Mark Zuckerberg and Social Excellence

by Doug Sweeney (Guest Blogger/Phired Up Associate/Amazing Fraternity Recruiter)

Watching “The Social Network” this Saturday had me really thinking about Mark Zuckerberg.  Like any movie that tries to depict real life events, “The Social Network”, is not 100% accurate.  But it does a fantastic job of humanizing the Harvard kid who invented a website that now has 500 million active users a day.

Check out an interview Zuckerberg had with BusinessWeek several years ago:

Mark is the youngest billionaire in the world.  Yet he could care less about it.  He’s dedicated to a product that he believes is making the world a better place “to connect and communicate more efficiently.”

Mark wants people who use facebook to have complete control over who they share their information with.  The more control they have, statistically, the more information they will share.  This is just like practicing Social Excellence with people in conversation.  What sticks out for me in the text book definition of  Social Excellence is that it takes a level of vulnerability.  Just like facebook, you control the information you are willing to share with others in conversation.  If you are vulnerable, candid and open about who you are, it will reciprocate back to you.  The more you give, the more you get (in conversation and on facebook).

By teaching college students how to engage in deep meaningful conversations and inspiring students to be the best version of themselves, Phired Up is helping the world  “connect and communicate more efficiently”  as well.  There is a deep level of satisfaction that comes from making progress that effects our new world society.

When someone says “I’m Phired Up!”, from the bottom of their heart, they are experiencing this satisfaction.  It’s this satisfaction, not ad revenue, which drives socially excellent men like Mark Zuckerberg to continue working.  So I must say, I like facebook.  It’s socially excellent.