Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is the driving force behind the fastest-growing and most influential social networking site on the planet. Ironically, the 26-year-old CEO often comes off as a shy, apprehensive and somewhat socially awkward front man when he finds himself in the spotlight.
Three years ago, during his first interview with 60 Minutes, a withdrawn Zuckerberg provided viewers with little insight into his personality, offering up short, almost condescending responses to questions posed by CBS's Lesley Stahl. Zuckerberg's bashful and reticent public persona, along with his adolescent looks, led All Things Digital's Kara Swisher to dub the entrepreneur the "Toddler CEO."
Just six months ago, Zuckerberg took part in a nightmare interview at the D8 conference where Swisher grilled him about the privacy concerns that seem to follow the social networking site. The infamous interview left a perspiring Zuckerberg "literally dissolving in a lake of his own sweat," according to the host.
However, during Sunday night's follow up interview with Stahl, the world was introduced to a confident, mature and PR-savvy Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook's chief executive professionally deflected a number of tough questions related to online privacy, talent poaching and intellectual property theft, while also giving viewers a more honest depiction of his true personality.
"As we spoke, I remembered his awkwardness from three years ago," said Stahl, "but he is far more relaxed now, easier to smile and noticeably more confident."
The Internet billionaire also offered up his reaction to The Social Network, the blockbuster movie that portrayed his first few years as Facebook's CEO, as well as a candid response to the ongoing lawsuit with the Winklevoss twins, who were also interviewed.
"We were teammates. We were partners," one of the twins told Stahl, referring to their initial collaboration with Zuckerberg. "He premeditatively sandbagged us because he knew getting there first was everything."
Meanwhile, Zuckerberg adamantly denied that Facebook compromises a user's privacy -- a charge that the Federal Trade Commission and other advocacy groups are actively looking into.
"We never sell your information and advertisers never have access to your information," he claimed.
The 26-year-old wunderkind spent the remaining portion of the 25-minute interview previewing the social networking site's complete redesign of its member profile pages.
Facebook's new look is aimed to provide visitors with a more intimate and connected view of the user. Each profile offers detailed personal information, including the user's marital status, where they went to school and what sports teams they follow, as well as a bank of pictures in which the user is tagged.
The redesigned site also includes a "featured friend" tool that lives on the left side of every page. This new feature enables users to "highlight the friends who are important to you, such as your family, best friends or teammates," Facebook engineer Josh Wiseman wrote in a company blog describing the update. Finally, the facelift grants users improved searching functionality and enhanced photo scrolling.
For a more detailed look at Zuckerberg's latest interview, check out TMC CEO Rich Tehrani's recent blog post.
Beecher Tuttle is a ContactCenterSolutions contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Patrick Barnard