Lacy got a raw deal on the Zuckerberg interview
I was at SXSW during the now-infamous Zuckerberg keynote, but missed seeing it go down live (I think I was out to lunch or something). I’ve only met Sarah once so I don’t know her very well, but having just watched their interview in its entirety I definitely think she some unduly harsh blowback. No doubt about it, as far as interviews go it was on the softball, congenial, not terribly insightful end of the spectrum. But the raw vitriol and abuse in the online aftermath really seems absurdly disproportionate to what actually happened on stage. Maybe you had to be there, I don’t know, but I don’t think the whole thing was as awful as it was made out to be. Too casual for a big-name keynote interview, sure, but it’s not like SXSW has some stuffy atmosphere that reporters play to, else risk being crucified.
Sarah’s reactions, though, were what seemed to seal the deal in the ensuing wave of criticism. Her on-stage comment (“You try doing what I do for a living, it’s not as easy as it looks.”), her follow-up tweet (“seriously screw you all guys…”), and her post-mortem commentary (“I’m one of the only women reporting on tech…”) were far more defensive and damning than whatever happened on stage. Sarah, happy to introduce you to some of the many, many other extremely talented women I know who report on tech — especially my pal Kara Swisher, whom I’m sure would be more than happy to impart a few tips on how to conduct a kickass executive interview.
I'm an editor and technology critic in the midst of founding a new web startup: 
All added up, I paid over $1000.00 of my own money to attend sxsw. I attend in order to interact with my peers on my chosen profession. In exchange for my money I go and listen to the leaders in my industry speak, hopefully providing some insight to how they have addressed technical challenges, and sometimes be given the opportunity to ask them questions directly.
I do not paid to listen to industry leaders make chit chat and flirt with their friends who conduct the interview.
I have read all the interviews you have conducted with industry leaders Ryan, you don’t pull any punches, you get right to the meat of things and ask the hard questions as a service to your readers.
I acknowledge some of the Tweets I saw go by were flippant and exaggerated, but after watching the video, and playing the part of a paying conference attendee, would you be satisfied with the information that came out of that interview?
Sure, now amortize that $1000 across the 3-5 days you spent there, and the 10-20 panels and parties you probably attended. :)
But again, I’m not at all saying it was a good interview or a great use of time, just that executive interviews on the lame end of the spectrum happen ALL the time (watch any network TV show) and you rarely see anyone get crucified for it as in here. Given the level of attention you’d think she’d punched Zuck in the face or something, it was just way over the top!
I think a lot of people went into the panel/interview/whatever thinking they’d get a lot more out of it. Anyone who’s seen a Zuckerberg interview or watch him speak would know that there wouldn’t much reason to go.
I think that because the SXSW crowd (who probably are not familiar with SF and the personalities) probably had an elevated expectation of the content.
That being said, I think the whole thing was disappointing for a lot of different reasons. I think the interview/QA balance could’ve been better, I think the crowd was amazingly rude, and I think (like you) that Sarah could’ve handled the post-mortem a little better (but I don’t entirely blame her because it’s really tough).
Ultimately though, I think the experience has turned for the better. I think Sarah’s gotten something out of it, I know Facebook and Zuckerberg took advantage and turned it around with their party/QA and I think Sarah is probably going to come out of the whole thing better off than going in.
As for the women in tech thing, there are more than most people think. The great thing is that more often than not they’re very exceptional at what they do, which is awesome.
I was SO annoyed when I saw her say “I’m one of the only women reporting on tech”. Is she joking? Is her world that Sarah-Lacy-centric? Not to be a jerk or flamer, but she just isn’t a good tech reporter or even, when she attempts to be, a good pundit.
I don’t necessarily think she “got what she deserved” or anything like that, but I can’t say I wasn’t a little sympathetic with the audience reaction, especially given her own responses to the crisis.
I already wrote up my thoughts for Download Squad (http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/10/beacon-sucks-sums-up-sxswi-facebook-keynote/), so I won’t rehash them again – but I agree with you and the other commenters: she wasn’t deserving of some of the harshest criticisms, but it was her statements after the fact that really pissed people off. It was what really pissed me off — and I was sympathetic in the beginning (and I was also there).
I totally agree that the myth overshadowed the actual event — and I’l own up to my own part in adding hyperbole to the keynote — but when I think of all the interviews, keynotes, presentations or speeches that I have seen in my life, I cannot ever recall feeling so incensed while watching (because I felt it was disrespectful on many levels – mostly because it was so patronizing to a crowd that really didn’t need the patronization), nor can I remember a crowd ever turning against both parties, as it was happening, like they/we did on Sunday.
The media firestorm after the fact was to be expected and Lacy hurt her own case by making statements like, “They (SXSW attendees) just weren’t ready for someone like Mark” and “People like Mark will never show up at SXSW again because of this” — bullshit and more bullshit. Zuckerberg did the same thing with that mulligan attempt at a Q&A during the Facebook Garage thing offsite. We left after about 15 minutes, once it became clear he was not going to address things or actually be correct in his responses (he actually said Facebook doesn’t track how long users are online. *silence*).
I was also a bit confused when I saw the video after hearing the post-mortem on TWIT. Scoble et al made it sound like they burned the place to the ground. The reality was pretty tame by comparison. She even seemed to invite the transition to a “take questions from the audience” approach at one point. I think it was group “piling on” in the Twitter cloud that really got out of hand.
As for Zuckerberg, he struck me as a “geek out of water”, and doesn’t like interviews because he has the charm and wit and ability to think on his feet of . . . well . . . someone who has little of those things.