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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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 OPINION 
4

Facebook Should 'Unfriend' CEO

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(Newser) – Mark Zuckerberg has made mistakes in the past 6 weeks “that would have led to any normal CEO's firing,” Owen Thomas writes for Gawker, and the Facebook CEO's case should be no different. His three strikes: a privacy-shredding “terms of service disaster,” an “awful redesign,” and the “disgraceful, petty ouster” of a veteran manager. If the board is smart—and resourceful—it will dump the site’s founder.

“It is understandable for a 24-year-old to be fickle, easily swayed, and vengeful,” Thomas writes. “But that is the reason why we have very few 24-year-old CEOs.” Beyond the “public strikes” lies something worse: A failure to “build the company’s culture,” which he had claimed was his chief responsibility. “Here's the Harvard man in Zuckerberg revealed: He has assembled a coterie of servants instead of building a team.”

Mark Zuckerberg.
Mark Zuckerberg.   (AP Photo)
Zuckerberg poses at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif.
Zuckerberg poses at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif.   (AP Photo)
Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Facebook, USA.
Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Facebook, USA.   (AP Photo)
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It might be good for Facebook to have a CEO who's indifferent to the job, as opposed to someone who wants it all too badly, but doesn't know how to do it. - Owen Thomas

We think Netscape cofounder Marc Andreessen is the one Zuckerberg needs. Already a mentor to the young entrepreneur and a Facebook board member, Andreessen has few undiscardable obligations. - Owen Thomas

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4 comments
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maevealleine
Apr 2, 09 2:19 PM CDT
i really hate the new redesign. i wish they would revert back to the last one. Reply
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TerrifiedCitizen
Apr 2, 09 5:10 PM CDT
Kids do a lot of internet start-ups... that's the reality... a board with the power and foresight to grow the company beyond the original kiddie-appeal idea is the only hope for dot-coms like these. Reply
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Observer
Apr 2, 09 6:32 PM CDT
No way a smart ass punk can lead a billion-dollar business. Period. Reply
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AS1280
Apr 3, 09 1:25 PM CDT
This guy is such a douchebag - go away! Reply
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