“I feel for Mark because he sometimes people don’t understand his personality. I wanted to show a more human side of him and share with everyone the Mark I know. I asked the hardest questions that no one has succeeded in earning answers, and we all shared in his responses.
I’m lucky and thankful of my friendship with Mark and the time
I was able to spend with him at SXSW.”
You can watch the interview here: http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/10/mark-zuckerberg-sarah-lacy-interview-from-sxsw/ and see all the hoo haw here
Jeff Jarvis, a pro on the media and of the media, noted she failed to understand her audience. Perhaps its a question of her style...and yes, she made mistakes.
Here is another thought: was the audience really ready for conversational interviews?
Maybe what has happened here is symptomatic of the challenge to conversational marketing? Are we all stuck in the mold of wanting "mass media" interviews? Are we so used to traditional mass media interviews and marketing that it is ingrained deeply within us, so deeply that old ways of what interviews "should be" prevail in our own expectations?
I dont know ....I was not there.....but it's a questions worth asking.
Maybe you have a perspective or thought
7 comments:
I think yours is a valid question, but I tend to buy Brian's argument that the conference organizers misjudged the situation.
Another question that I've been thinking on: is this the phenomenon of anonymity breeding rudeness that you so often see on the internet making its way into real life?
This was a crowd that more literally than anyone lives on the internet. This is where a great majority of their communcation and interaction occurs. Online customs are what these people live and breath. People are much more direct online than in real life, and since much of the disruption was fueled by tweets, I think this is something to look at.
(It's most certainly, also, a prime example of how Twitter can be used to fuel a crowd and provide instant feedback (and validation), but that's a whole different topic.)
Thanks for perspective Nicholas. Great points
Put much more distinctly by tcpeter on Twitter: "A fine line between an audience "asserting control" and "bad manners." If the session doesn't work for you, leave."
Richard,
I wonder if to some extent age might have something to do with this. I wasn't there but my guess is the audience might have contained more than a few people in there 20s and 30s. For many of us at that age, me included, we think our voices must be heard and demand the stage. Just wondering out loud.
@Lewis - I wasn't there either, but rumor has it that some of the main instigators are in the 40-something range - and also happen to be well-known in the industry. Maybe it's the latter bit that was the more the problem. Internet celebrity is so sad in so many ways. :-)
Hey Richard,
I can say that at the Blog World Expo last fall, nearly all of the keynotes were in the same conversational format - and not one of them was 'hijacked' by the crowd, and they were very well received.
I don't remember if I saw you in the room or not, but I have to say that this wasn't 'instigated' by any one group or section of people. The entire ballroom was visibly turned off by her informal and unflattering mannerisms, and I hear that the group in the overflow room came to that same conclusion on their own.
Great to meet you, by the way! :)
Hi Wendy,
I was not there...just read the stories and wondered aloud. I appreciate the perspective and especially your views having seen more of these. Glad to have your point of view and thrillled to meet you too!
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