Townhall gets the Zuckerberg ‘like’

Beginning with how important it was to connect people in different parts of the world, especially during times like the recent earthquake in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg answered a battery of questions fired at him at IIT Delhi, including some on his personal life.

Speaking to students, young entrepreneurs and professionals in his first Townhall meeting in India, 31-year-old billionaire was asked questions such as “what if he was gifted supernatural powers from aliens, what would he wish for” and “what is Facebook doing about complaints against ‘Candy Crush’ unwanted invitations”.

Zuckerberg responded by saying that with technology one can build super powers and Facebook is working with Oculus to enable people to teleport and have a different experience. “We can simulate gravity, you can play ping pong with a friend in space. Soon, you’ll be able to put on a headset and go anywhere in the world, and that will be pretty good,” he said.

On unwanted Candy Crush invitations, he jokingly said, “This is why such Townhalls are so useful. This was the top voted question on our thread. So, I sent a message to the person who runs the team in charge of our developer platform and I said by the time I do this Townhall Q&A, I think it would be good if we had a solution to this problem.” But he could not give any timeline, and said, “If this is the top thing that people care about, we will prioritise that and we’ll do it.” Asked if he had made any mistakes in life and regretted later, Zuckerberg said: “I made all kinds of mistakes. Anything you can think of, I have made all the mistakes. It was all trial and error. You cannot be afraid of making mistakes.”

He also added what one should focus on is not which mistake to avoid, but what drives him/her through such mistakes.

Zuckerberg also talked about his personal life and shared that his wife and he were expecting a daughter soon, and mentioned how technology plays a role these days like capturing a baby taking her first step. “I really hope, with virtual and augmented reality, I will be able to capture that experience for my parents and friends and make them feel as if they are there with us.”

On his visit to Taj Mahal on Tuesday, Zuckerberg said: “Unlike most monuments in the world which celebrate military victories, the Taj Mahal is unique because it is a monument to love.”