Mark Zuckerberg took his VR avatar to Puerto Rico, and it was just so awkward

For all the good Facebook has done in the wake of Hurricane Maria, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sending his cartoon avatar to the ravaged streets of Puerto Rico on Monday afternoon stands out as a tone-deaf misstep. He capitalized on a natural disaster to promote his company's new tech, and the whole thing just felt ... awkward. 

Zuck sent his curly-haired, smiling avatar on a virtual journey to the suffering territory with Rachel Rubin Franklin, the leader of Facebook's social reality team, courtesy of a 360-degree video created by NPR. 

Zuckerberg and Franklin's cartoon avatars floated along observing floods and destruction as Zuckerberg waxed poetic about the "magical" quality of virtual reality.  Read more...