Mark: Why Ruin it for the Rest of Us?

The Social Network is opening soon. I’m going to see this movie, but it kind of makes me mad that I’ll be going to see it. Facebook and all it’s drama seems to represent the end of the Gen Y spectrum that makes me shudder.

Mark, you drive me crazy.

There are a lot of us who believe you can do good business without making everyone mad. You chance privacy settings on a whim, and we all have to sort through the mumbo jumbo just to figure out what you changed. Are we even considered customers to you? Or the means to make money through advertising and partnerships?

And what’s with the sweatshirt? Perhaps you have a signature look, perhaps it’s your rebellion of “the man.” I can understand that you want to push the bounds of conformity, I’m on board with that. I believe Gen Y has the oppotunity to lead much sooner than the world thinks we can. That we can change how people think and react, consume and create. You’re actually doing a decent job on those points. But you can’t resist conforming to “the man” when you are “the man.” You are about as Big Brother as they come.

It’s not the sweatshirt itself. Ok, it is, but it’s more than the sweatshirt. Your sweating to death at the June privacy interview and refusing to take your hoodie off until the pit stains were larger than the Pacific Ocean makes us wonder if you’re just dumb. Most people take off a jacket when they get hot. It’s normal human behavior. Maybe you’re an alien who cannot succeed in learning how to control the body temperature of this human vessel you have confiscated. I doubt that’s the case, but perhaps you should look into it. Oh, and listen to your press team. That’s why they’re there, to keep you from looking dumb.

The worst part is, you could be a totally nice guy…BUT WE DON’T KNOW THAT. All we know is that you frustrate the living hell out of us. Those of us who do want to play the corporate game get the eye-roll when we’re noted as a Facebook generation. You are the voice of a group that you aren’t even bothering to listen to. At this point, from what I’ve learned in The Social Network trailer, you wanted to be on the inside of an “it” crowd. And yes, you gave us a great means to connect with each other and the rest of the world. However, most people would have just made real friends instead of creating a breeding ground for fake ones. And who knows, maybe you still feel like the outsider who would rather have friends because of popularity and money.

Mark, I hope things work out for you. I hope I’m wrong and you really don’t want to make it harder for the rest of us. I may be a total hypocrite because I still use Facebook, as much as it frustrates me. You’ve almost made a necessary evil, something I actually have found myself using more now that I’m back in school than I had beforehand. But perhaps you can combine your forces with the people who want to help you, to make you a better representative of our generation.

So you can be someone we’ll want to be friends with.

Sincerely,

Emily Jasper