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Mark Zuckerberg on SNL (video)
- mattlong 16y agoWow, that guy is painfully awkward....I got uncomfortable just watching it.
- fuzzmeister 16y agoNot a born actor, to say the least.
- endlessvoid94 16y agoHe's definitely come a long way, though. I remember watching him on stage at F8 and being uncomfortable with how terrible of a speaker he was. Fast forward, and he's definitely learned at least the rudiments of being the center of attention and speaking without sounding like he has zero social skills.
- lovskogen 16y agoYeah, and where's the funny? The way to the two moves more into camera after the other guy left makes it look even more scripted.
- rudiger 16y agoThat's a lot of 'bergs.
- redthrowaway 16y agoSo what happened to Zuckerberg receiving a bunch of PR lessons and not being so awkward? I get that this isn't his thing, but... ow. I actually think Zuck should just hire Eisenberg to be him anytime he has to appear in public. And get Sorkin to write his speeches. He'd be far more entertaining that way, and he would get to stay at Facebook doing what he does best.
- christophe971 16y agoI actually find Zuckerberg about as "awkward" as Bill Gates. I think people understand that, well, Mark is a nerd, and his nerdiness isn't going anywhere. So if he just stays nice, and do charitable things, people will eventually like him. It has already started, The Social Network has been huge boost for that.
- redthrowaway 16y agoSo aside from execution, what's the difference between the portrayal of Zuck in TSN and that of Gates in Pirates of Silicon Valley? Both characters come off as more interesting and in a weird way, likeable than their real-world counterparts. Even Jobs is far more charismatic in PoSV than in real life. PoSV came out when Microsoft was in its prime and its portrayal of Gates was in many ways similar to that of Zuck in TSN, but it didn't seem to hurt him any.
- christophe971 16y agoI'm not sure. PoSV is more a movie about Steve Jobs than anything else. TSN and PoSV both show to the public that "he (Bill & Mark) is not an evil blood/money-thirsty being, he had some opportunities and took them". If PoSV was made about Bill, it would have been even more similar to TSN.
- patio11 16y agoBeing funny on command is tricky, even when you have done it professionally for a while. I lived public speaking like some students live football, and I can barely keep on a game face for a few hundred people in a conference: TV is totally another ballgame (and can be perceived entirely differently inside and outside the studio).
- redthrowaway 16y agoThat's a fair point. That said, Zuck has been on TV plenty, just never after being told to "be funny".
- kulpreet 16y agoI think the awkwardness might have been part of the joke.
- zaidf 16y agoBingo. For all those complaining about his lack of performance here, you're kinda missing the point.. It's not Zuckerberg if he's not awkward.
- rabidsnail 16y agoDirect link: http://videos.mediaite.com/embed/player/container/1666/1232/?layout=&playlist_cid=&media_type=video&content=SPS1PQ1MLH1R0DSM&read_more=1&widget_type_cid=svp&referrer= http://videos.mediaite.com/embed/player/container/1666/1232/... More direct link (for Chrome users, for which their player seems broken): http://videos.cache.magnify.net/XHGXHV243M6QF0PD-mark_483_336_384x256.mp4 http://videos.cache.magnify.net/XHGXHV243M6QF0PD-mark_483_33...
- blackysky 16y agogotta love is PR team ...at least he is a better public speaker ...
- bvi 16y agoI liked how he totally loved his own joke about having invented poking ("I invented poking! :-D"), and after a second of silence from the audience, realized that he should be in character, and went back to trying to look serious.
- zackattack 16y agoI thought that was totally hilarious.
- jrockway 16y agoTo be fair, it was a pretty good line. One thing I like about comedians like Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David is that they both realize when they've said something hilarious and can't help but giggle a bit. It works for Zuckerburg too, although I guess the audience didn't care that much.
- moomba 16y agoI thought that bit about poking came off pretty awkward. As did the rest of his appearance. That doesn't really matter though, he is very successful outside comedy and public appearances.
- sayemm 16y agoI really applaud Zuckerberg for positively embracing all the attention that's been shouldered on him, really. I think stuff like this SNL skit or him taking his core team at Facebook to watch "The Social Network" together at a movie theatre just shows tremendous inner strength and maturity on his part. It's great to see him be able to laugh it off and joke about it. He's come a long way in his public speaking skills too, he was pretty natural and comedic during his talk at Startup School. I think he's only going to get better from this point on too.
- RobPfeifer 16y agoAs Sportsguy says, it's all about reps. I'm increasingly impressed but only because I've seen the money put into coaching and seen those guys since they moved to PA. He's learned well, but if your startup grows organically you get to practice (and sweat) all the way up. And let's be honest, I know some of those guys and am amazed at how they've grown and what they've accomplished. But we're the same generation and we can do so much more. Don't forget, money is for poor people.
- locusm 16y agoI seriously doubt this was of his own doing, more an indication his PR team is working hard on rebuilding his public image
- rokhayakebe 16y agoI seriously doubt Mark is the type to appear on a TV show because the Facebook PR team convinced him to.
- sayemm 16y agoRight... his PR team couldn't have possibly told him to take his entire team to go watch "The Social Network" when it came out. Of course his PR team is going to guide him along the way, but it shouldn't discount how serious he is about confronting this stuff -- not for himself, but for the sake of Facebook.
- igorgue 16y ago
- tmsh 16y agoNot all who seem awkward are lost.
- iamclovin 16y agoNot to sound like a fanboy (thought that might be a lost cause), this reminds me of how good a showman Steve Jobs is - as seen in the 1999 Macworld Expo with Noah Wyle (in very similar circumstances - Wyle had played Jobs in 'Pirates of Silicon Valley'). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIClAanU7Os http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIClAanU7Os
- bound008 16y agothe zuck is having trouble being a fanboy on here. i think thats where the real comedic value stems from for those of us in the valley who have met him, or at least heard him speak.
- mmaunder 16y agoAs much as I hate the idea of The Social Network, that was actually really f'ing funny. Good one Zuck! If you haven't seen it, check out Jesse Eisenberg in Holy Rollers - IMHO his best movie.
- rickdangerous1 16y agoI'm glad that was awkward. If he got 1600 on his SATs, started a 50bn company, and was a gifted comedic actor...I'd be pissed off. And a little sad for myself.
- shimi 16y agoZuckerberg came out at Eisenberg's home turf, I can't see this happening the other way around