Facebook’s Zuckerberg to do second public Q&A today

Do you have something you’ve been dying to ask Mark Zuckerberg?

Today, you might just get your chance. Starting at 2 p.m. Pacific, the Facebook CEO will conduct a live public Q&A. And while only a lucky few will get to see it in person, anyone can watch it online. And anyone can suggest a question, as hundreds of people have done in the comments section of the official Facebook post about the upcoming session.

Watching or posing a question is easy. Just go to this link, either to watch it live or to see it later, since Facebook will archive the session, as it did with Zuck’s first Q&A on November 6. The first in English, that is. He also did a Q&A in Mandarin in China in October.

Zuckerberg, of course, isn’t the only high-profile person to subject himself or herself to public questions. Many celebrities and political leaders have done so in recent months and years, usually as part of a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) session. Among those who have done AMAs are President Barack Obama, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.

During Zuckerberg’s Q&A last month, he played it close to the vest, revealing almost nothing of particular significance. Indeed, perhaps the most talked about topic was that he wears the same type of T-shirt every day. The Facebook CEO also noted that he’d found his portrayal in the movie The Social Network “hurtful” and that he’d tried to “block it out.” In addition, in response to a question about whether Facebook was losing its charm, he said his goal had never been “to make Facebook cool.”

It’s impossible to know in advance what Zuck will talk about today, but it’s a safe bet that would-be inquisitors have posed many of the same questions this time around that were asked (but not answered) last time and that he will play it similarly safe. “I hope this time Mark will answer … all top comment(s), otherwise he will prove that he is just doing [a] show and that users’ opinions [mean] nothing for him,” read one comment left on the announcement post.

Nevertheless, hundreds of users took the time to write a question. Among the most common, as will likely surprise no one who has spent any time in the Facebook universe, is why the service doesn’t feature a “dislike” button. Presumably, Zuckerberg will stay away from that one today, just as he did last time.

But among those many hundreds of questions are quite a few that merit Zuckerberg’s attention. These are some of the ones VentureBeat’s editorial team thought were most worthy of being addressed:

• “Mark: A common complaint about Facebook is that the user interface changes frequently and without warning, causing users to become frustrated and confused. How do you balance the need to move fast and innovate while still providing a predictable and familiar application to users? And do you think Facebook is finding the right balance?”
• “What was the biggest thing you learned from all [of Google’s] social product launches? How did you stay so calm and focused when such a large and powerful company was coming right at you?”
• “How do you plan to make better use of WhatsApp and integrate its features into Messenger?”

And several people asked variations questions related to the fact that the organic reach of their Facebook Pages has been in decline and that they want it to increase again.

For now, you still have a chance to get your question asked — just add a comment to the ongoing thread.

And stay tuned. VentureBeat will be covering the Q&A and posting stories about the most interesting and relevant information to come out of the event.