Mark Zuckerberg 2016-2018 (2)

Mark Zuckerberg: 2016-2018

Student’s Name

Institution Affiliation

Mark Zuckerberg: 2016-2018

When Mark Zuckerberg was a student at Harvard University and he was developing the social network platform Facebook he never thought that it would end up being a billion-dollar company and business (Kirkpatrick, 2018). To him, the social network platform was like a mission. He aimed to enable individuals to understand the environment around them (Kirkpatrick, 2018). More than 15 years later, the platform has over 1 billion users connecting individuals around the world irrespective of their backgrounds and geographical positions.

While Facebook is a successful leading social media site in the world in relation to its competitors such as Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, the company has faced several tumultuous periods in its history notably one being the year 2016 and 2018. In 2016, the company was associated with a political firm named Cambridge Analytica, which was able to access the information of at least 50 million Facebook users without their consent. In the same year also, the company was accused of failing to thwart Russia’s attempts of interfering with the U. S’s 2016 elections. Also, in 2018, the company was faced with another scandal that involved a security data breach after hackers had managed to take advantage of a vulnerability in the “view as” feature on the online platform site. As a result, the hackers had been able to access the information of at least 50 million users while an additional 40 million were also considered to be vulnerable to the attack (Isaac & Frenkel, 2018). For this reason, the company faced an uphill task in repairing their image considering that their stock market prices were crashing as well as the number of its users.

To salvage the situation, the 35-year-old tech tycoon took it upon himself to repair the company’s image. He decided to testify before Congress in response to an allegation on its role in influencing the 2016 federal elections (Kirkpatrick, 2018). Also, he opted to apologize to the public and its users for the mess that the company had made (Kirkpatrick, 2018). As a result, the CEO and the company released a 5,700-word document which was its manifesto on what they would do to earn their customers’ trust once again (Kirkpatrick, 2018). Due to this, the company’s image was getting repaired and as of now, the company’s stock market has been improving drastically (Trefis, 2020, par. 2). Also, the CEO has been vocal in championing various community organizations as well as projects that are aimed at reducing diseases. In return, this has managed to repair the firm’s reputation in some way.

Due to the abovementioned steps especially the approach in building trust, the company has managed to repair most of its issues. In an online platform trust is an essential part of a business. Users want to know if their information is n safe hands and this is why most online platform companies always have to ensure that they can protect the privacy of their users. Since the scandals that the company faced, Zuckerberg has managed to be at the forefront in rebranding the company’s image as far as assuring their customers of their privacy. Besides, due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tycoon has also opted to continue to assert his control on the firm by pushing aware dissenters (Seetharaman & Glazer, 2020).

In conclusion, Mark Zuckerberg played a crucial role in helping his company to overcome a significant number of tribulations that dented the company’s image in terms of the trust. It should also be noted that currently, he also owns other successful social sites such as Instagram and WhatsApp. Due to the effect of fake news on Facebook, Zuckerberg opted to incorporate some of the measures to these other social media sites, which in turn, has enabled them to flourish. Zuckerberg’s character illustrates what it takes for organizational leaders to step up and navigate their company’s through trial times. From what Zuckerberg endured has enabled d the company to once again rise above their expectations and if they continue to tread this path they would eventually be among the best in the industry considering that the tech industry is quite tricky. On the other hand, while the company still has a long journey ahead of them in terms of challenges, they do have the right form of leadership to overcome such changes.

ReferencesKirkpatrick, D. (April 2018). The Facebook Defect. Time. Retrieved from https://time.com/5237458/the-facebook-defect/

Isaac, M & Frenkel, S. (September 2018). Facebook Security Breach Exposes Accounts of 50 Million Users. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/technology/facebook-hack-data-breach.html

Seetharaman, D & Glazer, E. (April 2020). Mark Zuckerberg Asserts Control of Facebook, Pushing Aside Dissenters. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/mark-zuckerberg-asserts-control-of-facebook-pushing-aside-dissenters-11588106984

Trefis, T. (Feb 2020). Facebook’s Stock Has Gained 70% Since 2017. Why? Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2020/02/27/facebooks-stock-has-gained-70-since-2017-why/#33a1ae64bf9ds