It’s sort of funny when Facebook’s Randi Zuckerberg takes her frustration out on a club bouncer by saying (it has now been removed) it would be “a huge bummer if their facebook pages “accidentally” went down.” But it’s also terrible messaging for the fast growing company. Randi is founder Mark Zuckerberg’s sister, an executive of the company and also their unofficial spokesperson. Her statements carry weight, can be intimidating and considered an abuse of power.
It’s also a recurring theme with Zuckerberg, who was in the news a couple of weeks ago for facilitating a minor but annoying violation of the Facebook terms of service to help out a friend.
I’m not trying to paint this picture as something that it isn’t. Randi was clearly joking around and venting frustration. But it illustrates an underlying way of thinking that needs to be nipped in the bud. Facebook has long referred to user data as “our data,” ignoring the fact that in reality it’s the users’ data, not theirs to do with as they please. Likewise, Facebook is a community of people. This community will accept a benign dictatorship. Even a police state, perhaps, if the benefits are clear. But too many vendettas and shows of favoritism and that community could turn.
I don’t believe that Randi would actually take action at Facebook to get back at this bouncer. But the message this sends is terrible, and it shows that she may not fully understand the weight of her words. It’s time for Facebook’s executive team to step things up a notch and realize that as fun as Facebook is, this isn’t a game.
We’ve reached out to both Randi and Facebook for comment.
Update: Facebook’s official statement is “This comment was clearly intended as a light-hearted joke. It goes without saying that there is no intended consequence beyond voicing a personal opinion.” The twitter message has been removed.
Wow what a loser.
these girls are always so. but u need to be more considerate and favorable to them, for your own good, michael.
is she even younger than Zuck?
loozer.
whatever, she’d be nothing if she wasn’t linked to Mark by DNA.
Yeah, that was a really dumb comment. I hope her brother puts her in check!
I think the real story is that the first place she goes to speak her mind is Twitter, not facebook
@davidpaz – You hit the nail on the head…
I love randi, when I start my company I’m bringing on my brother as Chief PR Nightmare. He drinks MUCCHHHH more than Randi I believe.
I’ve met her several times (unfortunately), she thinks she’s something special.
Randi, hate to break it to you but you’re not smart or funny or interesting. You happen to be someone’s brother and that’s it. Get over yourself.
take it easy. she’s actually very smart and very nice.
Obviously not smart enough to know that such a comment on twitter is miles across the do-not-cross line. People make mistakes and learn from the consequences. Unfortunately people in her situation (sister to the man), smart or not, hardly suffer real consequences, so they never learn.
Agree with Mike – the times I’ve met Randi she’s been extremely nice and friendly. She’s also very approachable.
also she is someones sister. I hope so.
She may be all those things, but certainly not humble.
agree. she’s a bit full of herself. not so nice.
Randi is someone’s brother? Dude, hush up about it …
Randi is exceptionally smart and talented and certainly not vindictive. I understand the point of Mike’s post and the optics around the tweet, but I think insulting her or facebook isn’t fair. The reality is that Randi, who I have come to know personally over the last few years, is completely humble and unassuming about the fact that she is Zuck’s sister and a FB exec. I guess the lesson here is that no matter how light-hearted a tweet might seem, you have to be very careful when you are either a public figure and/or the voice of a company whom people entrust with important content.
that’s the message i’m trying to convey.
it’s only worth talking about because Facebook is now a threat: creeping up on Yahoo with an anti-Internet attitude, frames and content-sanitizing.
If they plan to grow up they better hurry.. because we’ll all probably be talking about some other site in 2-3 years anyways.
i actually think she would. the fact she posted his named on twitter shows just how mad she was with the situation. she is very lucky mark is her brother or she would be uploading her resume on careerbuilder.com.
there’s that blurred line again between professional life and personal opinions. it’s hard. all of us have done it. said stuff where we’re thinking
“oh crap, should we have said that. i forgot so and so reads this, is following this, i represent this company, my boss might read this, my mom might not approve”
it’s hard. i’m sure after this post she’s going to beware of spontaneous tweets. but see, then it’s not as fun. dunno. just thinking out loud.
i don’t see it as a blurred line issue, since she directly dragged facebook across the line with her.
yea, i get what you mean. she could have just said the bouncer was a jerk. didn’t have to add the facebook part to it.
maybe shouldn’t have dragged the bouncers name into it either…
Hey Mike, You really nailed it with this post. That’s why TC is fucking awesome, you speak your mind even if it means confronting wrongdoing by someone you personally know. I have to say you are indeed a bit biased when talking about Google though.
i’m biased when i talk about everything. that’s the point. everyone is biased about everything. most people just won’t admit it.
yep, FB should realize that Google is coming….Google will eat their little social network alive before the end of the year. As for “their data”, i still insist that 250 million is not even 10% of the potential market for their category and all those people either have a gmail, yahoo or live account. They can all move in a couple of hours!
this is nuts. she has no business saying that…even drunk. I have done some pretty stupid things during my tenure in technology, and I didn’t have my brother to bail me out. If this truly is way facebook sees it’s users, then we need to find another platform.
Well that’s what happens when you have inexperienced teenie boppers running the show.
it is like me saying I will bash a pizza place for making me wait on line on http://www.worstpizza.com. You have maintain your ethics when in a position of power, I am disappointed in her
no, it’s not the same as shameless promo.
haha, brilliant.
google “celebrity missteps”. actually don’t. It just leads to a larry chiang post. Goodness why is it that all I know how to do is sell?
i think that’s gotta be one of the worst public portrayals of the facebook executive team. never ever, even if you’re joking, make claims about altering with user’s data.
like spider-geek always says: “with 200+ MM users, comes great responsibility”
It’s not a good message with an exec threatens to wield power for evil, not good, especially when the ground is still shakey when it comes to user trust. The data ownership issue defnitely made me raise an eybrow, and now this is just laughable. I love the irony that someone who lives and breathes the in’s and outs of social networks would take to Twitter’s public forum to vent and throw around threats. It’s obviously a joke, but the internet collectively has a bad sense of humor.
I can see this conversation going like this:
James: Get your drunk ass out of this bar!
Randi: u dunt kno who i am do u? LULz1! i am mark zuuuckk *barfs* enbeeergs sister!!!!
James: “……………..”
Thanks but I’ll stick to gossip about real celebs like rihanna’s nude shots.
It’s awesome that she could get all that in perfectly with 140 characters. That’s a pretty well crafted twit.
I am sure Randi will be speaking to HR or legal on either anger mgmt, public intox or just plain blowing chunks as a public face of a company. Bouncer is likely to file suit now due to techcrunch giving it cred.
All this aside, Like davidpaz said — where is here mobile FB update, why Twitter — she really stepped deep in the dog sh__ on the sidewalk of life on this one. Why doesn’t FB just get it over and buy Twitter before Apple does. This proves how much they need each other.
This bleedin Zuckerberg bloke needs a good kick up his harris.
In about Three years time his Facebook site won’t be worth a tush.
He should try and sell his Company to Microsoft today and get some proper paper money instead of owning 20% of jack shit.
Sell it now while its worth at least something before it’s bubble value goes down faster than bleedin Ricky Hatton.
I think it’s time for Facebook to find their Eric Schmidt (their grown up CEO). These kids just don’t have the experience to turn this into something huge, and they may have already missed their boat. I forgive her for her comment, she’s just acting her age but that’s kind of Arrington’s point, I think. She needs to act 10-20 years older than her age.
James should have let her in, what about his abuse of power? Randi is sexy, Lets see James.
This is no different from Sarah Palin making trouble for her sister’s–or sister in law’s–ex-husband, the Alaska State Trooper.
She’s in the same category of human being, sadly.
It would be equal to Eric Schmidt saying,
“it would be unfortunate if somehow techcrunch wasn’t indexed on Google anymore.. Just kidding!”
That would just be a questionable and immature statement.
Strange, how without meaning to, Twitter shows its power.
The message may have been “removed”, but it’s still there, for all eternity…
You might say its the ‘Julia Allison disease’ of thinking that power gives right to walk over everyone without realizing that power does the opposite in that gives great responsibility.
You gotta be kidding me. Snot-nosed little brat who would be a NOBODY without her brother. Fire her. Send her back to Burger King where she belongs. The people with money these days is getting pathetic. Goes to show what God thinks of money… look who he gives it to.
Wow! I am amazed by this. Let’s hope this woman never holds any office that grants her real power and authority. Remember Randi: Loose lips…
this is just unfortunately how ‘these people think’. at the end of the day the comments probably have no impact on facebook or even her.
So Rania was *not* the first princess to tweet after all… Oh well.
I get the joke you were trying to make (about Randi being a JAP, Jewish-American Princess), but Rania is a queen, not a princess. Just sayin’.
You n00bs get something better to do with your time then bitch about people bitching…besides…what’s wrong with having an opinion, a light-hearted joke for that matter – you wouldn’t clown on her in person – Facebook isn’t a government agency and they can choose who they want to serve like any other business.
Did I just see -US$500,000,000 on a FB valuation as a result of this? Hmmmm.
Good night Mike!
The data definitely belongs to Facebook, it is their properties and they have rights to use internally as they see fit in with how they run their business.
OMG! My Facebook pages are gone! What will I do now? Oh, benevolent goddess of the web, please breath life back into my account so I can exist again.
She should have read the T&Cs:
“no shirt, no shoes, no service.”
Facebook is for Sheep.
And TC is for electric sheep
Completely unprofessional. After the stunt she pulled with Julia Allison, her true colors are being revealed. Clearly only has the job due to blatant nepotism.
Yeah, i’d tap that.
I think it shows that she is an elitist, stuck up bitch. and of course, I am using Facebook Connect to post this….
hmm joke or not, shouldn’t be said
Wow…. you guys take the internet WAYYYY too seriously! OOOOOOH SCANDALZZZZ… ur all suckers to capitalism.. who gives a sh*t!!! I mean really… you don’t like it then get off Facebook – they are offering a service of convenience to you, for FREE; you don’t agree to the ToS but still join up… only to bitch and whinge about it… gah the general public are so stoopid and anal! Lighten up and do something constructive like…. hmm i dunno… make a competitor to Facebook (like i’m doing for my country) ;D
Good luck with that
I don’t have anything against dumb people. Dumb people who think they’re smart, however…those ones, I find insufferable.
I’m with daniel on this one, sure she said something meanspirited, but your not taking into account the other variables, think.. you’ve just been kicked out of a club for behaving poorly, your pissed right off, so you go home and do what any geek-geekette would do, twitter your hate, and merely because this particular user has some position on a social networking site with a large userbase you all bay at the moon like a bunch of loonies. If you cant handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. aka, hang up your FB shoes and Stop using the service. gtfo n00bs.
Inside Scoop:
Her brother gave her severe verbal lashing, and she apologized profusely. Everything is alright now. She has agreed to do 100 sit-ups as punishment.
All’s well.
Relax
Worst non-entity ever: Randi Z.
She has a job because of her brother, but her stupidity is all her own…
Come on giver her a break, that was a joke, could you guy understand ironical statements not coded in binary.
There’s nothing “light-hearted” about that tweet.
I already had one four year high school experience. I have no idea why we keep wanting to rerun the thing over and over well into our 30s and 40s, just with new cheerleaders, and from our cubicle.
Is life that boring?
Good write up Mike, funny story for you. Randi Zuckerberg violated the Facebook terms of service by converting friend requests to fans for “Julia Allison”. How do I know? I woke one day and was automatically added as a fan without my permission! When I asked about it she deleted my note.
I googled how this was possible and it turns out Randi Zuckerberg is friends with this woman and she did it as a favor. How is that ok?
“Average” people like all of us do not get this preferential treatment.
Clearly Randi Zuckerberg abuses her “power” all the time and these are just the instances we know about it.
Someday they’ll all be over 40.