• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, January 4, 2017

Mark Zuckerberg will be a busy man in 2017. In addition to running the world’s largest social network and figuring out more ways to invade every aspect of our live, the Facebook founder and CEO has vowed to meet people in all 50 states, as part of an effort to understand the needs and perspectives of all its users.

Zuckerberg has made a habit of setting himself personal challenges at the beginning of each year; past examples include learning Chinese and reading 25 books. Explaining this year’s challenge in a Facebook post, he wrote: “My personal challenge for 2017 is to have visited and met people in every state in the US by the end of the year… After a tumultuous last year, my hope for this challenge is to get out and talk to more people about how they’re living, working and thinking about the future.”

The goal isn’t quite as daunting as it might seem, Zuckerberg admitted, as he’s already met people in around 20 states, leaving 30 to go.

There’s no question this year’s challenge is informed by last year’s political upheaval, culminating in Donald Trump’s surprise victory on a populist platform, including opposition to globalization and immigration – especially in states far away from the centers of economic and technological activity on the U.S. coasts.

In the same post, Zuckerberg alluded to the factors driving this trend, including the loss of traditional manufacturing jobs due to free trade policies and technological advances: “Going into this challenge, it seems we are at a turning point in history. For decades, technology and globalization have made us more productive and connected. This has created many benefits, but for a lot of people it has also made life more challenging. This has contributed to a greater sense of division than I have felt in my lifetime. We need to find a way to change the game so it works for everyone.”

The 50-state challenge is a first step towards that goal: “ My work is about connecting the world and giving everyone a voice. I want to personally hear more of those voices this year. It will help me lead the work at Facebook and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative so we can make the most positive impact as the world enters an important new period.”