2010 Person Of The Year

Lame.

This is the best TIME.com can come up with? LOL, so laughable it is not even funny.

They had to give it to him. He’s the only one hiring.

The really horrible thing about this is that “The Tea Party” and the “Chilean Miners” made the list. It shows that whoever was doing the nominating/voting had no idea what a singular “Person” is. I would assume that such an award was being granted to a single person who had managed to change the world in a very dramatic way. It is easy for a group to change the world. That’s why a “Person” instead of “Persons” would even be thought of.
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Now, arguably Zuckerberg has changed the world, but he hasn’t done it this year. This might have made sense when he was actually transforming the social scene. But he’s already done that, and I have to say this seems belated.
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Coupled with the nominations I honestly wouldn’t have revealed, it makes the whole thing seem a sham.

Extremely lame. No other comment.

Persons, plural, have gotten this honor before on a number of occasions.
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see list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Person_of_the_Year

You should rename the award “Really Influential Thing Of the Year Award” then. Not as zingy, but you know, accurate. :/

That is a terrible, creepy picture! I don’t think he’s a bad choice, though…he and Facebook are definitely influential and much-discussed.

Rick Stengel: 2010 Narcoleptic Of The Year.

It’s a day late but, Happy Birthday to Ivy_B.

Yes, Happy Birthday, Ivy_B.

I would have wished Ivy_B a happy birthday yesterday but I spent the day in bed with the flu. I had a flu shot last month. Didn’t work evidently. I’m glad I was off yesterday because my boss called me at home and threatened me because a prank I set up worked too well. I’m off again today and then he won’t be at work Thursday because of a meeting in the district office. It’s always a pleasure when your boss threatens to shove stuff up your ass the next time he sees you.

Happy Birthday to Ivy_B.
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As usual, I forget everybody’s birthday both online and offline.
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Hope it was a good one.
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Here’s a cool song.
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No, it’s not my birthday… that’s months away.

Meh. I know there are two considerations to this honor 1, picking a worthy individual and whatever and 2, generating some buzz and pageviews, but this may be the worst possible choice in that regard. There is nothing controversial left to discuss with regard to the Zuck. I really could care less, and now I have to deal with an entire issue of Time devoted to something (facebook) and someone (the Zuck) that have been discussed and analyzed ad nauseam this year? (including a movie?) I’ll pass. What a waste of an issue.

gumOnShoe: Don’t forget, 4 years ago, you/we were Time’s Persons/Peoples of the Year!
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re 2010: Shouldn’t the award go to all people on FaceBook? recount!

I’ve never been on Facebook but it has affected tens of millions of people that get into it. I would argue that anything that does change the interactions of a large segment of society is newsworthy. I’m still a hold out for getting a cell phone but I hear those are popular too.

I would’ve have argued for the Chilean Miners (Human and/or Human’s of the Year(?). Their story was about real actions taken across international borders that made real positive results that had nothing to do with finding new ways to create fake value or maintaining a status quo or introducing a fad. A capability was created from existing and newer technology that worked perfectly and not for profit… and, as far as I know, nobody knifed each other after being cooped up in the dark for months.
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I’d take them over any industrialist, politician, or supremely time-wasting tween-friendly phenomenon.

Yes Mark Zuckerberg created something cool.
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In less than ten years I bet that there will be a new billionaire who was self made doing something even cooler.
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Besides, Myspace already existed. I could be way off, but, from what I gathered all Facebook is is myspace done better.
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Not a bad guy, but man of the year?

Rip Van Stengel, waking after a few years to find that the world’s changed.

Happy birthday, Ivy.
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Hope you had great parties + more.

patrick, it seems to me that people get famous now just for being famous. Facebook gives every yahoo a chance to put their mug out there and get their shot at getting noticed. It seems a little desperate and sad to me, but as society becomes more and more shallow people are willing to do whatever it takes to separate themselves from the pack. Maybe it just a generational thing. I don’t know. I think Facebook gives people a chance to interact without any personal contact. You don’t have to get cleaned up or even dressed. You can sit at your computer, post the most flattering picture you can find of yourself and live an illusion. It’s a virtual reality without confronting reality.

Happy Birthday!
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Got to blow out a few (too many) candles myself, yesterday.

Another late Happy Birthday to grape_crush.

Happy Birthday to you, grape.
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Hope someone as hot as Marilyn sang b-day wishes.

Thanks so much to everyone — the good wishes make changing front numbers a little less hard to take!

http://www.doonesbury.com/strip#mutable

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“Wow…Facebook really is evil!”

Happy Birthday to grape_crush from me as well!

Too funny that this year I have now encountered two people w/ the same b-day. Yesterday I stopped in a specialized bakery to find something for dinner Friday and chatted with the young woman as she was putting my package together. I mentioned it was my b-day, and she said with surprise – mine too!

Cheers, grape – hope you had some fruit of the crushing.

Happy birthday to all of you celebrating/observing.
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March sure must be a randy month.

Every month is a randy month. Every week too. Every day also. Jesus, the crack of dawn fires me up.

Thank you for using a lower case “d”.

And thanks for leaving ambiguous whether dawn’s crack is front or back one.

It’s hell having the flu. My wife doesn’t want me around her. I’m banished to the downstairs. I’d did go upstairs a little earlier and took the phone out of my MIL’s hand. I licked the mouthpiece and handed it back. It made me feel a little better.

deconstructiva, any port in a storm my dear. Buggers can’t be choosers.

Thanks, all. Get better, sacredh.

As we discussed months ago with mycophile, people are able to be different online.
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For example, I don’t walk down the streets of Queens or Manhattan saying “Hey, are you a Democrat? Aren’t these Republicans being idiots about…”.
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Online, since this is specific place to discuss politics, i would.
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Most people I know do facebook, twitter, myspace or, as I do (which is just business and, basically a resume-like thing, by far the least interesting) linked in.
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I’m between your age and the people who grew up with the internet, so, it’s new to me, but not a bad thing.
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As I am sure you would say of us (and should) people I know in person I consider real friends. All of you are just virtual friends, but, how am I going to get ten or twenty real friends to come and go as I please in my living room/office at random intervals of the day and, as soon as I need to get work done get all of you out again?
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Also, you can communicate with all of us without any risk of giving us the flu.
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Get better.

March sure must be a randy month.
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Considering that grape_kid’s b-day is also in December, I’m thinking the March randiness thing is genetic.
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Also explains why various fertility symbols (rabbits, eggs, the Resurrection, Eostre/Easter) all start coming ’round about that time of year, no?

So that’s what they mean by March Madness?

Ivy_B I wished you happy birthday yesterday but you never showed up. Hope that means you enjoyed your special day.

Happy birthday grape_crush. We December kids are the best.

sacredh: I didn’t know another person besides me did not own a cell phone.
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I belong to facebook so I can access photos of grandkids and greatgrandkids. I check in about once a month. I have a lot of friends but prefer other ways of communicating.
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When I first joined, my ex-boss befriended me. One of our co-workers had befriended us both, My ex asked who she was. I responded, not knowing that the method I used would be public to all, reminding her that she was the insane woman I supervised and shared some anecdotes. Whoops.

I guess I’m just old-fashioned in some ways. I still prefer to write letters than to e-mail. I have had some friends tell me that they’ve been able to contact people that they’d lost touch with years ago because of Facebook. That would possibly be a plus. I don’t even like to talk on the phone. I seriously doubt if I’m on the phone an hour a month. This flu is just kicking my butt. I reported off work for tomorrow. It’s the first sick day I’ve taken for over 15 months. I get paid whether I go or not. I think I have about a year of sick leave built up. I haven’t puked for over 4 hours now. I’m hoping I feel better tomorrow. Our Christmas party is Friday at work. If I don’t go it will be the first one I’ve missed since 1976. I got arrested a few days before Christmas and thought I should lay low.

Happy Birthday, grape_crush, your work here is very appreciated.
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Get better, sacredh, your work here is the cause of raucous laughter and sympathy drinking (and sleeping) binges.
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No, wait…that last bit didn’t sound right…
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Merry Christmas to both of you.
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There, I didn’t forget.

Happy Birthday, grape & Ivy !
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Get well, sacred! We’re counting on you for stories of Christmas mayhem…
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I was watching Maddow earlier, speculating about the chances of the Senate doing away with the filibuster next congress. I guess this is the right time to ask for a pony?