Mark Zuckerberg, the 33 year old founder and CEO of Facebook, has developed a reputation of being stiff when forced to present himself as a typical corporate executive. In order to prepare for the ten hours of questioning on Capitol Hill concerning data proliferation and privacy concerns in social media, Zuckerberg was prepped by K Street public relations people to look professional and less robotic. Alas, that effort was only partially effective. Zuckerbook lost his typical grey hoodie for a suit which helped. But his scripted replies seemed synthetic and akin to an android. So much so, wags wondered if Mark Zuckerberg ought to be called Mr. Data Accumulator, an estranged relation of Data from Star Trek The Next Generation.
Prominent conservative voices in social media, such as Diamond and Silk and Dan Bongino, have vociferously voiced outrage that Big Internet has banned them as being unsafe for the social media community because of their outspoken ideological opinions. This parallels YouTube demonetizing many of Dennis Prager's popular Prager U videos because the conservative views expressed did not sync with the progressive views of their internet overlords. And Twitter is infamous for shadow banning conservatives, even Senator Ted Cruz, without recourse or equal application against outrageous leftist Twits. Diamond and Silk, who gained fame through their vigorous defense of then Presidential candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign, did not silently take this rough trade from Facebook. On Fox and Friends, Diamond and Silk postulated that Mark Zuckerberg needed to "[S]uck it up, buttercup" and accept diverse viewpoints and freedom of speech on its social network, just as the small Indiana pizzeria would be forced to cater a same-sex wedding despite their religious objections to the ceremony. Alas, Diamond and Silk have a weak case in a court of law. Without meandering into the details of RFRA and First Amendment religious liberty, same-sex marriage proponents could point to civil rights legislation which the Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Harris claim a right to dignity for that class. What protected class can Diamond and Silk rightfully claim against Facebook? However, in the court of public opinion, Facebook engaging in ideological viewpoint discrimination could be a compelling case for action. Does MySpace mean anything to Mark Zuckerberg? That was a social media precursor to Facebook, but when it stopped being cool, it became ghost of itself and a dark web conduit. Facebook is much bigger and is receiving congressional scrutiny. Between viewpoint discrimination and revelations of data mining, shareholders should be concerned if Facebook were to become a fraction of its former self. Facebook has ceased to be a mainly youth oriented site. Adults may well chafe at having their lives data sold by the social media company. But for motivated conservatives, this cyber censorship may well have this active demographic find alternatives to speak freely, like on GAB.
Scott Jordan is an entrepreneur who developed a line of clothing which allows for fashionably carrying gadgets within the garments. Jordan even went on ABC's Shark Tank in 2012 in a bid to raise funds for his technology enabled clothing (but Jordan rejected the the offers).
ScotteVest snowballed into a $10 million company by 2015.
ScotteVest's pricey e-commerce product line were often seen advertised on Fox News, presumably to appeal to geeky traveling businessmen who tired of fumbling gadgets when they went through TSA lines.
ScotteVest CEO Scott Jordan may have unraveled this fashion market niche by oversharing on social media. Scott Jordan had developed a reputation of being an outspoken CEO on social media, pumping products and pimping his progressive politics. However Jordan recently shared on Facebook a smarmy post which revealed marketing strategy while denigrating his customers.
While one could certainly see a small time celebutard who is full of himself to contemptuously sneer at the little people on whom you've made your millions while taking a chair lift in Ketchum ski resort. But it is almost unfathomable that he would share this "burn" on social media. It really makes one wonder, to use Jordan's parlance, who is the "f**king idiot?
After Jordan's Facebook faux-pas festered for a few days, the ScotteVest CEO posted an incomplete apology on Twitter, which linked to the original Facebook post. Unfortunately, the Facebook post had been deleted.
No doubt that this story certainly won't make ScotteVest's media buzz page. But the internet never forgets. The question is whether ScotteVest's customers will be willing to forget that they are considered to be gullible f**king idiots" by the guy profiting from their sales.
Social Media is a wonderful way for companies to reach customers. One need not be "Always Be Closing" when sharing on social media and genuineness is a way to cement bonds with fickle customers of an expensive, niche products. But denigrating the demographic which lined one's pockets is an odd way to reach out to customers. A smart CEO would have kept his crass critiques of customers closer to his ScotteVest. Enjoy your après-skicanapés and hope that your cup is not forever full of sour grapes.
Alas, that effort was only partially effective. Zuckerbook lost his typical grey hoodie for a suit which helped. But his scripted replies seemed synthetic and akin to an android. So much so, wags wondered if Mark Zuckerberg ought to be called Mr. Data Accumulator, an estranged relation of Data from Star Trek The Next Generation.
