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Building Global Community
Article

Building Global Community

Facebook, 2017

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

Love it or hate it, the social media platform Facebook – commonly used to share baby photos and vacations snaps – has played an undeniable role in the recent spread of “fake news,” the rise of the alt-right and the recruitment of terrorists online. To address people’s growing concerns and set out his vision for what Facebook should – and could – become, CEO Mark Zuckerberg penned a 5,000-word manifesto describing his dream to foster a better “global community.” He unpacks the company’s mission to build safe, informed, civilly engaged and inclusive communities, both online and off. getAbstract recommends Zuckerberg’s announcement to Facebook users and tech trendwatchers.

Summary

The challenges humanity faces today transcend country and cultural boundaries – terrorism, climate change and pandemics, to name a few. Such global issues require “global responses.” To that end, Facebook is developing better “social infrastructure” in five areas:

  1. “Supportive communities” – Human beings derive values and a sense of belonging from group membership. Since the 1970s, participation in churches, unions and teams has been in decline. Today online communities are helping people form “meaningful” connections. Facebook plans to bolster these...

About the Author

Mark Zuckerberg is the chairman, CEO and co-founder of Facebook. In 2016, Business Insider named him number one among the top 10 business visionaries creating value for the world.