Pivot · Nov 23, 2018

It's time for Facebook's board to step up

Automatic transcript of the end of the episode, from 11:57. Speakers are labeled by software and may contain errors. Highlighted passages are Scott’s predictions.

Kara Swisher · 11:57 This particular company is so not... The employees are so docile. It's really quite fascinating. They're docile. I don't know how else to put it. Facebook employees, you are the most compromised group of people on the planet. Let me just say, and you've done it for years. Thing after thing, you never object to anything that I can tell, and you're docile. Thank you very much. That is my speech to them. And then they also... Company tends to twist things. There's a really funny, tweet by Corey Chiara, whatever. He he said, there was a thing about see... Facebook COO is Sheryl Sandberg tells Nora O'Donnell, we absolutely did not pay anyone to create fake news. And that... And this guy goes, cool. Sheryl Sandberg and Facebook didn't do the one thing no one has accused them of doing. So they're changing the tune. Like, they didn't accuse them of cover up. They... I think Shere... Sherefran line. Noticed really clearly that they that they keep addressing things in her article that she didn't write. And so it creates a false narrative around what was said in the Times piece. So we'll see where it goes from here. I'm not I'm not as... I don't think it's... Anything's gonna happen. I think it'll To Scott Galloway · 12:56 point, my suggestion Kara Swisher · 12:58 Hurricane Hurricane Facebook will continue to ravage the countryside, and we'll say that there's no climate change going on. Scott Galloway · 13:04 What you might find though, I I do think this is gonna happen in the next thirty days. I think Facebook has made itself such an incredibly ripe target. Mhmm. One or two things may happen, and that is I do think you're gonna see a a group of senators or congresspeople decide to propose legislation or threaten legislation. It's just become too ripe a target. Mhmm. The other the other interesting wildcard here is some sort of activist play. I've got... I've I've had some conversations with activist investors. Mhmm. Facebook is now so cheap Kara Swisher · 13:37 Yep. That Scott Galloway · 13:37 it may That's what's gonna happen. Shareholder Right? Reason. There may be Kara Swisher · 13:40 a shareholder reason. Decline in stock. Just the the... I was saying the stock will get them. That's... You're right. Shareholder lawsuit. Dan Loeb, calling Dan Loeb kind of thing. Scott Galloway · 13:48 Well, it it may be. There may be a capitalist shareholder reason to break them up, that this company actually might be worth more, as separate entities than it's trading at right now. I mean, it's it's actually by most... I mean, and I've said this all along, and full disclosure, I own all of Big Tech because I love owning monopolies and growing economies. I do Good think Facebook is for you. It makes it easier for you. Kara Swisher · 14:09 I'm ethical. Jesus, I hate myself. Scott Galloway · 14:11 Yeah. Yeah. So I think you could see an activist step in. I don't know what leverage they have. Where's the soft tissue here? But at some point, there's a capitalist argument to break them up, which would solve, I think, a lot of the... But you're you're gonna see somebody's gonna pop up. I don't know if it's Warner. I don't know if it's Bennett. I don't know if it's Greg Walden from Kara Swisher · 14:32 Morgan. They've releasing a lot of... I've gotten a lot of press releases, and I've gotten a lot of congressional people call me. You're right. That's absolutely... But we'll see if they have any any ability to do anything. I do not think they do. I am not... I am I am concerned that they have no power to do anything. Anyway, we're gonna take a quick break. Stop talking about Facebook. Scott Galloway · 14:49 There you go. Kara Swisher · 14:49 Please stay with us, and we'll be back in a second. Pivot is brought to you by our founding sponsor, Smartwater. So we both run businesses, manage day to day, and now host a podcast. I have a lot of podcasts. We're working hard and so does Smartwater. It's vapor distilled, whatever that is, for purity with electrolytes for taste. It's water that keeps us hydrated as we work hard. And look, you work hard. You deserve a great tasting hydrating water. Learn more at smartwater.com. Okay. We're back, Scott. We're gonna talk about the fails and the wins of the week. We've been talking about a lot of failure. We are. We're such an unpleasant pair, I think. Is there a win? Is there a win? Scott Galloway · 15:48 More unpleasant together. Kara Swisher · 15:50 Yes. Double Scott Galloway · 15:51 One plus one equals Kara Swisher · 15:52 zero. Pleasure. Scott Galloway · 15:53 Yeah. But what... Do you... Kara Swisher · 15:54 Any wins that you see? Anything that you think is a good thing? Scott Galloway · 15:59 You know, it... So I love Thanksgiving. Do you love Thanksgiving? As I get older and I realize the finite nature of my life, I'm an atheist, I think this I is know. I'm about I'm about to get sappy. I'm trying to have a moment with our dozens and dozens of fans, Kara. Okay. So it's Thanksgiving, and there's a lot of great research on happiness. And the number one source of happiness is, you know, the number of deep meaningful relationships you have, but tied for second are physical fitness and then gratitude and being grateful. And I'm trying to be Oh my god. More grateful, and I'm thinking about all the wonderful things I'm thankful for. And the government gets a lot of grief because the individual heading the government is very controversial. But if you look at what's happened to government employees, the sector that's lost the most employees over the last ten years has been retail, but a close second is actual government employees. State tax coffers are really low, and so you've seen a lot of layoffs at the municipal, local, and federal level. And I'm... I have on my Twitter handle that I'm the product of big government. The the the generosity and vision of the University of California gave me an incredible opportunity when my kid was speech delayed. The state of New York stepped in and gave him occupational therapy, and now he's thriving now. You know, even more recently, I think about all the folks out on the West Coast doing a great job, the first responders, and I think about the brave men and women who put a bullet in the eye of Osama bin Laden. Kara Swisher · 17:22 So I am Scott Galloway · 17:23 thankful. I am thankful. Most of my income comes from capital gains. So the 23¢ on the dollar I give to municipal, federal, and local government officials, I am thankful for them. I think they do a great job. Kara Swisher · 17:36 Scott. Alright. You're gonna go there. I was gonna say Jeff Bezos... Steve Carell playing Jeff Bezos Saturday Night Live was a win of the week. Win. Controlling Trump. Scott Galloway · 17:46 I win. That was pretty good, though. Kara Swisher · 17:48 Okay. Actually, I'm gonna go in your zone. I thought Gavin Newsom, who's gonna... The incoming governor of California literally held it together. I know him very well, and I could... He was holding it as tight as possibly. I think he, like, couldn't stand being there. Scott Galloway · 18:01 He The tour? Kara Swisher · 18:02 You mean the tour of Scott Galloway · 18:02 the fire scene? Yes. Was literally at their feet, or Jerry Brown Kara Swisher · 18:06 and Gavin Newsom Scott Galloway · 18:06 was staring at Kara Swisher · 18:07 their feet. They were leaders. They... I know they wanted to toss them in the Pacific Ocean. I just... It was when he kept saying the wrong things and the fire and the raking, and he... They just sat there, they took it for the betterment of the people there to focus on the people of California who were suffering. And I thought that was a great thing. I I have a... I'm very excited about the leadership of Gavin Newsom as governor of California. I thought Jerry Brown's been a great governor. Scott Galloway · 18:29 Yeah. I think so too. Kara Swisher · 18:29 Also... But I think Gavin is... Let me say this about Gavin Newsom. When he when he did the gay marriage thing way back when, and I was... I got married during that period Scott Galloway · 18:40 Yeah. Kara Swisher · 18:41 It took a leader to do that. And he suffered politically really badly at the time Yeah. For what he did, the stance he made on gay marriage in in in opening it up. And he suffered, and it was a setback to his political career. And that to me is leadership. So I'm very excited to see if he can really step up in leadership and not, like, saying something snarking at Trump right when Trump was misbehaving in a terrible tragedy was... I just... I I wouldn't have been able to hold it together. I'll tell you that. So I'm looking forward to... I thought that was a win for Gavin Newsom. What do you think about Brown? He's be he's gonna be a big deal in this in this tech stuff. I think he's gonna be a big deal Scott Galloway · 19:16 Yeah. Kara Swisher · 19:17 In this tech stuff. Scott Galloway · 19:17 Do you think he's a big deal for 2020? Kara Swisher · 19:20 I don't know. I don't I know. It's got a ticket. Scott Galloway · 19:23 What do you think of that as a ticket? Brown Newsome. — Predictions segment begins — Kara Swisher · 19:25 Oh, no. It's too much California. I I do think he's I think he's a really... I think people always discount Gavin Newsome, maybe because he has, like, fantastic hair and skin. I don't know what they do. They always discount him, and I always every time I... All the time I spend with him, I know he has the thing about what happened personally that he had a drinking problem and caused his friend. I get that. He's got controversy in his his thing, but I do think he's got a lot of thoughtfulness. I'm a big fan of his. So I'm hoping for great things from him as governor. I'm hoping. And I think, again, Brown deserves an enormous amount of respect and, thanks. Kudos for his his running race this week. And I think they're gonna matter on day. I think he's gonna matter on tech, and I'm gonna make him matter. In any case, I'm gonna write about him soon. Yes. So predictions. Predictions. I need... We need to wrap it up here. What what are some of the predictions that you have before we finish up this week? What do you think is gonna happen? You had a good one last week about Amazon, everyone becoming a subscription service of some sort or a loyalty program. Scott Galloway · 20:21 Resonated with you. Kara Swisher · 20:23 You know, a lot of people agreed with you. Scott Galloway · 20:24 Did they? I think that's just because they just feel sorry for me, because you beat me up every week. Coming to my defense. Please, big baby. You're gonna see Kara Swisher · 20:35 Wow, wow, wow. Scott Galloway · 20:36 Poor me. I think you're gonna see two to three private company CEOs announce that they're exploring a run for president. And I think the the most likely... Obviously, Bloomberg, but that's not the private sector. But I think Bob Iger from Disney and Howard Schultz from Starbucks. Kara Swisher · 20:54 Oh, you're going for Iger? I say no to Iger. I've asked him directly. He said absolutely not. Scott Galloway · 20:59 Really? He said no way? Kara Swisher · 21:00 Yeah. I think his wife doesn't wanna draw on too. I don't know. I just get the sense. I think he's Willow Bay is starboard. Scott Galloway · 21:05 Show on town while Kara Swisher · 21:06 you starboard. I love Willow Bay. She is a wonderful journalism. She's great at USC. I love Willow Bay. She's fantastic. I also... Gavin Newsom's wife is amazing. Not that people... She does this astonishing documentaries on Scott Galloway · 21:17 Are talking about Kimberly Comcoil? Kara Swisher · 21:19 No. Not her. That's a bad one. That's his bad first one. Oh, she's a naughty girl. No. Years ago, I was... When she was married to him, he... She replaced him at an event. I was at a a gay dinner, some sort of gay... Like, big, you know, one of those things at a ballroom. And literally, she was so filthy. Her... She she was so... Like, she was so potty mouthed that, like, even the gay guys were like, okay. That's enough. Like, was, like, in in San Francisco. If you can shock a room full of gay people in San Francisco, you are way on top of that, I have to say. It was dirty. It was a dirty, Scott Galloway · 21:54 dirty just decided I liked her. Good for her. Kara Swisher · 21:56 Well, it was interesting. I was sort of like, woah. Ho, no. Ho, no. Hold on. And it was... That doesn't... And I live in the Castro Of San Francisco, so there's very little I can shock here. I swish her. But, no, Jennifer Newsome is amazing. And... But away from people's voice. I don't think Bob is gonna run. I do think Howard is gonna run. I do think Bloomberg's gonna run for sure. Scott Galloway · 22:14 Yeah. And who do you think who do you think has a better shot? Bloomberg... Well, they're both billionaires. Right? Kara Swisher · 22:19 Bloomberg. Bloomberg. Scott Galloway · 22:20 Yeah. I think you're probably right. By the Kara Swisher · 22:22 way missed the boat last time. Scott Galloway · 22:24 Should've done Kara Swisher · 22:24 it. He just Absolutely. — Predictions segment ends — Scott Galloway · 22:25 That was his moment. That was his moment. I agree with you. It's it's a shame. Yeah. I think he... I thought he was a great mayor. Yeah. Have you seen the movie Queen? Kara Swisher · 22:34 No. I have not. Scott Galloway · 22:35 It's fantastic. Oh, wait. Is it called Queen or is it called Bohemian Rhapsody? Kara Swisher · 22:40 Bohemian Rhapsody. Scott Galloway · 22:41 Bohemian Rhapsody. It's fantastic. I mean, it's really a wonderful movie, and it's an inspiring movie about how creativity is just being fearless. It's really a wonderful film. I I don't know I don't know what maybe you do that, Kara, but go see it. It's fantastic. Kara Swisher · 22:56 I shall. I'm gonna go see something else. Probably the one with Viola Davis. I'm gonna go to a lot of movies. My children are in Cuba. Scott Galloway · 23:04 Your children are in Cuba? Your third... Kara Swisher · 23:05 What are they I have... My ex took them there. They're in Cuba. Scott Galloway · 23:09 They're in Cuba. Kara Swisher · 23:09 My kids my kids have, like, the freaking life O'Reilly. They go everywhere. My kids have met, like, the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, and they have a... My kids are. Anyway, yeah. I have no predictions, but I like your predictions. My predictions is I'm gonna have a lovely, weekend... A quiet weekend without my kids, but I miss them terribly. My son wrote me. Scott Galloway · 23:29 Tara. You deserve it. Kara Swisher · 23:30 Yeah. My my son... Actually, my son actually wrote me, and I put it up on Twitter. He goes, we... You have to pick up the phone because you're our emergency contact when we're in Cuba. And and he goes, no. I'm in a podcast excuse. I was like, oh my god. He's on my number completely. Scott Galloway · 23:46 So I had a wonderful... And I know you hate the the soft stuff. And by the way, I'm convinced someone asked me about you. Said you're an igloo, crunch on the outside, soft on the inside. I feel you're a lot nicer than you you portrayed. Anyway Don't kid my kid screamed in Kara Swisher · 24:00 the middle Scott Galloway · 24:00 of the night last night. I lost a tooth. I lost a We went up there, of course, he looks like a boxer. Just get head in the face. And we said, okay. Put your tooth under and write a letter. And he wrote this hilarious letter asking all these questions. Where do you live? What's your name? Do you have a pet? How old are you? And we, of course, wrote a letter back, and he came running into bed this morning and read all the answers. And it was just one of those, like, where the cameras mounted, like a Hallmark channel. Was just so Kara Swisher · 24:24 I hope he doesn't listen to this. I hope he doesn't listen this. No. Scott Galloway · 24:27 He's eight. He's eight. He doesn't Are you kidding? My wife doesn't even listen to this. My family has absolutely no interest in what I do. None Kara Swisher · 24:34 whatsoever. Okay. I miss those days of of those letters I wrote as Santa. I was an excellent Santa, I have to say. I had a lot of advice for the children. I typed everything, obviously, because my handwriting was easy to understand. Not to understand that they'd figure it out, but I miss those days. But they're over now, Scott. Scott Galloway · 24:51 They're gone forever. Kara Swisher · 24:51 All right. Gone forever. Scott Galloway · 24:53 Yeah. Yep. Where's the time going, Kara Swisher · 24:55 of Mark Zuckerberg stepping down. Scott Galloway · 24:57 It's slipping by. It's slipping by. Kara Swisher · 25:00 Going by day by... And now he has Thanksgiving break to, like, have everyone forget and have Trump say something dumb, and then we move on to the next news cycle. Scott Galloway · 25:09 Alright, Kara. I need to wrap it up here. Any last words? Kara Swisher · 25:12 No. I have no last words. No last words. Scott Galloway · 25:15 Well, looking forward to speaking next week. Kara Swisher · 25:18 Yes. We'll have lots more to talk about, I'm sure, after... As we move into the Christmas season, especially on Amazon and all kinds of things. Rebecca Sananis produces this show. Nishat Kerwa is Vox Media's executive producer of audio. Thanks also to Eric Johnson. Thanks for listening to Pivot from Vox Media. Join us next week for more breakdown of all things tech and business. If you like what you heard, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts wherever you're listening. We're fans of our founding sponsor, Smartwater. Delicious, Smartwater is vapor distilled, people. Vapor distilled for purity. Okay? That's even more distilled. With electrolytes added for taste, it leaves us feeling refreshed and ready for the next challenge. Learn more at drinksmartwater.com. Hey, Pivot listeners. This is Kara Swisher. Scott Galloway · 26:18 And Scott Galloway. Kara Swisher · 26:19 It's the week of Thanksgiving, but we're feeling thankful for all of you for letting us make this show. Scott Galloway · 26:24 If you're feeling extra generous this week, please leave us a rating or a review on Apple Podcasts. Kara Swisher · 26:30 If you're listening on your phone right now, just head over to the show page and swipe down. Scott Galloway · 26:34 And if you're not on Apple Podcasts, just tap the link in the show notes to get there. Kara Swisher · 26:38 And while you're at it, we'd also appreciate if you took a minute this week to rate and review our other shows, Recode Decode, Recode Media, and any other podcast you'd like. Five stars for us. Scott? Scott Galloway · 26:48 Thanks, everyone, and what a wonderful country. What a wonderful age. So much to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving.