PDAMediaThat hoodie: Is Facebook some kind of cult?
It was probably just the heat of the stage lights - but it was much more fun for the media to say it was the heat of those questions on privacy. But when Mark Zuckerberg finally took off his hoodie on stage at the D8 conference last week, he revealed an intriguing strategy-cum-Illuminati logo printed inside.
Nothing excites geeks like a conspiracy. D8 host Kara Swisher spotted it as Zuck took off his hoodie: "What are you in - some kind of cult?"
San Francisco News recreated the diagram in detail.
And now some entrepreneurially minded Facebooker has stuck one on eBay - with bids reaching $2,550.00. It could be a hoax, but the description claims:
"This is a limited edition, employee only, Facebook hoodie. The same exact one worn by Mark Zuckerberg at the D8 Conference. I was gifted this hoodie by a current employee at Facebook, but now it can be yours."
A Facebook employee later confirmed they are given to all staff. Chris Matyszczyk on CNet said it looked like "a logo that might well have been designed by someone who enjoys putting large spikes into his or her thighs".
Caroline McCarthy on CNet gave a characteristically concise summary:
"The company has maintained a collegiate vibe throughout its history, even long after it had moved from Harvard undergraduate dorms to the tony office digs of downtown Palo Alto. Fratty camaraderie breeds in-jokes. Facebook has very talented designers on staff. They made custom hoodies with - ooh, so clever! - a mission-statement design on the inside of the sweatshirt that was normally cloaked from public view. End of story. The world keeps spinning."
Anyone with a spare evening might like to Photoshop something and stick it on Threadless...
Interestingly, ZDNet yesterday asked: 'Who will be Mark Zuckerberg's Eric Schmidt', explaining how the Facebook founder could benefit from being mentored (and 'corporatised') by a professional executive. I think Zuckerberg already has his mentor in Robert Scoble, and though he's not likely to step into the corporate world any minute he is clearly someone Zuckerberg respects, and who has the ear of the development community Zuckerberg relates to and values the most.
Take a look at this post by Scoble who stuck up for Zuckerberg yesterday, saying he should be proud of his record and tell his critics to 'fuck off'. (Except Scoble's American, so he wouldn't actually print 'fuck off'.)
"He has - in less than seven years - created a company that has hired more than 1,000 people. How many other USA companies have hired 1,000 people in Silicon Valley in the past five years?"
He added that if Zuckerberg isn't enjoying being chief executive he should step down and work as head of R&D instead.
"But if Mark was on the phone and I gave him that advice I'd be secretly hoping he'd tell me (and Calacanis and Israel and all the rest of the chattering masses) to screw off and have him go off and change the world again."
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