Facebook Talk

While doing my morning routine of checking my e-mail and updating my sites, I usually have ESPN’s Mike & Mike show playing in the background. Nothing says it’s a brand new day than the Internet, a gallon of coffee, and random sports talk. From time to time, though, I tune the background noise out and try to focus on the task at hand. This morning was no different, but just a minute ago I heard “Zuckerberg” come out of Mike Golic’s mouth and I had to turn around and go, “huh?”

Turns out they were doing a segment where they were asking people which 23 year old they’d rather be, Mark Zuckerberg or NBA superstar LeBron James. Much to their surprise, and I gotta say mine as well, Zuckerberg was winning overwhelmingly. This was even coming from a group of people who the majority are huge sports fans! Now we all know I love Facebook, but come on, really? Zuckerberg? I mean, money wise, it’s pretty much a wash. Yes, Zuckerberg is most likely worth a bit more than LeBron, but it’s not like he’s making chump change either. As that link shows, he had $22 million in the bank back in 2005 and has sense signed a contract extension for another $80. Throw in endorsements, celebrity appearances, and other random cash flows for LeBron and he’s got $100 million in the bank. Call me crazy, but once we start talking about triple digit millions, it’s a moot point as to who has more.

Next would be stardom. With Zuckerberg, I think it’s safe to say that he could walk down the street of Anytown, USA and go unnoticed. Even if somebody spotted him, what are they going to do, run up to him and ask for an autograph? Doubtful. So he’s certainly got that going for him. Whereas Lebron would get noticed in a heartbeat and from there it would only snowball. People who aren’t even NBA fans would be asking for his signature, wanting pictures with him, the works. It’s one thing to be famous, but it’s another thing when you can’t even enjoy a meal out with your family in peace.

Now let’s look at their jobs. Zuckerberg works with software, advertising, corporate charts, etc. Working in an office is one thing. But Lebron? Man, imagine being able to play a sport for a career! Having the talent to be a future Hall of Famer in a top sport, the thrill of playing in front of thousands of people, that’s just something I’d much rather do than just being famous for creating a websites.

The dealbreaker? Just think about how many people absolutely love LeBron. He’s the next Michael Jordan and the city of Chicago still treats Jordan like a demi-God. Heck, Green Bay treats Brett Favre like a full blown God! They love those guys. It’s a level of adoration that only sports figures can attain, a level that Zuckerberg will never reach. So the question comes down to whether you’d want to be a mega-super star and loved by millions or be an average Joe who happens to be worth a little bit more.

For me, it’s a no brainer, I’d rather be LeBron. What about you?

In case you live under a rock (in which case, we need to talk, because I’ve always wondered how somebody could actually live beneath a rock), then you probably already know that late night funny man Stephen Colbert is running for President in his (and mine!) home state of South Carolina. What you might now know is that his Facebook group dedicated to his all-but-failed campaign is what some people estimate as being the fastest growing Facebook group. Ever. In just nine days, it peaked over 1,000,000 members. In five more days, it topped 1.3 million and as I write this now, it currently stands at 1,355,014 members. Not too shabby of a following for a “fake” campaign.

To put this into perspective, legitimate candidate Barack Obama might be one of the Democratic parties front runners for the nomination, yet his official Facebook group has only managed to snag 400,000 members in nine months. Critics often complain that young people in the 18-30 age group rarely vote enough, yet Stephen Colbert and Facebook actually stood a chance at changing that - even if they were only voting for a comedian. Sadly, Colbert won’t find himself on the South Carolina ballot, as they recently elected 13-3 not to allow him to appear on their ballot.

While this may be an unfortunate turn of events, there still is hope in the form of Colbert’s massive Facebook group. There’s already a large contingent of people organizing an e-mail drive to the South Carolina Democratic Party to protest their recent decision and my hunch is that if Colbert actually talks about this group on his TV show sometime soon, there could be even more half-shenanigans half-serious efforts displayed from the group in an effort to keep him in the race.

It’s times like these that make it quite fun to be on Facebook. Colbert in ‘08!

Speaking of drunken Facebook fun, it looks like Hugh Grant recently got his drink on and…well, I’m sure the rest of the evening was a bit too R rated to go into detail here on Facebook Talk.

But this brings me to another topic entirely. Where in the hell were all of these drunken celebrities when I was in college? Never once did I have a Hugh Grant or Bill Murray just wander into my dorm room looking for a refreshing beverage. The most famous person I ever drank with was my dad, but that doesn’t count since we’re related. I think the next most famous person was that RA during my junior year who owned three jet skis. He was a legend around campus!

[via Web Community Forum]

facebook, hugh grant, college parties, bill murray