Whatever your personal opinion of the site, there is no question that Facebook has changed the way we talk, share photos and make friends, and has helped make the world a smaller place. But what about the site’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg – is he a pioneering genius, or as a certain Hollywood film portrayed, a power-hungry megalomanic? Here are ten of his most notable quotes to help you decide…
"I think that people just have this core desire to express who they are. And I think that’s always existed."
Perfectly hitting one of the main reasons why his site became so incredibly popular, this quote comes from an interview with US TV host Charlie Rose in November 2011. Offering users a clear, comprehensive, personalisable platform was one of the reasons Facebook triumphed over its multitude of rivals.
"The question isn’t, ‘what do we want to know about people?’ It’s, ‘what do people want to tell about themselves?’"
From the same interview as above, which also featured company COO Sheryl Sandberg, Zuckerberg laid out one of the main queries critics had of Facebook, which had been accused of harvesting data from its users to bombard them with targeted adverts.
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"Helping a billion people connect is amazing, humbling and by far the thing I am most proud of in my life."
Facebook announced it had hit one billion users in October 2012, a mere seven years after its launch, and Zuckerberg marked the milestone by writing the above on his own Facebook profile page. The landmark was also marked by the infamous ‘Chairs’ video, which likened the global social network to the household chair, as both ‘are for people’.
"I think a simple rule of business is, if you do the things that are easier first, then you can actually make a lot of progress."
Another quote from the November 2011 Charlie Rose interview, which was a key event in publicising Zuckerberg as a person, not just a business entity. This has proved to be one of his most reproduced quotes. Simple in its advice, it can be taken on board by any wannabe entrepreneur or innovator.
"Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough."
This motto, which came out in a December 2009 article by Business Insider, is apparently the prime directive Zuckerberg looks to install into his employees, believing that, "unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough." One of Facebook’s core values, it has gone on to inspire the company to this day.
"All of my friends who have younger siblings who are going to college or high school – my number one piece of advice is: You should learn how to programme."
The self-taught coder Zuckerberg said the above as part of a February 2013 video for computer skills awareness group Code.org entitled "What Most Schools Don’t Teach". Also featuring from Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey and Drew Houston, the video sought to promote the teaching of computer science at schools.
"I do everything on my phone as a lot of people do."
Zuckerberg confirmed in September 2012 what a lot of us thought – he’s a big fan of his phone. The site took a rather long time to embrace mobile and tablet devices, notably taking two years to develop an iPad app, and although Mark’s current device of choice is unknown, but he said that he used to sleep with his BlackBerry besides his bed to act as a makeshift alarm clock.
"Facebook is really about communicating and telling stories…we think that people can really help spread awareness of organ donation and that they want to participate in this to their friends. And that can be a big part of helping solve the crisis that’s out there."
As Facebook grew, Zuckerberg looked to expand the philanthropic aspects of his creation. In May 2012, Facebook announced it was introducing a new feature to let users advertise whether they were an organ donor, and the reasons behind their choice to do so. Zuckerberg went on US daytime show Good Morning America to promote the scheme, which helped to raise awareness of organ donation throughout the country.
"Facebook [gives] people a voice who wouldn’t otherwise have one. It puts information out there in a way that’s generally positive."
This September 2013 quote, from an interview with The Atlantic’s Editor in Chief James Bennett, again illustrates the philanthropic nature of Zuckerberg, as well as his aims for the site he created. Despite allegations of hacking user data and sharing information with various government agencies, the site remains popular and will probably only continue to grow.
"Most things in life aren’t free."
But when you run the world’s most popular social network and are worth around $26bn (at the last estimate), they might as well be.
