Facebook, Zuckerberg and 60 Minutes: Excuse me while I gag

60 Minutes got gamed.

Last night Duncan posted the interview that Leslie Stahl from 60 Minutes did with Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and Founder of Facebook, and I really hope that CBS got paid well for being a PR shill. Oh, and my previous comment about keep Leslie Stahl away from tech stories still stands.

After watching the interview with Zuckerberg from start to finish I will agree with Kara Swisher who said; in the 60 Minutes piece, that Mark Zuckerberg is no longer a toddler CEO. This of course is in sharp contrast to his previous interview by Stahl on 60 Minutes three years ago, a time period which not even other multi-national CEOs or heads of state are granted by the news magazine show.

As Andrew Wallenstein at paidContent pointed out in his post about the non-interview Zuckerberg has indeed mastered the time honored CEO ability to appear to be answering question but when looked at closely they have really said nothing.

Zuckerberg has mastered the non-answer. The few times Stahl tried to draw blood, she was easily deflected. Whenever the questions got tough, whether on Facebook’s approach to privacy issues or its supposed ambition to “own” the internet, Zuckerberg always gave a pat answer that didn’t seem evasive but didn’t quite tackle the matter at hand, either. “Piracy is one of the most fundamental issues facing the internet,” he responded to Stahl at one point, signifying…what?

So after all is said and done what exactly did we get from a 40 minute commercial starring Zuckerberg and Stahl?

Nada.

What did Facebook get out of the joke that they pulled on CBS?

Well they got to show a very large demographic of older CBS, and 60 Minutes, watchers a grown up, and well tutored, Mark Zuckerberg who wants to be their best friend and they don’t have to worry about their kiddies sharing their lives on Facebook.

Oh, and they got to show off what is nothing more than a cosmetic change to Facebook.

Well played Zuckerbaby, 26 years old and you’ve gamed one of the stalwarts of old media.