Most groups are casual - Zuckerberg himself is in puli groups, where people share cute photos of dogs like his own famous pet, Beast. "Because of Facebook, and because it's free, it gives you a level playing field with forces that can pay to get marketing and lobbying out there," said DeFilippi. Administrator Michael DeFilippi has the ears of local politicians - Miami's mayor and city manager are members - and successfully pushed for new legislation to outlaw Styrofoam. Related: Facebook adding 3,000 reviewers to combat violent videosĪ billion users someday for 'meaningful' Facebook GroupsĪ Facebook Group may not be able to stop global warming, but a healthy fear of social media can have an impact on decision makers.Ī local Facebook Group in Miami called "Clean Up Miami Beach" has gone from coordinating litter cleanups of 10 people to a political force with more than 4,500 members. There's no top-down structure to enable that, so the will needs to be built bottom up." "None of these things can happen just by one country or group of people deciding to do it. whether that's addressing challenges like stopping climate change or stopping pandemic diseases or terrorism," said Zuckerberg. "A lot of the important stuff that needs to happen in the world global. The way Zuckerberg describes it, being active in Groups can be a political act, a grassroots way to address the ills of the world. An administrator can control who joins and police content. Anyone can start a group, and they can be public, closed but publicly listed, or hidden. Now there are groups for every interest imaginable, with a few members or hundreds of thousands of people. When Facebook launched Groups in 2010, it was a barebones tool for sharing updates with people you knew personally, like family members or a kid's softball team. It's part of what pushed Zuckerberg to reexamine Facebook's mission, starting with a 5,726 word post on " Building Global Community" in February. Or, as Zuckerberg puts it, "I think we're doing OK."īut the company has struggled with a number of issues over the past year, including the proliferation of "fake news," live broadcasting of murders, and creating filter bubbles that have contributed to a divided nation. It reported $8 billion in revenue last quarter, nearly all of which was from ads. (Zuckerberg maintains the majority voting rights at Facebook.)įacebook has more than 1.9 billion monthly users. "That's why it helps to have control of the company," he said. Facebook, which has a market value of about $440 billion, has a responsibility to use its sizable resources to do positive things, he says, and that should naturally create value down the line. Zuckerberg tends to phrase things Facebook does in terms of their benefit to humanity, not investors or the company's bottom line. He's sticking to making an impact with the world's most ubiquitous social media platform and its almost 2 billion users.
During a commencement speech at Harvard, Zuckerberg touched on hot-button topics like immigration and inequality.ĭespite the political tone of the events, Zuckerberg has said he's not running for office.
He's been traveling around the U.S., professional photographer in tow, to meet people from every state. The new emphasis on Groups is the culmination of months of public appearances and posts by Zuckerberg stressing the importance of community. Related: Zuckerberg talks automation and immigration in Harvard speech The administrators represent the variety of groups that have sprung up on Facebook, including Mormon mothers supporting their gay children, people suffering from rare diseases, and mental health support for veterinarians, who have a surprisingly high rate of suicide. Three hundred Facebook Group administrators from across the country are attending the two-day event to hear speeches from Zuckerberg and other executives, and attend panels on topics like conflict resolution. It was his first in-depth interview for television since 2012.įacebook ( FB) debuted the new Groups features at the start of its first "Communities Summit" in Chicago. "A lot of what we can do is to help create a more civil and productive debate on some of the bigger issues as well," Zuckerberg told CNN Tech's Laurie Segall in Chicago on Wednesday night. Zuckerberg believes he has just the tool for the job: Facebook Groups, which are now used by a billion people. This marks the first time the company has overhauled its mission, which had previously been "to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected."