Mark Zuckerman Time's POTY
 

OK he's the founder of Facebook. A free website. So how is he worth $1-2 BILLION???

And does he deserve this?

Does Bill Gates deserve his Billions? How about the million$ pro jocks get?

The marketplace decides. I've never been to, or signed up with facebook, but if I had to hazard a guess, they sell ads seen by the countless folks who do go there.

Yeah, those who make it big definitely "deserve" it. What many call "luck" is a mix of creativity, timing, and planning. Oh...and a WHOLE lot of risk in starting the biz in the first place!

No wait-----I mean does he deserve to be the Time Person of the Year!

i remember signing up to facebook in 2004..back when i was still in college, and only like 20 colleges were on it. my original name on there was "Mike" because I was the first one in my college. back then i thought it was a novelty.

how times have changed

Oh...another bit of ignorance on my part. People still read TIME?

Yep. I think I signed up Sept, 2005. My Senior year of high school. Had to have a college e-mail addy and you had to be invited. I remember "to close for missles, switching to guns," at the bottom of every page. Still cracks me up

Damn I am old.:(

Yes he certainly deserves it. Name another person in the world who has so directly affected so many people, worldwide.

Zuckerberg.

He created an empire out of purely an idea, and made himself a billionaire in less than 10yrs? Hell yes he deserves it....

He's a good choice. Over 700 million people worldwide use Facebook. He's had a huge impact on society.

Ok, how did he make his money if the site is free for use?

Who is paying for what?

Data mining?
Advertising?

1 in 12 people on the planet are members of his website. That's one figure from the article that really struck me.

Affected so many people? Yes. In a positive way... not so much.

I'm sure a lot of people worked a lot harder to make the world a better place in 2010.

IMHO Facebook is noting more than a colossal pile of fluff.

I'm on it... met some old and new friends I wouldn't have otherwise... but...

Have you ever hooked up with an old GF from Facebook?

I agree with you, but it's not "Time's NICE PERSON of the year", or "Time's DESERVING PERSON of the year", or "Time's PERSON WITH THE HIGEST MORAL STANDARD of the year."

That's what the Nobel peace prize is for.

Oh wait . . .

I believe that it was simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time for Zuckerberg and facebook. Friendster, Orkut, Myspace, and I'm sure others that I'm forgetting or unaware of, all paved the way for facebook.
Yes, facebook is a bit more userfriendly, but that was simply a matter of ironing out their UI and perhaps even making it more simple (ala Apple products).
I have to say, I'm surprised Facebook is still around and that there isn't another "new new thing" social network already. Someday soon I think we'll abandon "profile pages" and I wonder if Zuckerberg can pull it off.

I should add... speaking of fluff...

Ironic that Time has become a magazine of fluff... maybe not as bad as People or some of the other celebrity mongers but not exactly a journalistic juggernaut.

And Facebook actualy is becoming more user un-friendly with it's latest "upgrades"

Again all IMHO

Even though it isn't the Nobel Peace Prize, I always saw Time's POTY as someone who did something noble, courageous, selfless, or extraordinary. Being a shrewd business man coming up with a billion dollar idea at the right time isn't any of these things. He's just a successful capitalist (and although this is not a bad thing, it doesn't merit awards either). This reminds me of when Mother Teresa and Lady Di died on the same day. Guess who go 95% of the media's attention? I'm sure Diane did some charitable things but she was a little league rookie compared to Mother Teresa.
I think Zuckerberg should share the honor with Al Gore. After all, Al invented the internet that made social media a hit.

Here's a list.

Time Person of the Year - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

how is he worth 1-2 billion? He's not . He worth 4-6 billion.