Two days ago, the founder of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) Mark Zuckerberg took to his site’s Facebook Live feature to accept that the social networking site is indeed a media company. His Live talk session with Sheryl Sandberg, the company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) was an interesting one and was viewed by 82 million followers. Zuckerberg accepted that Facebook is a media company, albeit not a traditional one.
His revelation is of much importance today since, as of now, he has been maintaining that the social networking site is “just a technology company.”
Facebook is a “new kind of platform”
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Facebook did start as a casual social networking site, being a tech company only. However, its role today, in influencing varied aspects of people’s life and social and political scenarios, cannot be denied.
Talking to his COO, Zuckerberg said that Facebook isn’t traditional. “It is neither traditional media company, nor traditional technology company,” said Facebook founder.
In his Live chat, he explained what exactly his site is. Answering several questions in the comments, Zuckerberg explained the nature of this social site.
Facebook’s role as a media company and content distributor
Zuckerberg said that Facebook builds technology and also knows that there is a huge responsibility attributed to it, when it comes to usage of this expertise. He explained that none of the executives in Facebook write news, but there is a lot more that the company does, rather than just disseminating this news. He accepted that Facebook is a part of “public disclosure.”
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This revelation holds much importance; especially when Zuckerberg has been denying his company’s role as a media portal amidst criticisms in its role for influencing President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign.
Consider this statement, for example, “Reflecting on 2016, this is just something that I am proud that people in this company take so seriously,” stated Zuckerberg. Is he then accepting that Facebook did influence US-elections for Trump? Let’s leave it as an open-end conclusion.
