Ajit Monteiro

Mark Zuckerberg has finally joined the ranks of Richard Nixon, Bart Simpson, Barack Obama, and Thom Yorke, all folks who have been honored as some of the few celebrities to grace the cover of everyone’s favorite potrzebie title, Mad Magazine.

The cover [Click to embiggen] will complement what will probably be a horribly unfunny piece on the inside of the magazine entitled “The 50 Worst Things About Facebook” and will grace newsstands in about a week.

What’s interesting, I think is that Mad chose Zuckerberg as a cover-boy at all. While always topical and up-to-date (I remember reading “articles” about Spiro Agnew back when I was a kid and having no idea who he was aside from the fact that his name was an anagram for something dirty), placing a someone who is essentially a business person on the cover is an interesting move, especially for a title that describes itself as “Greasy Kids Stuff.” Obviously Facebook is big with the kids, but how many would know the founder on sight?

I asked Mad’s editor John Ficarra to explain his actions.

TC: Why Mark? Why now?

Ficarra: It was a pure business decision. We got a cool $2 mil from the Winklevoss twins to “poke” him a new one.

TC: What is Mad doing in terms of social media? Do you have a MySpace page?

Ficarra: We don’t have a MySpace page, but we have a very heavy presence on Friendster. Plus, you can usually find us every night…late into the night…on Chatroulette. That’s us with the Zorro mask and the SuperSoaker.

TC: Where is your iPad app? What’s the hold up?

Ficarra: We have a GREAT MAD app! It’s for the Zune and it’s available exclusively at Circuit City. Check it out!

TC: It is my understanding that Mad writers aren’t particularly intelligent. Who spelled Zuckerberg’s name for you?

Ficarra: Any idiot can spell Mark. Duh!

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CrunchBase Information

Facebook

Website:	facebook.com
Location:	Palo Alto, California, United States
Founded:	February 1, 2004
Funding:	$2.34B

Facebook is the world’s largest social network, with over 500 million users.

Facebook was founded by… Learn More

Information provided by CrunchBase

The adoption rate of the iPad was celebrated as the fastest ever in electronics history. Now, less than a year after the tablet's launch, Microsoft has usurped that distinction with Kinect.

Kinect, Microsoft's new controller-free gaming peripheral for the Xbox 360, has been selling at a breakneck pace, with 2.5 million sensors sold within its first 25 days on the market (Read reviews of the Kinect).

Diaspora seems to be shaping up very well. Seems to not just be a facebook competitor, but linkedin/yammer too.

We have an aggressive plan to roll out new features, while always making sure to maintain Kik’s original simplicity and elegance. This will come in three releases. Let’s call them Perfect Daisy, 1,000 Words, and Sneaky Rhino.

Perfect Daisy: an incredibly simple, yet perfect flower. We think Kik Messenger is pretty close to the mark, but there’s always room for improvement. So we will further optimize battery usage, simplify user registration and fix a few minor bugs (which you probably never even noticed). We’ll also add a block feature, which will allow users to block contacts from their Kik address list.

1,000 Words: a picture is worth – well, you know! We will take Kik, and add profile pictures and picture messaging. This will let Kiksters customize their profile on Kik, and expand the meaning of connecting in real time. Not only can you instantly share what you are feeling, but now you will also be able to instantly share what you are seeing. Very cool.

Sneaky Rhino: for this, you will just have to wait and see. How would you feel if you turned around, and there was a rhino 10 feet away? We think you’ll get the same feeling when you get this release. It will take Kik, and using an incredibly powerful technology we have developed over the last 16 months, wirelessly connect your smartphone to any PC or TV. This is where Kik will expand from being just an app, to a whole new, all encompassing social platform – with music too. We can’t share more than that, but when you see it, we think you’ll agree.

I've been using kik a lot and it looks very promising. They do need to get to a stable state, and get their next major release out the door though, if they want to keep their momentum.

Apple Inc. is preparing to disclose that its iTunes store will soon start carrying music by the Beatles, according to people familiar with the situation, a move that would fill a glaring gap in the collection of the world's largest music retailer.

Does anyone care? I hope they have something better up their sleeve.