COMPANY executives are usually known for blue-sky thinking, rather than throwing cold water on ideas—or themselves, for that matter. But the recent actions of several higher-ups at big Silicon Valley technology companies including Facebook and Microsoft have disproved that theory.
Mark Zuckerberg, the irreverent founder of Facebook, the popular social network, posted a video online on August 13th showing him emptying a bucket of ice water over his head (pictured). Mr Zuckerberg was put up to the jape by Chris Christie, governor of the state of New Jersey. Before inflicting an icy pain on himself, Mr Zuckerberg challenged his colleague Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, Reed Hastings, the founder of video streaming website Netflix, and Bill Gates, the former chief executive of Microsoft and the world’s richest man, to undergo the same challenge within 24 hours.
All three are in good, if not cold, company. At the same time as Mr Zuckerberg was giving himself a cold bath, Microsoft’s current chief executive, Satya Nadella, was being doused with icy water by a group of software developers. Dripping wet, Mr Nadella declared that Larry Page and Jeff Bezos, the chief executives of Google and Amazon respectively, should also be hosed down.
Before you panic that the world has spun off its axis, it should be noted these high-powered hijinx are for a good cause. Each bucket of cold water raises awareness of a campaign to fight amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, a degenerative illness. Individuals are “nominated” by a friend, family member or colleague who has already undergone the challenge. Anyone that shirks it after being put forward is cajoled into donating to the charity as a forfeit.
And of course the sight of major titans of business wilfully humiliating themselves with a bucket of freezing-cold water has another welcome side effect: over a two week period at the end of July and the start of August, donations to the ALS Association, a charity tackling the problem, were four times higher than the same period last year.
This is the latest viral fad that follows “milking” (disbursing the contents of a milk carton over one’s head) and “neknomination” (drinking large amounts of alcohol, often in putrid combinations or in odd locations). All leverage the power of online social networks: challengers are tagged on their Facebook profiles; pictures are shared via Twitter; ordeals are videotaped and spread via Instagram.
Celebrities have faced the ice bucket challenge for a few weeks. Singer Justin Timberlake and Ethel Kennedy, the 86-year-old widow of the late Robert F Kennedy, are just two of those who have embarrassed themselves in the name of a good cause. At a time when criticism has been laid at Silicon Valley’s door for self-interest, stinginess and an inflated sense of self-worth, the ice bucket campaign is also a way to show the human side of the tech industry: it is both a welcome public-relations opportunity, and a way to make a real difference to an important issue. Twitter boss Dick Costolo managed to squeeze his challenge into a six-second video produced via Vine, the video-sharing service his company bought in October 2012.
To date, almost every participant in the ice bucket challenge has noted how cold the water was as they wring their shirts dry on camera. And though this Schumpeterdoes not wish to be a spoilsport, precautions should be taken. Not everyone lives in sunny Silicon Valley. Cold water can cause hypothermia, and a version of the fad has already been linked to one death. May we suggest simply donating, and forgoing the bit with the challenges, icy or otherwise?
