Just like the rest of Facebook's interns, Harrison Barnes shadowed full-time employees, sat in on meetings and gained a better understanding of how the world's most popular social network operates.
Unlike the rest of Facebook's summer interns, the 6-foot-8 Warriors guard also attended USA Basketball's prestigious training camp in Las Vegas.
Thus is life for Barnes, a rising star in the NBA and one of the league's most fan-friendly athletes. In between training with USA Basketball, flying to Brazil for the World Cup and working on his game, Barnes squeezed in a weeklong crash course at Facebook.
Sam Laird describes Barnes' experience in a new feature for Mashable. Laird notes that in addition to providing Barnes with a better feel for the platform which he has used to engage with hundreds of thousands of fans, the star also dished out insight to Facebook's staff about how pros use the social network. More and more these days athletes are using Facebook to speak directly to their fans. Derek Jeter and Landon Donovan announced their retirements on Facebook.
"Being in the NBA and able to connect with fans through social experiences is great," Barnes told Lair. "But then to come here and connect with the people who make these tools and learn how to use them more effectively and also talk about how they can be enhanced is even better."
Barnes, of course, took to Facebook and Instagram (which is owned by Facebook) to post several photos from his internship, which was officially an "externship." Barnes was not getting paid and he was not taking the spot of another intern, so he was technically considered an "extern."
Barnes even got a look at the the Oculus Rift headset, the prized product of the company Oculus, which Facebook recently purchased for $2 billion.
The 22-year-old Barnes may have a future at Facebook, but for the time being he's doing pretty well for himself with the Warriors. The seventh overall pick of the 2012 NBA draft, Barnes was named to the NBA All-Rookie first team in 2013. He's averaged at least 25 minutes and nine points in each of his first two seasons in the league and he figures to be a crucial piece for the Warriors as they look to establish themselves as a force in the rough-and-tumble Western Conference.
