Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, is “the man.” He represents everything I wish that our black boys would be, where you spend as much time grinding in front of your computer as you spend dribbling basketballs or busting rhymes in the studio. It was sheer hustle, education, vision and the willingness to bust his butt on late Saturday nights that now gives the 28-year old Zuckerberg more money than any rapper or athlete could ever dream of having.
In fact, Mark Zuckerberg will earn more money from interest alone in the next six months than Jay-Z has earned over his entire life, and he doesn’t even have to call himself a n*gga to do it. That’s what you call “ballin.” Not only does have money, he has POWER. He controls a substantial portion of your life, and he can even destroy your entire business with the click of a mouse.
Facebook has changed lives, leading some people to think they have friends that really don’t exist, or to create shallow relationships that clump together and provide a fraction of the satisfaction that comes from real human interaction. Personally, I have about a few thousand ”friends” on Facebook, and the sad truth is that I only know about .1% of these people personally. At the same time, I love the back-and-forth interaction of the Facebook community, for it creates a culture that will come to define this generation in a significant way.
With that being said, Facebook is very helpful to me and nearly anyone who uses it. It helps to resurrect old classmates that you haven’t seen since they were 14-years old, and it allows you to keep tabs on annoying relatives without actually having to call them: ”You know we had a baby, right?” ….”Yep, I saw all 75 pictures on Facebook.”
© 2012, Dr. Boyce Watkins. All rights reserved.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Finance Professor at Syracuse University and author of the book, “Black American Money.” He is one of the leading financial scholars and social commentators in America. He advocates for education, economic empowerment and social justice and has changed the definition of what it means to be a Black scholar and leader in America.
