r/technology • u/NowThatsMalarkey • Feb 21 '25

Social Media Mark Zuckerberg’s makeover didn’t make people like him, study shows

https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/20/mark-zuckerbergs-makeover-didnt-make-people-like-him-study-shows/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANAZlr-hGuhX1KqqPjBTkTce5FHYoTfozy456eW6cuu8YldzC5rpGfIlP07_a0jXdYc_eaaM6DrAXHX5G8e2xGc5SpbfTOxsJAwxR81w_TBGJlcjoLsVnZ8PWO1lNJgWgzm3MMz0BHDbCl-W5ehgrTueoJBD4LubB0aUd2ecJ39Y
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u/rnilf Feb 21 '25

Doesn't really matter if people like him if everyone keeps using his company's products, which only continues to increase his wealth and power...

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u/SuperToxin Feb 21 '25

But that’s the funny thing about him and baby elon, they want to be liked by people it seems.

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u/bizarro_kvothe Feb 21 '25

Does he need to be liked? Absolutely not. He likes to be liked. He enjoys being liked. He has to be liked. But it’s not like a compulsive need, like his need to be praised.

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u/coconutpiecrust Feb 21 '25

He should do likeable things, then. I thought he was smart. 

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u/InEenEmmer Feb 21 '25

It takes a certain kind of person to do likeable things though.

Things like being a decent person and showing compassion.

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u/[deleted] Feb 21 '25 edited Feb 21 '25

I feel like he could like...give a shit ton of money to help people and just...do nothing and become more likable. Become seen as a philanthropist and a bit of a recluse.

Edit: relevant consideration, roughly two decades ago, Bill Gates was the richest guy on earth. He spent literally a fortune to improve the world to help people. And he's still richer than he was then because capitalism will always make these people richer.

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u/PluotFinnegan_IV Feb 22 '25

But Bill is still disliked by a lot of people by simply existing.

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u/[deleted] Feb 22 '25

Fair. Bill Gates does have much more popularity than Zuckerberg though. According to that article, Zuckerberg is -33% popularity and Gates has about +20% popularity. And I am curious if that has changed any in the last few years since the whole WHO/Gates/Covid-19 vaccine conspiracy nonsense.

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u/PluotFinnegan_IV Feb 22 '25

That's true, I wasn't trying to suggesting Zuck and Bill are equally disliked. From what I know about Bill he seems like a guy that was laser focused on doing it all and being the biggest in the 80s and 90s, retired from Microsoft and came to a realization that he earned a lot of his money in some pretty vicious ways and is trying to atone. It could all be to polish his public image but I feel if that were the case he could have done that for a lot less than what he's put into various charitable efforts and his own foundation.

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u/thebrobarino Feb 22 '25

There are some people who dislike him for "simply existing" but to imply that all the criticism he receives is because "haters gonna hate" is denying reality.

Gates has done a lot of philanthropy, but philanthropy is not good in itself unless it's been implemented in the proper ways.

Gates thought that because he was good at coding, that gave him the expertise to completely overhaul the modern education system. He did not, in fact, have that expertise. He poured billions into reforming public education but had no background in pedagogy and therefore had no idea what he was doing or what the consequences of his actions would be.

Here's a good article explaining his monumental fuck up: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/the-plot-against-public-education-111630/

He has some pretty valid haters.

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u/PluotFinnegan_IV Feb 22 '25

I'm not seeing the monumental fuck up here. He had an idea, pitched the idea, put his own money into the idea, doesn't seem like he profited from it at all, and later acknowledged it failed.

I couldn't find much on the long-term effects of this initiative, but I did find this, which states that the efforts didn't have a significant impact and affected schools did not improve.

I also found this and this - Repeated, consistent statements that their efforts were well-intentioned but ultimately unsuccessful.

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u/BogiDope Feb 22 '25

Imagine if you were a billionaire - with more wealth that you could ever spend in several lifetimes, how little compassion it would require to look around you and decide to use your resources to alleviate human suffering around you, as opposed to going FUCK EVERYONE ELSE, I NEED MOR!!! I NEED EVERYTHING!!!

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u/bloodontherisers Feb 21 '25

And those types of people don't get to be the richest people in the world

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u/JIsADev Feb 21 '25

i never met a billionaire but i bet they are ruthless in the office and meeting rooms

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u/bloodontherisers Feb 22 '25

It is really just a relentless willingness to exploit others. That's all it boils down to. They have no empathy and I would venture most, if not all, are also narcissist.

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u/Fr0zn Feb 22 '25

Ive met some very, very wealthy people through my work and personal life and had enough time with them to get an idea of what kind of people they are.

There is no underlying characteristics that i could see that they share. They are just like the rest of us in the sense that there are the narsistic types, who want it all for themselves, the cunning business types who are not necessarily evil, but seem to make every interaction or situation be most benefitial to them and yes, i’m sure there are plenty of rotten ones too, but i havent personally seen that side of them or met anyone like that.

However there are also many who genuinely seem kind and very grateful for how lucky they have been to reach the heights they have.

These people i would wager are a much bigger number than we see in the public eye, because much like any other person with a good soul, they dont want the spotlight or tell other people what to do with their lives.

They understand that their success is a combination of hard work, perfect timing, incredible luck and most of all great people around them and don’t go around giving advice or taking credit. They are incredibly generous to the people around them and usually you couldn’t tell that they are very wealthy until they ask you to come by for a drink some weekend at their place and the place turns out to be a yacht that you can sail oceans with.

No idea what the percentages are, but i guess i have been very lucky to mostly have met several of the latter types who have been very nice people to spend time with.

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u/Corona-walrus Feb 21 '25

Smoking these meats  https://youtu.be/eBxTEoseZak?si=Dc89kJw6x1Yy2LlA

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u/coconutpiecrust Feb 21 '25

Hahaha, I have never seen this. Thanks for sharing. 

According to Curtis Yarvin, this completely average awkward guy is crème de la crème of humanity 

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u/nanocookie Feb 22 '25

Lol this is some interdimensional cable material

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u/Repulsive_Finger_130 Feb 21 '25

that would conflict with his primary goal of ammassing wealth