On the latest SeedStories Podcast we sit down with David Kirkpatrick, the Founder, host, and CEO of Techonomy.
I’ve known David since his time at Fortune, where he spent 25 years as a writer and columnist. While there he also founded and hosted Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conferences. After leaving Fortune he went on to author The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company that is Connecting the World, which was published by Simon and Schuster in 2010.
Written with Facebook cooperation and given unparalleled access to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Kirkpatrick followed the company from its Harvard genesis to becoming one of the Internet’s most powerful companies. The book was shortlisted for the 2010 Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award.
Today, in addition to hosting Techonomy’s conferences and writing for its magazine and Web property, David serves as a Contributing Editor and Commentator alongside Emily Chang on Bloomberg West (note: it’s now Bloomberg Technology).
With his Techonomy 2016 conference taking place next week, we discuss what’s on tap for the show’s agenda and what we should expect in his headlined one-on-one discussion with Mark Zuckerberg on November 10th. Specifically, we chat about:
- His relationship with Zuckerberg that predates his book, and goes back 10-years, to his times reporting on the company at Fortune.
- How Zuckerberg has changed as both a leader and technologist, as well as how he’s grown alongside the company.
- Why he needs to ask Zuckerberg if he sees Facebook as a media company or technology platform today.
- How Facebook is attacking its 10-year plan with a clear strategy focused on Connectivity, VR/AR and AI.
- The company’s efforts to bring the other 50%+ of the world’s population online.
- Facebook’s setbacks in rolling out Internet.org and Free Basics globally.
- If the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch explosion, which destroyed the Amos-6 satellite it was carrying, was a major setback to Facebook’s global WiFi plans.
- Facebook’s push to be the leader out of the gate with VR this holiday season.
- What he makes of Zuckerberg dedicating this year to building his own personal AI butler for his house.
- With their talk taking place right after election day, if he’ll ask Zuckerberg about Peter Thiel’s ties to Donald Trump and Zuckerberg’s response to that relationship given Thiel is a Facebook board member. Hint: he will.
- Of course, we also get into the rest of the agenda for Techonomy 2016: Man, Machines & the Network, taking place next week (9-11) in Half Moon Bay, California.
Enjoy!
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