It was November 2004, I was sitting in a classroom at A&M reading the Batt before my class started and I saw a small add for something called 'the facebook'. I remember glancing at it slightly but moving on to the Fish comic and not thinking much at the ad until much later that day.
Enter my then roommate, Kalyn. I could have the facts a bit skewed but I recall Kalyn and I discussing this 'thefacebook' thing at home later that day and decided to figure out what the hype was all about. The world as we know it changed forever. Facebook became an obsession. I remember telling K that I was now checking Facebook before my e-mail, asking people in class if they had a Facebook, and saying "Hey, we should be Facebook friends!"
Things have slowed down a bit, but still Facebook has expanded
cross country and across the globe. There are FB apps, games to play on FB (sorry ppl, Farmville WAS addiciting!), and even a remote version of Zuckerburg's 'FaceMash' website--'Compare People' (You'll understand this more after the movie).
Naturally, I couldn't resist the chance to watch a movie about the creation of one of the most popular, relevant sites of my generation. The Social Network follows the supposed birth of what we now call Facebook (thanks for dropping the 'THE' guys, "It's cleaner"). Mark Zuckerburg, a sophomore at Harvard at the time, created a rudimentary site used to compare females on the Harvard campus. It's important to mention that he was highly intoxicated at the time and apparently just been dumped by a girl who went to BU (imagine that said with extreme condescension). The site got over 22,000 hits in less than 4 hours and crashed the Harvard server. This anomaly made Mark infamous to say the least, hated definitely, and drew the attention of the wonder twins (Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss). The Winklevie were hoping to have Mark write code for a website they intended to call "Harvard Connection," a social networking site primarily for meeting other Harvard 'edu'ers. Long story short and without giving away too much plot, The Winklevie's website didn't come to fruition by Mark's hands and lawsuits ensued.
Whilst Mark was supposed working on "Harvard Connection," he was really creating "Facebook." Supposedly, he also had the help of Napster creator, Sean Parker, a business associate (Trust Fund baby who got SCREWED), among other computer nerds, and interns.
How much of it is true? All members of the law suits (seems everyone wanted a piece of it but the end) were required to sign confidently agreements and could not disclose much information but it seems that most of the movie is rooted in truth. Word on the street is Mark Zuckerburg doesn't care for the portrayal of his character (probably bc it makes him like an ASS), but then again like the tag line reads :You don't get to 500 millions friends without making a few enemies. You've obviously pissed off some people Mark, but don't worry, us lowly state school people will be forever grateful to your contribution to our generation. ;)
Final thoughts: Intelligent, humorous, insightful. It's not the movie you drop what you're doing to see, but I wouldn't suggest you wait for the DVD either. Try it for Sunday matinee at the very least. You owe it to yourself.
