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Filed under: Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, Time Magazine

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It’s been a big year for 26 year old Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.

He's brilliant but is he really Time material? Photo: AFP.

Not only was he the subject of movie, “The Social Network” he’s also just been made Time person of 2010, “for changing how we all live our lives in ways that are innovative and even optimistic.”

There’s no question that Zuckerberg is a success; Facebook has 600 million members, employs 1, 700 people and is worth an estimated fortune of £4.4 billion.

But does Zuckerberg really deserve the luminous Time title? After all it’s an honour he now shares with historical heavyweights like Winston Churchill (1940), Deng Xiaoping (1985) and Vladimir Putin (2007).

And what will this mean for his future?

A quick poll taken by Punch readers this morning shows a fairly mixed response to the news with many people surprised that Julian Assange wasn’t up for the award.

But then again, as Khrystene Dalecki put it, perhaps it’s a bit too soon and Assange’s impact will be better felt next year.

Zuckerberg however, seems pretty chuffed with the news and he posted this response on his own Facebook page:

“A real honour and recognition of how our little team is building something that hundreds of millions of people want to use to make the world more open and connected. I’m happy to be a part of that.”

What do you think? Add your thoughts below.

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42 comments

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- Tombowler says:
  
  11:27am | 16/12/10
  
  Yep.
  
  Polarizing, powerful and full of mystique.
  
  All those bitching about Assange missing out: It’s probably best to wait and see whether or not he’s a rapist before handing out the accolades…
  
  If it was going to go to Assange it actually should have gone to Mr Manning; the dude who actually risked something and stole the cables, not some egomaniacal, alleged sex offender with a messiah complex.
  
  Reply
Warren T says:

11:56am | 16/12/10

It should be pointed out early that the point of Time’s “Man of the Year” wasn’t meant to be an accolade (Hitler won it twice!) it was about the person who made the most news in a given year.

It is not awarded in that fashion anymore, so the comparisons with historical figures is pretty moot, they were given the title under the previous regieme.
- Jason says:
  
  11:32am | 16/12/10
  
  I’ve come to this article via The Punch’s Facebook page. Enough said.
  
  Reply
- Macca says:
  
  11:41am | 16/12/10
  
  Absolutely correct.
  
  Zuckerberg is the controversial and disputed brainchild of the most succesful brand of New Media. His creation directly impacts on 10% of the world’s population, and potentially many more indirectly.
  
  Any alteration to the appearance or privacy settings of Facebook is met with uproar and dissent as the supposedly itchy-feeted younger generations battle to understand why the photos link has moved from the left hand side of the screen to the upper-centre Tabs.
  
  Facebook has changed the world, the Western World in particular, and whilst others will claim Assange’s drive for Truth, or some Chinese Finance guy’s efforts are more worthy, Zuckerberg’s decisions will directly impact more lives than any of us care to consider.
  
  Reply
- Chris says:
  
  11:48am | 16/12/10
  
  Does Zuckerberg deserve it?
  
  Pretty sure you will get 500,000,000 reasons as to why he can be classed against the historical heavy weights which somehow include Vladimir Putin.
  
  There has been no one else in history that has the ability to connect with pretty much 1 sixth of the worlds population with a click of a button. He has created a whole new way of people communicating. You can instantly find what friends are up to, if they want to do something and so on and so fourth.
  
  Pretty sure that zuckerberg’s name will be ringing in the ears of generations to come should facebook keep going in the same direction.
  
  Reply
- Steely Dan says:
  
  11:52am | 16/12/10
  
  “But does Zuckerberg really deserve the luminous Time title?”
  You don’t have to be a hero to be Time’s Person of the Year. You don’t even have to be human. The Person of the Year award is about recognising something that’s defined a moment in history. Here’s a quick sample of past winners:
  
  Adolf Hitler - 1938 (Godwin’s!)
  Joseph Stalin - 1939, 1942
  ‘The American Fighting Man’ - 1950
  ‘Hungarian Freedom Fighter’ - 1956
  ‘US Scientists’ - 1960
  Baby Boomers - 1966
  ‘The Middle Americans’ - 1969
  ‘American Women’ - 1975
  ‘The Computer’ - 1982
  ‘The Endangered Earth’ - 1989
  ‘The Good Samaritans’ - 2005
  ‘You’ - 2006
  
  If these people/things made it in, surely a young internet kazillionaire has a place on the list too. And I imagine it was down to a coin toss between he and ‘Social Media in the Internet Age’ in the Times boardroom.
  
  Reply
Adrian says:

12:06pm | 16/12/10

I particularly like 1988’s choice: “The endangered Earth”. What a person that endangered earth is! Influential? Is it ever!! Go Earth! Great bloke…

I don’t understand the importance placed on time person of the year. It’s not really an honour, more so an acknowledgement of an influence that everyone should be aware of already on account of it being so influential.

By the by, anyone looking for the full list http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_person_of_the_year
Adam Diver says:

12:06pm | 16/12/10

Your list takes any credibility from the award. Seriously “you” that kind of fluff PC bulls**t is enough to make me spew.
Steely Dan says:

01:24pm | 16/12/10

@ Adam

How is that ‘PC’? Apparently PC just stands for ‘stuff I disagree with’ these days.
Dan says:

09:22pm | 16/12/10

Steely Dan, PC also stands for anything that conservatives and right-winger dislike but can’t find a valid reason to justify their dislike.
- Grumpy & Cynical says:
  
  11:57am | 16/12/10
  
  How bout the doctors who “cured” that guy of Aids or HIV with stem cell treatments for his leukemia or whatever they did!?! hardly heard about that..I like wikileaks and Assange but him for person of the year is a joke. FB is just more noise. Used it for a while, though it was great at first, seeing all these people from school. But then i kinda realised why i hadnt bothered to make contact before. Felt like a weight had been lifted when i got rid of that profile. The South park episode sums the site up well. “Hey stan, how come you havent added me as a friend…?”
  
  Reply
kebabpete says:

03:03pm | 16/12/10

The doctors who cures HIV with stem cell research may well be on the list one day. But they will first have to effect people on a global stage. At the moment they have affected just one.
- Two cents says:
  
  12:12pm | 16/12/10
  
  Zuckerberg created something popular, but he didn’t invent social networking. Some have suggested he simply revamped MySpace.
  
  Reply
- Taraq says:
  
  12:53pm | 16/12/10
  
  Local hero?
  
  Reply
- Jasperjen says:
  
  12:55pm | 16/12/10
  
  As an aging baby boomer grasping all the new technology ” facebook” has won my vote as the best communication tool since the stamp and the telephone were invented. With a large family residing all over Australia and half way round the world, they are never further away than a “click” on facebook.Messages ,chat, photos and no worries if I forgot a birthday.Links to the news as it happens ,games with others all over the world ,Community event links it is all there, no effort, no cost I rarely but a stamp and my phone bill has more than halved Putting aside the few who misuse the site and the mindless chatter of the young well done Zuckerberg a man for the times.
  
  Reply
sha says:

05:05pm | 16/12/10

Agree.
- nahummer says:
  
  01:03pm | 16/12/10
  
  Zuckerberg won for making us blind; Assange is in jail for trying to help us see.
  http://theendisalwaysnear.blogspot.com/2010/12/fix-needs-leak.html
  
  Reply
- Matt says:
  
  01:13pm | 16/12/10
  
  Does anyone else think that the photo that they’ve taken of Zuckerberg makes him look like he should be in the next Avatar movie?
  
  Reply
- Wilma j Craig says:
  
  01:28pm | 16/12/10
  
  No! As has become the custom only those who have made a fortune out of what they do get this gong! If Time wants to be taken seriously than it should only award this honour to someone who has actually done something for Humanity!
  
  Reply
Steely Dan says:

01:49pm | 16/12/10

@ Wilma j Craig

“As has become the custom only those who have made a fortune out of what they do get this gong!”
You made a fortune in or before 2006? Congratulations.
- Dinkim Davo says:
  
  01:28pm | 16/12/10
  
  Short answer YES.
  
  He has created someone, most people use, and has changed the way in which family, friends, education, retail stores, games etc use the internet.
  
  Everyone keeps going on about Julian Assange, but really Julian hasn’t released his biggest material, the material that will make him “great”. Anyways, while on this Assange thing, shame on Julia Gillard for not trying to bring him home any way possible, like the “United States” would if he was a great American(t).
  
  Reply
- Richard says:
  
  02:00pm | 16/12/10
  
  I might be pre-emping nosthow a little with this call, but…......
  
  TONY ABBOTT FOR TIME MAN OF THE YEAR!!1!1!!!
  
  Reply
- Izzy says:
  
  02:14pm | 16/12/10
  
  LOL at Richard. (above)
  
  Anyway, Mark Zuckerburg deserves the title! He, not only shows intelligence and creativity, but has completely revolutionised the way we communicate; in terms of technology. Young people that I know of rarely put efforts into typing a long response in email, preferring to message each other on Facebook chat.
  
  Every ideal recipient of the title has their flaws as well; obviously the winning of this title has been overshadowed by controversies of limited privacy on Facebook and whether or not he took the idea from Harvard chums.
  
  Bottom line is, Mark Zuckerburg has become a immortal icon in popular culture with such a life changing software.
  
  Reply
Luke says:

02:54pm | 16/12/10

Perhaps 2008 would have been a better year to award him man of the year.
- Luke says:
  
  02:51pm | 16/12/10
  
  “Time’s ‘Person Of the Year’ is Mark Zuckerberg. Sorry Julian Assange, I guess you didn’t violate enough people’s privacy.” - Stephen Colbert
  
  Reply
notSue says:

10:08am | 17/12/10

Gotta love The Repore!!! (T)
- Zuckerwho? says:
  
  02:59pm | 16/12/10
  
  WOW what a hero for the modern world, he revamped myspace. While the battle for free speech rages on the pathetic ‘Time’ who also gave Hitler man of the year. Great guys look up to that rich scumbag who gives his money to the same charity’s as Bill Gates, yay more money for planned parenthood. He got the award for going along with Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Ted Turner and the rest of the population control crowd. So praise this moron but he’s just a low life with the right idea at the right time. Good on him for being rich, but that’s about all he has going for him. Man of the year, kiss my….... Maybe he could have donated something to Wiki, but then of course he couldn’t be man of the year. Back to social networking children, I’ll continue reading and interacting with intelligent people who live in the ‘real world’, not many of them left though.
  
  Reply
Steve Smith says:

03:25pm | 16/12/10

Intelligent people in the ‘real world’ know it’s Zucker..berg
stephen says:

06:50pm | 16/12/10

The Time Man of the Year, and all his rich mates, does not have to give a major percentage of their wealth to charity. It’s true that Bill, Warren, Ted and Mark will still be rich after they’ve offloaded squillions, but they might just keep it all. They don’t have to give a cent.
But they have.
I’ve heard that Bill Gates only started donating about 10 years a go after he got ransom note in the post. I don’t believe that was his motive at all.
When I donate, it makes me feel good, and I would think that having a dual motive in no way lessens the importance of the act.
Time MOTY ?
Indeed.
- David says:
  
  03:00pm | 16/12/10
  
  Is Facebook really all that big a deal? Its a few years old, why is it/he just being recognised now. I suspect theres a bit of movie hype behind this.
  
  Reply
Izzy says:

03:17pm | 16/12/10

Well, Facebook’s popularity has its ups and downs. Guess, the movie “The Social Network” kind of ups the ante for Facebook. so yeah, I agree with you.. the movie hype escalates everything for Facebook.
- Peter says:
  
  03:05pm | 16/12/10
  
  “Like”
  
  Reply
- Miles says:
  
  03:50pm | 16/12/10
  
  Sure, Facebook has definitely influenced the masses. But is it for the better? That’s the real question.
  
  Reply
- Razor says:
  
  03:57pm | 16/12/10
  
  It was either him or Obama but he hasn’t actually doen anything this year - not that that stopped them or the Nobel Prize committee before.
  
  Reply
- Reg says:
  
  05:59pm | 16/12/10
  
  Having been to Facebook and back it reminds me of the the old ladies who used to gather every Saturday morning in the movie theatre garden to gossip over their knitting and the latest movie magazines. Only now the age of the group has reduced. No less pathetic though!
  
  Reply
- Tripper Smurf says:
  
  07:43pm | 16/12/10
  
  Sure Zuckerberg is an alright choice, and there are definitley cogent arguments as to why he should win this subjective award.. I do reckon that there was pressure however to prevent the by far obvious ‘people’s choice’ Assange from getting the gong.
  
  He might get it next year… any Australian win the award before?
  
  Reply
- Expat says:
  
  09:55pm | 16/12/10
  
  Mark Zuckerberg ? Didn’t anyone do anything in 2010 ?
  
  People give man information for free. Man sells information. Laughs.
  
  ... or as Zuck put it to FSJ ...
  
  “Look, we’ve got half a billion idiots rounded up in a cage, and we’re going to wring billions of dollars out of these morons by slicing and dicing all sorts of data that they provide and then selling that data to advertisers.”
  
  Reply
- Lost for words says:
  
  11:00am | 17/12/10
  
  I disagree - Facebook is the last decade’s worst creation and the fact that Zuckerberg is being acknowledged as some sort of folk hero astounds me.
  
  Just for the record, I was a Facebooker for three years, this year closing my account down… why, you might ask?
  
  Facebook need to provide a FACE to let innocent victims of identity fraud and impersonation close rogue accounts down quickly. It took two weeks, two lawyers and heaps of faxes, all cosing dollars, to get Facebook to listen to me to actually enforce their usage policy and close down a fake account. How might Facebook provide a face? A phone number might be a start…
  
  If the world was rid of Facebook tomorrow it would be a better place.
  
  Reply
- CIA says:
  
  11:20am | 17/12/10
  
  Facebook is the death of open communications which is what made the net great in the first place. Its popularity will pass soon enough as people realise that any new friends can prowl your profile for the last years
  
  Reply
- Bob says:
  
  11:41am | 17/12/10
  
  Facebook is the superfluous creation of a “need”.In the Lorax - a parable of capitalism by DR Seuss an opportunist chops down all the truffula trees and turns them into “Thneeds”-dubious garments no one really needs.When the Lorax questions their usefulness the opportunist says “you never know what some poor fool will buy”
  
  Reply
- Sam says:
  
  01:16pm | 17/12/10
  
  The word “friend” really doesn’t mean much anymore does it. I change my friends like I change my socks.
  
  Reply
- Jason says:
  
  05:49pm | 17/12/10
  
  Honestly I felt I was more deserving, but I’ll get over it. After all, I won it in 2006!
  
  Reply

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Tombowler says:

Warren T says:

Jason says:

Macca says:

Chris says:

Steely Dan says:

Adrian says:

Adam Diver says:

Steely Dan says:

Dan says:

Grumpy & Cynical says:

kebabpete says:

Two cents says:

Taraq says:

Jasperjen says:

sha says:

nahummer says:

Matt says:

Wilma j Craig says:

Steely Dan says:

Dinkim Davo says:

Richard says:

Izzy says:

Luke says:

Luke says:

notSue says:

Zuckerwho? says:

Steve Smith says:

stephen says:

David says:

Izzy says:

Peter says:

Miles says:

Razor says:

Reg says:

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