I mean, this was kind of the image of him when people talked about the Harvard dorm room.

KAPOR: Absolutely. yes.

CORNISH: Was it all that common, or was it even myth at the time?

KAPOR: No, I think that he was very smart, technically⁵ minded undergraduate with a lot of ability to code and a bunch of ideas to try things, the first of which was to scrape data from Harvard servers without anybody's permission, and then asking other people at Harvard to rate the hotness of student pictures.

CORNISH: It's interesting because when Facebook's origin story was then told in the 2010 film "The Social Network," that - (laughter) I think that very - there was a scene that spoke⁶ to this.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE SOCIAL NETWORK")

JESSE EISENBERG: (As Mark Zuckerberg) The Kirkland Facebook is open on my desktop⁷, and some of these people have pretty horrendous⁸ Facebook pics. Billy Olson's sitting here and had the idea of putting some of the pictures next to pictures of farm animals and have people vote on who's hotter.

CORNISH: Obviously this is not a documentary. But how did this change the way the public viewed Zuckerberg, do you think?

KAPOR: Well, he became a kind of cultural icon⁴ as a result of the movie. And while obviously it wasn't entirely⁹ a flattering portrait, my sense is that the hero worship aspect of our culture fastened onto him even more tightly as a result of the exposure of the Zuckerberg character.

CORNISH: There's also, as they say, some danger in believing your own press. And in the years after, we saw Mark Zuckerberg really seize the reins¹⁰ in terms of being the face of the company and embracing that role. Were there some pitfalls¹¹ there?

KAPOR: I think so in that when you're the king - and he really is the king - it's very difficult for your subjects to speak the truth to you. By becoming so visible and so much out there, I think it really made it even more difficult to have the kind of real internal dialogue that's needed to keep this hypergrowth company on some sort of track.

CORNISH: Fast-forward a few years, and we have seen Mark Zuckerberg try to change the narrative¹² - right? - around people. People stopped seeing him as so benevolent¹³, frankly¹⁴ - right? - or as a naive¹⁵ kid, so to speak. And I remember when he and his wife promised to give away most of their wealth.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MARK ZUCKERBERG: You know, what does it take to make it so that people don't get sick anymore? Can we build more inclusive and welcoming communities? Can people in the next generation learn and experience a hundred times more things than we can? I think the answer to that is yes.

CORNISH: How would you mark that moment in sort of the growth of a leader?

KAPOR: Well, I think he's been struggling to figure out what to do now that he's king. I will say that we have to distinguish between good intentions and what actually results. For instance, on this pledge to give away the money, if you look at the details of that, in fact, it's not going into a philanthropy, into a foundation the way Bill Gates did with his money at Microsoft. It's going into a limited liability corporation. And they can do anything they want with that. And they have no accountability. I don't doubt that he's sincere. But I certainly don't take it at face value because what really matters is what Facebook actually does doesn't have much to do with what he says.

CORNISH: Since the Cambridge Analytica story broke last month, we've seen different sides of Mark Zuckerberg. First there was silence. He waited a while before even speaking with his own employees. And then a kind of apology tour where he did interviews with a handful of news outlets¹⁶. Here's part of a press call he made last week.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ZUCKERBERG: I think the reality here is that we need to take a broader view of our responsibility rather than just the legal responsibilities. So, you know, we're focused on doing the right thing and making sure that people's information is protected. We're doing the investigations¹⁷. We're locking down the platform, et cetera.

CORNISH: Again, looking at the arc of a leader, what kind of moment is this?

KAPOR: Well, what I would say is it's not his first apology. And so the thing that really matters is what happens next and what they actually do about all this.

CORNISH: Is Mark Zuckerberg part of a larger story about leadership in Silicon Valley, about an industry that hasn't been taking responsibility for its own power?

KAPOR: Oh, absolutely. That Zuckerberg and the Facebook story really exemplifies a great deal about how Silicon Valley operates. One thing I would point out is all along this wasn't a secret that they were engaging in various disreputable behaviors. There were opportunities to speak up. But none of the investors¹⁹ who were on the Facebook gravy²⁰ train wanted to do that for fear of either being thrown out or not having access to the incredible half trillion dollars of wealth that was being created. And so they remained silent. And the silence of the investors and the board, I think, is also part of what is wrong with Silicon Valley.

CORNISH: So what is your let's say optimistic take on what Mark Zuckerberg will do next?

KAPOR: Well, the optimistic take is that this really becomes a crisis of spirit for him and leads to a kind of genuine and deep personal transformation²¹. He becomes a leader that is more driven by some set of principles and values and sense of obligation to all of his stakeholders, including mostly the 2 billion users, and that he refocuses the company by taking a long-term view. I think that's going to be hard because there'll be a loss of status and a loss of billions of dollars to do that because their current business model is a devil's bargain that's based on exploiting Facebook users. But the optimistic scenario²² is he can rise to that occasion.

CORNISH: Tech entrepreneur and investor¹⁸ Mitch Kapor - he runs Kapor Capital and the Kapor Center for Social Impact. Thank you for speaking with ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.

KAPOR: Absolutely. Thank you.

1 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

2 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

3 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

4 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

5 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 desktop   

n.桌面管理系统程序；台式

参考例句：

• My computer is a desktop computer of excellent quality.我的计算机是品质卓越的台式计算机。
• Do you know which one is better,a laptop or a desktop?你知道哪一种更好，笔记本还是台式机？

8 horrendous   

adj.可怕的，令人惊惧的

参考例句：

• He described it as the most horrendous experience of his life.他形容这是自己一生中最可怕的经历。
• The mining industry in China has a horrendous safety record.中国的煤矿工业具有令人不安的安全记录。

9 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

10 reins   

感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带

参考例句：

• She pulled gently on the reins. 她轻轻地拉着缰绳。
• The government has imposed strict reins on the import of luxury goods. 政府对奢侈品的进口有严格的控制手段。

11 pitfalls   

（捕猎野兽用的）陷阱( pitfall的名词复数 )； 意想不到的困难，易犯的错误

参考例句：

• the potential pitfalls of buying a house 购买房屋可能遇到的圈套
• Several pitfalls remain in the way of an agreement. 在达成协议的进程中还有几个隐藏的困难。

12 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

13 benevolent   

adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的

参考例句：

• His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。
• He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人，连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。

14 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

15 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。

16 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

17 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

18 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

19 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

20 gravy   

n.肉汁；轻易得来的钱，外快

参考例句：

• You have spilled gravy on the tablecloth.你把肉汁泼到台布上了。
• The meat was swimming in gravy.肉泡在浓汁之中。

21 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

22 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。