George Magazine

John Lenarcic says the success of Facebook, Google and Microsoft is proof that geeks can turn technology into corporate profits—and illustrates why more traditional companies should embrace and encourage such talent. "Maybe what companies should be SHALL INHERIT. JOHN LENARCIC, LECTURER, SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, IT AND LOGISTICS, RMIT UNIVERSITY THE GEEK doing is creating incubators within a company to actually nurture geeks," Lenarcic says. He adds that CEOs and boards are well advised to create a culture in which employees can tinker away on their own projects. "Usually when companies talk about creativity, it's almost in a manufactured way, like good PR, that kind of thing ... sometimes creativity and real innovation is kind of messy." The irony of Facebook's success, says Lenarcic, is that it puts a modern, technological spin on an old concept and underlines the importance of looking to the past to see future ideas. "I always argue with people when they say Facebook is a revelation. It's just a kind of advanced communal billboard." Mark Zuckerberg's democratic way of interacting with employees—he famously joins 'hackathons' with fellow IT engineers to explore new ideas and systems—demonstrates the value of engagement. Lenarcic draws a comparison with Napoleon Bonaparte. "Every time the French had a battle, if Napoleon actually appeared on the battlefield among the soldiers, there was more of a chance that that battle would go in favour of the French. "You need to be for the people and of the people." I always argue with people when they say Facebook is a revelation. It's just a kind of advanced communal billboard. They did almost everything right — they built their business and didn't go public too soon. The only obvious mistake was pricing the company too high. It remains to be seen if Facebook falls because of this mistake or whether it only turns out to be a minor tailwind on the path to immense success. TOO BIG Social media entrepreneurs are likely to baulk at listing their businesses in the aftermath of Facebook's highly publicised IPO dramas, according to Jeffrey Cole. Noting that the share market listings of Groupon, a deal-of-the-day website, and Zynga, a provider of online game services, have also underwhelmed investors, he says such warning signs will "slow the enthusiasm for IPOs". "This is more complicated than the [dotcom] meltdown of 2002, because these companies are not backed with 'business plans written on the back of napkins'. They are real companies with real customers and histories." At the same time, Cole believes it is difficult to draw clear lessons yet from the Facebook IPO. TO FAIL JEFFREY COLE, DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR THE DIGITAL FUTURE, USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL FOR COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM "They did almost everything right— they built their business and didn't go public too soon. The only obvious mistake was pricing the company too high. It remains to be seen if Facebook falls because of this mistake or whether it only turns out to be a minor tailwind on the path to immense success." While other social media formats have captured the imagination in the past, Cole says nothing to date has matched the speed or scale of Facebook's rise. The main reason, he contends, is that Zuckerberg's model is the first to truly demonstrate the power of global online networks— as evidenced by the virtual protests on Facebook over government actions in Iran and during the Arab Spring. "It showed that Facebook could literally change the world." george.facebook 11

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