Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained (not under oath) to lawmakers on the Hill yesterday that he had made a mistake in selling the personal data profiles of tens of millions---some say as many as 1 billion--- of Facebook users to Cambridge Analytica, so they could sell the profiles, with both companies making millions off the users who voluntarily gave Zuckerberg their information in the first place.
Now that Zuckerberg is worth $64 billion ( after losing $10 billion in the past couple of weeks), and has about 2.2 billion people on his Facebook platform, what are his goals going forward?
They are well defined in his formal statement. Nimrod comes to mind.
In the hearing yesterday, Republican senators were direct with Zuckerberg, while Democrats had a more focused, less threatening approach.
Washington State's Senator Maria Cantwell asked if any of his employees had been involved with Cambridge Analytica helping the Trump campaign, and if Zuckerberg thought the US should adopt stricter regulations like Europe has done forcing companies like his to give users more control?
It was a Democrat, yes, Democrat Dick Durbin---of whom I am no fan---who asked the most poignant question in my opinion.
"Would you be comfortable sharing with us the name of the hotel you stayed in last night?"
"Um".....long pause, then "No."
Durbin continued: "If you messaged anybody this week, would you share with us the names of the people you've messaged?"
Zuckerberg: "Senator, no, I would probably not choose to do that publicly here."
Durbin: "I think that might be what this is all about. Your right to privacy, the limits of your right to privacy, and how much you'd give away in modern America."
All this will be regurgitated throughout today on local and national news---spun to support the local bias.
Bottom line. What we at Facebook are doing is good for me, but not for thee.
The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) is wondering if Facebook has become so big and so ingrained into the world culture, with about 2.2 billion users, it's "too big to fix."
CBN also reports that "The National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) had 5 questions they hoped would be asked of Zuckerberg by our public servants yesterday. Generally those questions were not asked.
The NRB questions included concerns about Christian themes being deleted or banned, including a picture of a cross put up by a Catholic university to commemorate Easter. Facebook rejected the ad because "it did not meet its standards." Which prohibit "shocking, sensational or excessively violent materials."
Apparently, in their mind, the cross is too offensive for the "community."
After pushback, asking which criteria was violated by the cross, Facebook reviewed and reversed the decision to censor the cross.
This is not an isolated incident. Most likely NRB's concerns remain intact today.
Is Facebook Too Big to Fix?
Last year CEO Zuckerberg issued his plan for the ages titled, "Building Global Community," specifically identifying the goals and how to achieve them.
Honestly, when I read the plan, my mind went to the biblical story of Noah's great-grandson, Nimrod, and his Tower of Babel.
This is a profile of biblical Nimrod.
Much has been written about Nimrod including in many extra-biblical sources like those of historian Josephus.
Josephus, a reliable historian in most cases, believed that the Nimrod's purpose for building the Tower of Babel was to provide a refuge if God ever decided to flood the earth again. His goal, in effect, was to save the people. The motive, according to Josephus, was "to protect humanity from against another flood." Therefore Nimrod was building something for the good of all mankind.
However, the biblical account reveals that Nimrod, a man of significant physical size, strength, and ability, was acting more from rebellion or a God like complex, than a motive of trying to help humankind.
Josephus also affirms that from his own research.
Nimrod was rebellious against God, just like his antediluvian forefathers and persuaded his followers not ascribe their strength to God, but to understand that his leadership and goals and abilities were the source of their happiness and contentment---thus they joined him in the building of the Tower of Babel.
Nimrod, in essence, was assuming the role of God.
Nimrod appears as a character in the mythology of many ancient cultures.
The name Nimrod has been used as a descriptive term to describe a hunting expert or great hunter. It was also used during the 19890s to describe a "geek" or socially awkward person.
On February 16, 2017, Mark Zuckerberg issued his plan titled "Building Global Community."
It's lengthy, but you can review it from the link.
He began his message with, "On our journey to connect the world, we often discuss products we're building...today I want to focus on the most important question of all: are we building the world we all want?"
The rest of his statement defines "the world we want" and how to get there.
The world we want.
The world Zuckerberg wants is a global one that includes, "supportive communities, safe communities, informed communities, civically-engaged communities and inclusive communities."
Zuckerberg says, "We at Facebook can develop a social infrastructure to give people the power to build a global community that works for all of us."
He identifies how Facebook becomes the new local communities, replacing the towns and neighborhoods of the past---giving people hope for the future, as we come together in our shared values.
He speaks of how people with terminal illnesses are helped through Facebook all around the world.
Regarding "Safe Communities," he says, "This is a moment of truth, as we build a global community." He notes that many times people join together to form a non-profit organization to help the needy, but often those fail due to lack of funding, etc.
He notes, "The Facebook community is in a unique position to help prevent harm, assist during a crisis or come together to rebuild afterward."
An informed global citizenry is a very important goal for Facebook, he says. "Connecting everyone to the internet is necessary for building an informed community."
And everyone, now informed through Facebook must "engage in the civic process: voting, engaging with issues and representatives, speaking out, and sometimes organizing. so we can ensure the political process reflect our values."
And finally, he addresses the importance of an "Inclusive Community."
"Building an inclusive global community requires establishing a new process for citizens worldwide to participate in community governance. That means we need Community Standards that reflects our collective values for what should and should not be allowed," says Mark Zuckerberg.
And in conclusion, Zuckerberg said, "History has had many moments like today."
Indeed it has.
While Zuckerberg's world is bigger that Nimrod's was, the common globalist goals are the same.
And neither are too big to fix.
"Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant."