briansolis - Latest Comments in Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

zukerberghassao — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:29:57 -0000

no way sarah

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

Scott — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:13:00 -0000

"Sarah is thankful for the opportunity, appreciative of her friendship with Mark, and isn’t pointing the finger at anyone."

Flat-out inaccurate, in her own words:

http://twitter.com/sarahcud...

Web 2.0 for spin control FTL. Everyone is missing the point. *sigh*

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:38:00 -0000

this sounds like Mark received the brunt of the blame in this piece, for being so "elusive" and unwilling to share.

Also, claiming this isn't a puff piece, doesn't make it so. Yeah yeah yeah, Lacy was so selfless in the end. She wanted Mark to look good.

Save it.

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

Doc Mara — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 19:55:00 -0000

SXSW jumps the shark--creepy and entitled audience eats circus performers.

News at 11.

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:51:00 -0000

Since when is a bad interview on stage an excuse for audience members to behave like utter assholes? Sorry, but I don't get it. I don't care if you think this journalist was a "bad" interviewer or not; that's no excuse to act like an ill bred prick while sitting in the audience.

Or do tech people really think they should be carrying their ill mannered internet flamewars into the real world?

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

K.G. Schneider — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 07:43:00 -0000

The number of comments referring to "this woman" or "that woman" creep me out. A journalist gave a softball interview to a rich white guy, and the audience acted like jerks. Gee, I want to go to SXSW next year... not.

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

jebworks — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:08:00 -0000

Who cares! Aren't there more important issues out there to write about than a flirtatious chat between a young journalist and what seems to me a pretty self-centered young geek billionaire in front of a crowd of geeks with low social skills who need a few more years of life experience that might make them acquire some of them necessary to succeed in the world as more than tech geeks.
Pitiful, really but probably not unusual for this time of online voyeurism.

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

pix — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:54:00 -0000

Thoughtful post indeed. My response ended up being a bit epic, so I decided to post it to my own blog and link it here.

Short version: If it could have been handled better, why wasn't it?

How do we as the SxSW community make it better going forward?

[personal note] I think Lacey's lack of professionalism and relies on her "feminine wiles" (so to speak) give women in tech a bad name.

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

dyerbrookME — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:13:00 -0000

Susan Reynolds has had by far the best cultural take on this event. But there is still the problem of journalism.

I'm glad that Cindy weighed in here with the excellent point -- finally! -- that SXSW does not belong only to tekkies. So this barking mandate from all these male tekkies to "know your audience" and "play to the coders making APIs" is off based.

The crowd there by now a huge amalgam of new media users, bloggers, designers, artists, machinimists, etc. So the notion of some sort of constituency that is "entitled" to a memcache sort of discussion (as Scoble called it) is just that -- more entitlement-happyness from this constituency. They should have been told to simmer down, they'd have their Dev Garage in the next hour, and meanwhile, more broader questions about business *can and should be asked* of a social media magnate claiming to be worth a billion plus and claiming to have the attention -- and more -- of 60 million people. You don't get to just talk about memcache when you have that kind of power -- sorry!

And that's the moral of this story: it's not just that "power is shifting" as the blogger said linked below, it's that the old media and the new media consumers are failing to realize that social media is a corporate power like any other corporate power, and the fourth estate has to prevent itself from being subservient to it as it would to any other.

As we've now had spelt out many times, Facebook and SXSW *themselves* choreographed this show. Few seem to be unwilling to blame *choreographing itself* as the problem. The critique here, new-media style, seems to be about performance, about hair-twirling, or breaking the proscenium arch, and asking the audience to confirm a fact that the interview subject was stalling about.

Whatever Lacy's failure to gain rapport, or her tendency to use the occasion to pump herself, the fact is, when you have an impassive, passive/aggressive figure like Zuckerberg *not* answering questions, and making long, half-insolent, half-innocent stalls, it merely becomes a distorted mirror itself to reflect back the interviewer's struggles.

If you are going to teach journalism, however, I don't see that you can justifiably teach merely "performance". Leave that to the dramatics arts class, or the marketing class. You do have to teach the five ws. Lacy asked him if he thought he was worth a billion. He couldn't answer. So he's not. The crowd went wild at that stark realization.

Prokofy Neva

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

Susan Reynolds — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:27:00 -0000

More of the story in this case seems like simply more of the story, not something that changes my take on it.

I'm not sure anyone could have done this sort of interview in a way that would have pleased everyone in the room, but put a flirtatious reporter twirling her hair and doing the "I'm so tight with Mark" shtick on-stage with a self-involved young guy like Zuckerberg and you've got a situation almost preordained to explode in a most unhappy way.

It's all about entitlement. The audience felt entitled to a conversation between two individuals of substance. What they got were two people who may have good qualities but who ooze their own sense of entitlement; in this case, entitlement to stardom.

The organizers seem to have felt that landing Zuckerberg meant they were entitled to stop there and let his fame/youth/reticence thing override a substantive presentation. They had to know that their audience would be disappointed - and in this case say so vociferously.

The reactions of all parties after the fact speaks volumes: not much of it involving the word "class."

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

Cindy Royal — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:55:00 -0000

I've attended SXSW for years, and none of the Keynotes are technical. They are usually familiar and informal, as when Jimmy Wales hosted the conversation with Craig Newmark in 2006. The audience has a developer constituency, but also consists of designers, students, journalists, executives, professionals, academics...anyone with an enthusiasm for technology.

I was at the Zuckerberg keynote, about 7th row, experienced it firsthand. Lacy was a terrible interviewer...period. People were annoyed by her style of not asking questions and talking about herself. However, I found the content of Mark's comments to be intelligent, providing a much better insight on his character and motivations.

Students in my Issues in New Media course blogged the event at sxtsu.blogspot.com, so visit to get their perspective.

SXSWi was amazing this year. They know what they are doing.

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

Aaron — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:24:00 -0000

everywhere I look lately she is blaming someone else for this event gone wrong. The problem was NOT the focus of the interview, it was the way she managed it. She needs to work harder and practice at publc interviews. It is an art. Being a good journalist doesn't mean you are a good interviewer. She lost control of the crowd and never appeared to have control of herself. Blame the crowd, blame sxsw, blame everyone by youself.

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

Michael — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:36:00 -0000

You hit on it, knowing your audience is a big part of this.

The thing about her friendship with Zuckerberg and her wanting to show people his personality, etc....OK, but what happened to the idea that journalists are the 4th branch of the government? When does 'friendship' come into this? When did impartiality give way to flaunting? I've had reporters who I know pretty well still refuse to let me buy them a drink or a meal, let alone hug me on stage...(Yes, you can say no to what a CEO asks you to do).

Sorry, man, realize it's a bit cynical but there's a higher standard for this.

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

Brian Solis — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 02:10:00 -0000

Just to be clear, Sarah is not a client.

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 02:05:00 -0000

As someone sitting in the room when this session went down, let me say that it was absolutely painful.

Brian, thanks for seeking out the other side of the story, but it doesn't begin to make me think I'm at all wrong to think this was an unmitigated disaster.

Sadly, knowing the "rest of the story" doesn't make me feel better because the rest of the story is that basically Facebook asked a reporter with very odd journalistic boundaries and horrendous moderation abilities to conduct a pre-scripted, likely rehearsed "fireside chat" covering topics and answers that could have just as easily been released in press release format.

Strangely, this background doesn't really help their case...

Jake McKee
communityguy.com

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

dyerbrookME — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 01:49:00 -0000

Ok, just so I can keep all this straight with the new media and all. Re: "the new PR model of engagement with the customer. Lacy is your customer"

So, now did Sarah hire Brian as a PR agent? or was that just a figure of speech?

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

Francine Hardaway — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 22:07:00 -0000

Sweet! Nice job, Brian. This approach is really typical of the new PR model of engagement with the customer. Lacy is your customer and you treat her with the utmost respect.

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

Amy — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 22:06:00 -0000

"Sarah Lacy, the person behind the journalist, so that we can have a genuine, honest, and sincere look at her world, both coming into this and leaving with her head up, spirits bruised, but diligence and perseverance stronger than ever."

This belongs in Cosmo Girl! not a tech blog. Seriously.

You would never see this kind of "reporting" if the interviewer was a man. A look at her world? Sincere? Bruised spirits?

Why stop there? Why not add a heart-wrenching half-tearful, half-hopeful glisten to her eye and a slight and not unattractive heave to her saintly chest?

The woman did a terrible job, acted utterly without dignity and she deserves the criticism heaped on her. For all I know, she always does a terrible job, but I had never heard of her before the keynote and certainly have no desire to learn anything more about her in the future.

I am, however, more than slightly disgusted to see her get a free pass because she's got breasts.

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

Brian Solis — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:18:00 -0000

WOW!!!! THANK YOU EVERYONE!!! I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to respond. I'm on the road heading back from SXSW. I will responded to each and everyone when I get back. I just wanted to take a quick minute to thank you for your feedback, whether or not we agree, your time and words are important...

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

fourlittlebees — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:30:00 -0000

SXSW is no longer about being a good technical conference, but about having the opportunity to be a "cool" kid for once. It's evident that the majority of the attendees are there to goof around, socialize, and go out drinking. If you want a serious tech discussion, you don't ever want to hear the CEO speak. You want the CTO, and any developer with half a brain would admit that.

What's even worse to me are the women who are calling her "unprofessional" or reference any mannerisms as flirty, blah, blah. Let's face it. Most of us would kill for her job. If I was offered a column at BusinessWeek and had a book coming out? I'd be pimping that every chance I got too. As would any of us.

This juvenile carrying on is nothing new at conferences, but at the point at which you are heckling a journalist in front of a CEO, who do you REALLY thinks looks bad in the end? The journalist or the gits in the audience?

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

Bertil Hatt — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 19:46:00 -0000

Maybe to summarise: I spent an hour wondering “Does he have a girlfriend?”

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:55:00 -0000

She played with her hair and giggled like a nervous school girl for the duration of the interview. Her questions seemed like a personal evaluation of how much she could be worth if she could just convince this boy to marry her. hehehehehe, I love you, Mark. hehehehe, When is Facebook going public? hehehehehe, Are you going to make me sign a pre-nuptial agreement?

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

avin — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:50:00 -0000

very nice post, great to see someone getting Sarah's (and Mark's, for that matter) take on the story.

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

Wendy Piersall — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:16:00 -0000

Brian, I respect the hell out of you, and I also really have to state my opposing view on it.

I don't think Lacy did any favors for Zuckerman. She was condescending, cut him off, and made him look really bad. I *don't* think he looked great in the end, but he did look great compared to his interviewer. He basically repeated himself over and over again with each answer - quite honestly because I don't think he knew what the hell else to say.

She also did NO favors for women in tech, working hard to gain visibility and credibility in a male-dominated world. I was embarrassed for her throughout the entire presentation - and left wishing that a nervous, newbie blogger was the one up there interviewing Mark - at least I wouldn't then be wondering now if this supposed woman business leader in our field is sleeping her way to her interviewees stages.

Let me be clear after throwing that out there that I'm only saying this purely on watching this woman on stage from row 10. I think that what I and others are reacting to here are not as much the words they heard (which were bad enough) but also what her body language was saying; which were arguably louder than the words themselves.

It quite honestly pissed me off that she would handle herself so unprofessionally in that room. The conference was supposed to be about brilliant people in the tech industry, and I feel she seriously degraded that standard with her performance on stage.

Re: Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:14:00 -0000

I'm calling into question the validity of this controversial statement below:

"So here’s the real story.

This keynote was designed in collaboration with SXSW. They wanted a conversational fireside chat that was representative of their friendship. Together, they decided that they would forgo Q&A in advance. They hired Lacy because she’s a “business” reporter, not a developer or a geek capable of asking technical questions. They wanted a business discussion. But, since its SXSW and not the Web 2.0 Summit, they wanted it to be fun, lively, and engaging.

If anyone underestimated the audience, it was the conference organizers. That’s my opinion not hers."

Where did you get this information? SXSW doesn't "hire" anyone. And they did not choose Sarah Lacy. Facebook did. Even Facebook will tell you that.