reading: why Facebook needs Sheryl Sandberg – BusinessWeek

Ever since Silicon Valley started turning out companies with beautiful growth charts, entrepreneurs and their investors have talked about the need for “adult supervision”—a seasoned executive who can take over a startup from its inexperienced founders, guide it through the hazards of hyperkinetic expansion, and convert a great idea or breakthrough technology into a bona fide business. Today, however, young founders generally want to remain at the helm of their companies, and there’s a new shorthand for the kind of leader who’s willing to serve as a second-in-command, complementing without overshadowing the wunderkind entrepreneur: a Sheryl Sandberg. As in, “we’re growing, but God knows how we’ll make money. What we really need is a Sheryl Sandberg.”

via Why Facebook Needs Sheryl Sandberg – BusinessWeek.

The King of… Twitter meets telly (@c4kingof)

Channel 4 has commissioned a new multi-platform comedy talkshow with Twitter at its heart. King Of… will turn to the twittersphere each week to canvas audiences at home on their opinions about all manner of subjects, to gauge which musical, newsreader or supermodel, for example, is considered leader in their field.

The show will be hosted by presenter and journalist Claudia Winkleman who will encourage viewers on Twitter to follow @C4Kingof and join in and continue discussing the topics by using the #kingof hashtag.

@C4Kingof will then retweet the best comments and at the end of each episode pronounce someone King of Tweets.

via C21Media:

Will be interesting to see how well PRs can respond to the outcomes and make the most of the results via other channels. (hat tip: @robertandrews)

links for 2011-05-09