Examining switching power: Mark Zuckerberg as a novel networked media mogul

ABSTRACT

This paper explores Mark Zuckerberg's attempts at ‘network switching’ (Arsenault & Castells, 2008a. Switching power: Rupert Murdoch and the global business of media politics: A sociological analysis. International Sociology, 23(4), 488–513) in order to examine the nature of power in the network society in an age of social media dominance. Through a case study of Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook we illustrate how novel networked media moguls gain and retain power through the interconnection of multiple networks and attempts to reprogram common goals and resources. We thus further test Arsenault and Castells’ (2008a. Switching power: Rupert Murdoch and the global business of media politics: A sociological analysis. International Sociology, 23(4), 488–513) hypothesis through an analysis of Zuckerberg, and Facebook's, key operational strategies and their success in facilitating the interconnection of a multitude of networks. In disentangling the strategy, rhetoric and actions of Zuckerberg – notably in the Cambridge Analytica scandal and in his philanthropic efforts with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative – we analyze how ‘switching’ power manifests within the context of an inextricable relationship between SNSs and a range of other networks including political, financial, philanthropic and scientific. Moreover, an examination of the multitude of networks Zuckerberg operates within highlights both the opportunities and pitfalls associated with the decentralization and dissemination of power within the network society. Accordingly, this paper offers two updates to the original hypothesis posed by Arsenault & Castells; (1) network switches act as both points for leveraging power and as potential sites of weakness and (2) growing technological interconnection and the visibility of social media require successful network switchers to increasingly operate ‘mega-switches’ in order to successfully compete against other power seekers.

KEYWORDS:

• Mark Zuckerberg
• Facebook
• power
• network society
• SNSs

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCID

Rachel E. Moran http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8865-2991

Notes

1 In May 2018, however, Koum announced his departure from Facebook amid reports that he clashed with Zuckerberg over Facebook's approach to data privacy. See https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/30/17304792/whatsapp-jan-koum-facebook-data-privacy-encryption

2 This is not to say that Google does not act as a switcher between networks, this is a subject for further research, however Google's founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin - despite their cultural capital - act in a vastly different manner than Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg.