You may find yourself admiring Mark Zuckerberg for his accomplishments, or you may detest him for the same reasons.
However, for a brief moment, when the Meta CEO is on stage sporting his Meta Ray-Ban Displays and continuously fails to execute the simplest function these AI-enabled glasses were meant for — answering a WhatsApp call — he transforms from the omnipotent Zuckerberg into just another individual.
He’s simply a person, standing uncomfortably before a crowd of thousands, asking them to ignore a noisy ringtone.
Throughout the years, we’ve seen a plethora of tech mishaps during product demonstrations, awkward instances that remind us of the human struggle faced by those attempting to present their creations. Sometimes they’re charming (like Apple’s Craig Federighi having to hang up on his mother during an OS demo), but most of the time, they’re hard to watch.
Frequently, we observe someone who wasn’t the most confident presenter to begin with (which tech enthusiast truly is?) struggling as a flaw in advanced technology interferes with a routine they’ve rehearsed just as meticulously as one would for a high school production. At that moment, you might feel like a parent wishing to turn off the camera.
Thus, Zuckerberg’s demonstration finds a place in the hall of tech failures (and considering that Apple no longer conducts live tech demos at its keynotes, he deserves some praise for making an attempt). Nevertheless, it remains a novice error compared to these notable tech missteps.
1. Steve Jobs requests more WiFi from the audience
Who stands as the ultimate tech presenter? In Silicon Valley, few would contest the claim of Steve Jobs, whose keynotes thrived on establishing a connection with the audience. (I experienced this firsthand on numerous occasions, including the memorable 2007 iPhone reveal, which had its own intriguing moments).
Yet even Jobs could stumble or exhibit anger. In 2010, he tossed a camera that failed to sync with an iMac at a stage technician. During the iPhone 4 presentation, Jobs spent an awkward few minutes disengaged from the audience — a rare occurrence — while attempting to access the New York Times on Safari.
Later, true to his nature, he did not annoy a stagehand but rather the entire audience, many of whom were tech reporters equipped with mobile hotspots. He had proof: “There are 570 WiFi base stations operating in this room” — before requesting everyone to close their laptops and disable their hotspots for the demo to succeed.
“The WiFi” continues to be a common excuse for tech demo flops; we witnessed that during Zuckerberg’s keynote. Yet in this Jobs presentation, the WiFi was genuinely at fault.
2. Elon Musk breaks a Cybertruck window
“Funnier every time you view it.” That was Mashable’s take on the 2019 presentation when Tesla CEO Elon Musk went overboard in showcasing the durability of the Cybertruck’s windows, which were still years away from release.
The lead designer of the Cybertruck dropped metal balls on Tesla glass plates that remained intact. Then Musk insisted that the designer throw the balls at the truck. After shattering one window, he persisted, leading to two bullet-like impact marks on the Cybertruck.
In hindsight, this may have been the first indication that <a href="https://mashable.com/article/cybertruck-is-over" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1