@finkd @TIME #Markzuckerberg #Personoftheyear

The man behind the world’s largest social network and the year’s biggest movie blockbuster has been named Time’s Person of the Year.  Time magazine announced today that its editors picked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for the annual honor leaving Julian Assange, the man behind the internationally controversial WikiLeaks, the Tea Party and somewhere way down the line, Lebron James in his rear view.  Whether or not the selection was the correct one is secondary to the the fact that the selection is a referendum on what we consider of vital importance in today’s society.

Zuckerberg has amassed an empire that connects more than half a billion people with through Facebook and the social relations among them. And despite the fact that the post-pubescent 26-year-old CEO “punk kid” surprisingly has more dollars in his bank account than users on his network, he has been credited with revolutionizing the exchange of information that is changing how people live their lives.

“The way we connect with one another and with the institutions in our lives is evolving,” wrote Time managing editor Richard Stengel said. “Our sense of identity is more variable, while our sense of privacy is expanding. What was once considered intimate is now shared among millions with a keystroke.”

“The social-networking platform he invented is closing in on 600 million users,” he added. “In a single day, about a billion new pieces of content are posted on Facebook. It is the connective tissue for nearly a tenth of the planet. Facebook is now the third-largest country on Earth and surely has more information about its citizens than any government does. Zuckerberg, a Harvard dropout, is its T-shirt-wearing head of state.”

Imagine that.  If facebook was a Nation only India and China would be inhabited by more residents. But despite it all does this selection indicate that our priorities in life are messed up?  While “facebooking” is something we all do, its really an activity (in theory) that is reserved for disposable time.  Unfortunately, for most Americans (eventhough Facebook is world wide phenomenon) they would identify disposable time as a vast majority spent at their 9 to 5.

So with all that’s going on in the world with War, political shifts in power, climate concerns, healthcare reform, the U.S. Deficit and drowning economy the social platform that is Facebook and its pimple faced founder was deemed supreme above all.  Is there not something wrong here? SOUND OFF!

Hadley Reynolds, an analyst with IDC, noted that 2010 was the year when the media hype about Zuckerberg went through the roof.

“Hopefully, Time is giving him the recognition because he is the youngest tech baron to pledge to give away billions — in his case, before they’ve even been monetized. Bill Gates had practically retire before he got the Time kudo in 2005. More likely, they know Zuckerberg’s face will sell magazines, and they can only dream of being in touch with an audience like the one Facebook touches every minute.”

Zuckerberg, undoubtedly, has gained a lot of attention this past year.