The Walls Have Crumbled And Facebook Was Built To Exploit That

The “media baron” in the traditional sense is dead. The people who provide platforms for others to tell stories that reach millions of people in an instant are the new titans and the opportunity to create those platforms is equally available to all. This argument is effectively articulated in Larry Lessig’s review of The Social Network.

Larry effectively articulates something I have been telling my friends for the past few years:

What’s important here is that Zuckerberg’s genius could be embraced by half-a-billion people within six years of its first being launched, without (and here is the critical bit) asking permission of anyone. The real story is not the invention. It is the platform that makes the invention sing. Zuckerberg didn’t invent that platform. He was a hacker (a term of praise) who built for it. And as much as Zuckerberg deserves endless respect from every decent soul for his success, the real hero in this story doesn’t even get a credit. It’s something Sorkin doesn’t even notice.

The internet is the ultimate platform in which developers and story tellers have become the new leaders. Developers around the world, just like Mark Zuckerberg, recognize the potential which exists and continue the race to exploit this. The most incredible part of this race is that it’s a race with one’s self. The internet has brought about the most legitimate meritocracy in history and there is literally nobody who can prevent you from taking advantage of this. Larry Lessig eloquently articulates this with the following statement:

Zuckerberg faced no [barriers]. For less than $1,000, he could get his idea onto the Internet. He needed no permission from the network provider. He needed no clearance from Harvard to offer it to Harvard students. Neither with Yale, or Princeton, or Stanford. Nor with every other community he invited in. Because the platform of the Internet is open and free, or in the language of the day, because it is a “neutral network,” a billion Mark Zuckerbergs have the opportunity to invent for the platform.

It truly is a revolution. The scariest part of all this to me personally is that the most compelling stories are what deliver “truth” on a daily basis. The random guy on youtube who can hold one million viewers’ attention for a few minutes can become just as influential as the owner of a newspaper. However building an empire that is comparable to the traditional media barons/titans/moguls is extremely challenging (not that building an empire was ever easy).

When one of the world’s largest blogs, Techcrunch, was sold for less than $40 million last week, many in the industry wondered how it could have been sold for so little. Then again, if we were to consider Techcrunch to be one vertical in a massive network, it makes sense how it would be sold for tens of millions and not hundreds of millions of dollars. Regardless of the valuations of blogs and the like, what’s clear is that the Platform is open (the internet) and anybody has the opportunity to exploit that.

While Larry Lessig states that the openness of the Platform is at risk with the new net neutrality bills, arguing that they are essentially an attempt to rebuild the walls that had previously crumbled almost two decades ago when the world wide web was first introduced, I am unfortunately not informed enough on the topic to argue one way or the other. However if I am to assume that “the people” will win, and the free network will be protected, the movie The Social Network should serve as inspiration for all who are alive today.

Not because of the fabricated Hollywood story, but because the tale of the creation of Facebook is a tale that many people can relate to. Facebook speaks to the true potential provided by the Internet. While Facebook has exploited this potential to extreme levels, it’s a potential that exists to all of us today. We truly live in incredible times.

Crumbled wall image via Power House Museum.