A few weeks ago, the NACUE team came together to watch ‘The Social Network’ – a film about the rise of one of the most popular websites on the planet.
To put it simply, The Social Network is one of the best films out this year. As entrepreneurs, witnessing the conception of one of the fastest growing businesses of the 21st century is absolutely fascinating. Facebook is a social media giant that has indisputably changed the world, affecting everything from how people share their lives, to how people market, promote and sell businesses, products and even their own talents. Facebook is now valued at over $25 billion and has over 500 million users. That is one person for every 14 people on Earth!
So as the tagline goes, “you don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies,” the story follows the rise of Mark Zuckerberg. Played brilliantly by Jesse Eisenberg, Mark is a stereotypically awkward character, a lonely geek that is not very popular or suave with the ladies.
In an attempt to attract girls and gain a place in a prestigious ‘Final Club’ – an exclusive group for the most popular and talented students, Mark agrees to assist the Winklevoss brothers and their business partner, Divya Narendra in creating HarvardConnection – a social network for Harvard students.
This idea planted a seed in Mark’s head and as a character that is more comfortable in front a computer than a person, he soon realises the potential of replicating the entire social experience of college and putting it all online. With very little regard for the fact that he had stolen the idea, he creates TheFacebook.com with his new business partner and fellow geek, Eduardo Saverin.
They had no idea that The Facebook, as it was known in its earliest days, would blossom to become a global phenomenon. Despite the questionable ethics behind the idea, Zuckerberg demonstrated considerable entrepreneurial flair. He employed talented students using imaginative hiring methods and negotiated sweat equity deals with them. As entrepreneurs, we can certainly learn much from the young entrepreneur.
Without spoiling the story too much, the momentum of the business from there on out is staggering. The company goes from strength to strength, expanding to more colleges throughout the USA. Being apart of a company exploding in growth and popularity must have been exhilarating but along this road of success, comes temptation, distractions and arguments. Friends become enemies and the happy days of working together in the dorm rooms are at a stark contrast to the arguments in cold board rooms as lawyers battle it out on both sides.
It is a story we have all seen before in one form or another. Legal battles play their part in the rites of passage to fame and fortune in America. Yet despite the numerous stereotypes, the story is very well implemented. Masterfully written by Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network has almost no physical action and so the conversations between characters are the key story telling element. From Mark’s witty quips to Eduardo’s polite and professional nature or to the Winklevoss brothers commanding yet comedic presence in the film, the dialogue-centric script works well in this film as makes the experience engaging and amusing.
It is almost tragically ironic how Mark is totally clueless when it comes to human interaction but ends up creating a website dedicated to socialising when he has very few ‘real friends’ to call his own. He loses his best friend throughout the course of the story, his girlfriend leaves him and the lonely geek stereotype prevails, regardless of his success. This story echoes the growing sentiment that if you cannot socialise in real life than social networking on the internet isn’t going to be much help.
With that said, The Social Network is a greatly insightful film. Whilst the details may not be entirely accurate, the film is certainly believable. The film chronicles the fascinating journey of friends, business and money during the early days of one of the greatest innovations on the web. Even if Zuckerberg lost his friends, no one can take away the fact that he has changed the world and as the youngest billionaire on the planet, I don’t think he is complaining.
The Social Network… I “Like” This.
(Note: This blog post was first featured on the NACUE blog here: http://nacue.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/nacue-teams-watches-social-network/)
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