She has nothing to apologize for. I can’t imagine Matt Lauer being asked to apologize because he giggles when interviewing Salma Hayek. Had Sarah insulted someone, sure, but she was simply human enough to be hurt by what she saw as an unreasonable audience.

I can understand how the attendees wanted more than a puff piece, but it it clear that MZ was intent on working on “charm” and “humanity” more than he was on talking about hard tech. The continuing overreaction of the techochamber is many times more embarrassing than the interview we’ve all seen so many times by now.

Get a life, people can read as well as watch video, people also can tell if someone is being pigheaded.

This article is about her response to what went on.

If anyone is being a troll its your abrasive tone.

You wouldn’t say shit like this to peoples face so be civil here.

I knew Lacy was the wrong person for the interview within the first minutes when she said “go Spain!” regarding the recently released Spanish version of Facebook. At that moment, she immediately offended the rest of the Spanish speaking audience (no doubt mostly NOT from Spain).

My tweets (sent via my phone):
1:43 #sxsw this chump lady interviewing Mark needs to go find another career. We are not the financial crowd. Her approach needs a different tone

1:45 #sxsw mark’s interviewer.. wrote a book and is trying to promote it?

I give people chances and forgive HUGE misgivings with a sincere apology. When I read about her “screw you guys” tweet, I was completely taken aback.

Yes, I’d love for her to realize WHY so many people were offended, apologize, and grow personally and professionally.

To this crowd, the attendees, I want to see a video apology that’s out there on YouTube and the like (not just her website).
I’d still accept it, and rock on!

I wasn’t on Twitter at all during the interview so I have no idea what went on there, but I know that the people around me weren’t happy after just a couple of minutes.

And where the heck were you the entire SXSW? I tried to find you and no matter what corner I turned, I couldn’t. After we only had a chance for a quick hello at blogworld, you were on my short list of people I wanted to have a good discussion with. Next year we need Twitter w/GPS enhancement :)

I would totally like to chat with you about it and get your perspective – maybe we can do a call this week. As for not coming to tech conferences, I think that would be a mistake – both for you as a presenter and as an attendee.

I wasn’t there, but I have watched from the front row when Mike Arrington interviewed Zuckerberg, and again when John Battelle did. Neither interview was good…and it wasn’t the interviewer. Mark just doesn’t say much.

That said, Sarah could have handled this better. In the heat of the moment it is sometimes hard to read the audience perceptions. But…she certainly knew afterwards, and still maintains her stand.

I know Sarah and like her. She is a good journalist. But writing a compelling story, and interviewing someone live are two very different things. When it goes well it looks easy. Interviewing someone like Mark takes a lot of preparation and a LONG list of questions because you are likely to get very short answers.

I had the privilege of moderating a panel at MIX08. It was easy because I chose a panel of really smart, expressive, intersting people; Dave McClure, Robert Scoble, Kevin Rose, Ryan McIntyre, and Kimbal Musk. The hardest part was trying to give equal air time to these super stars.

The interviewee is the star of the show. When the interviwer or moderator becomes the focus…it usually isn’t pretty. Sarah took a risk in trying a different approach with Mark. It didn’t work. She dug a deeper hole by her reactions during and after the interview.

I think the big lesson here is to involve the audience right from the start. Invite them to ask questions ANYTIME during the interview…and recognize them immediately when they approach the mic.

The other obvious lesson is to always come prepared with LOTS of questions…more than you think you will need.

This, of course, is completely backwards. In a week I’m not going to remember what conference this was, but I’ll remember Lacy’s interview. The audience didn’t ruin the conference; the interviewer ruined her own name.

I wonder how many of next year’s up-and-coming CEOs saw this interview on reddit/digg/HN/etc. and have mentally blacklisted Lacy already.

The only way I’d do a Lacy interview now is to come out guns blazing, so I could at least be known as the one who won’t take crap from anybody. I’d bring an air-horn to blow whenever she interrupted me (I might need two), and at the end I’d stand up and proudly put on an “I Survived a Sarah Lacy Interview” t-shirt.

Zuckerberg is borderline robotic anytime he speaks in public. If he doesn’t have an announcement, he’s not exactly one for witty banter.

Good interviewees have just as much of an opportunity to shape an interview as an interviewer does.

From what I have read this wasn’t the only session where the lunatics took over the asylum. Ms. Lacy was dead on when she said it was the Digg model; if adults act like petulant children, then they’ll get what they want. Personally, I don’t put up with that from my two-year-old and I certainly wouldn’t put up with it from a bunch of developers.

If you really want to hear about tech, a CEO is never going to be the person to give it to you. They don’t code; they steer the ship. And asking her readers? While she works for Yahoo, she’s a BusinessWeek reporter, and that audience would have asked the exact same questions that she was asking.

I’ve watched that video more times than I can count due to this endless rehashing, and I still come to the same conclusion; a group of adults acted like high school students at a boring assembly. Unfortunately, there’s no one around to give them detention or ask them for an apology, which I feel is owed both to Ms. Lacy as well as Mr. Zuckerberg. I didn’t see him Twittering about or heckling his interviewer.

I watched an annotated version of the interview, and the online gossip was getting snippy as early as 1:30 into the interview – at that point MZ was still thanking her for her setup question.

As far as the hair-twirling, some people need to go on a real salescall, and watch an agressively miniskirted saleswoman absolutely nail a deal with an older male client. Business is business, and all the “omg she’s flirting” angst was frankly baffling coming from a crowd of professionals. Establishing intimacy is one way to draw a shy person out of a shell.

The audience’s reaction was way WAY over the top, and I suspect Sarah quite justifiably feels that she was dogpiled.

Basically unless they were there, they should shut up. Watching an online video and basing your opinion off of that is pretty idiotic.

I was there, and she deserved to be heckled. She asked dumb questions, she talked way too much, and was too self-absorbed to realize this. The simple fact that she blames this on ‘twitter’ etc is indicative of how little she understands. I don’t use twitter, and I can tell you the feeling that the interview was going bad was palpable. EVERYONE THERE FELT IT WAS AWFUL.

So next time you decide to take sides on an issue, please actually know what you’re talking about. Basing your stupid opinion off a poorly recorded Web video is an indication of how totally retarded you are.

Great post, Allen!