Zee Talk of Zee Town

Welcome to Zuckerbergville, 200-acre of sentient brick-and-mortar right across the Menlo Park headquarters, a paradise where Facebook will be able to monitor every move of 10,000 employees: who's buying what where? who's sleeping with whom when? just like your good old Facebook, but In Real Life.

Looking for the Hatespeech Arena? Start from Hacker Way, follow Push Marketing Avenue, and at the Cookie Roundabout, take a right turn. Never leave the NSA lanes, and try to avoid the Snowden Cul-de-Sac.

Frank Gehry has been invited to run his software and to propose a curvier cityscape than this dull 2012 project:

The 2012, Pre-Gehry Zuckerbergville

Gehry's fee must be comfortable, but only a tiny drop in Zuckerberg's multibillion dollar Zanadu. The land itself didn't cost too much: $400M for the last 55-acres, that's only $1,800 per sqm. You're on the waterfront, but also on a highway. And your HQ are on the other side of the Bayfront Expressway. Maybe they'll dig a tunnel for the commuters, and soundwalls to make sure employees get some sleep. Some Privacy? Don't even think about it. Your contract stipulates that you let your Samsung Smart TV on night and day*.

Ironically, the main street in the area is called Constitution Drive. Maybe Zuckerberg, who likes to build "the Hacker Way"**, has also his own special definition of the word 'Constitution'. I wonder if We the People of Zee-Town will enjoy Net Neutrality. And if visitors will need to sign special terms of service when they enter the Zee-Zone.


mot-bile 2015

* the EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center) just filed a complaint with the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) over privacy concerns regarding private conversations.
** "As part of building a strong company, we work hard at making Facebook the best place for great people to have a big impact on the world and learn from other great people. We have cultivated a unique culture and management approach that we call the Hacker Way. The word “hacker” has an unfairly negative connotation from being portrayed in the media as people who break into computers. In reality, hacking just means building something quickly or testing the boundaries of what can be done. Like most things, it can be used for good or bad, but the vast majority of hackers I’ve met tend to be idealistic people who want to have a positive impact on the world. The Hacker Way is an approach to building that involves continuous improvement and iteration. Hackers believe that something can always be better, and that nothing is ever complete. They just have to go fix it — often in the face of people who say it’s impossible or are content with the status quo."