Bill Gates – Misunderstood?

So everyone’s been talking about Gates leaving Facebook over ‘too many friends.’ Much of the coverage and musings quote the Microsoft co-founder to be an iteration of self-centeredness or the likes of something similar. I think maybe he might be misunderstood slightly. Not sure if I would have left the entire Facebook community, but at the same time, I think he has a point.

Sure, new privacy settings allow for one to ‘group’ friends into categories and modify groups’ access to photos, applications, etc. But an integral part of the streaming comes from wall posts and status updates, which aren’t individually customizable, although even if they were, that would be a heinous amount of work unless being on Facebook is your job description.

Seth Godin I think makes an excellent point in this one clip of his talk at the Amex Open. I think we all understand the need to be in tune with the mainstream interest, follow and be followed, the transparency imperative, capture and resonate with your audience, be authentic and have a personal brand, etc. (To see all of his clips, visit his post here).

But, when does the cell phone become a speakerphone, and where do you draw the line between the need for a ‘following’ and the need for meaningful relationships?

I feel compelled to clarify – I am not saying that not all relationships are meaningful. Of course they are. Every person is a stakeholder in some way, shape or form, including (and especially) competitors. But I don’t believe that being transparent and establishing goodwill with the public through transparent and authentic dialogue is mutually exclusive with privacy. You can be private and transparent. It’s a gray area at times, but I think one thing is clear – some things are not everyone’s business.

Plus, it sharpens the message, catering to your target audience. And that’s different from ’spin.’ It’s understanding that one’s soccer coach voice is different from her mother of two toddlers voice is different from her voice as a finance executive. You could call it privacy, you could call it courtesy… or you could call it just smart messaging. After all, if Bill Gates as an individual were 100 percent comprised of just the identity of Microsoft, that would be unfortunate – I’d hope he has another life too. Everyone should.

[If this is the case (understanding this is a hypothetical), and he was truly trying to carry a torch for meaningful relationships, what a missed opportunity for him to embed that soundbyte into his quotes. It's a lesson we all need to learn.]

photo credit: bsstahl