The Social Network

Over the weekend I saw The Social Network and after reading the book it was based off of, I was pretty excited. Any story that combines business and super smart technology moguls is pretty much a guaranteed win for me. So how did the movie measure up? Let’s find out.

(some spoilers will follow) I loved it. I figured I’d just throw it out there for you right in the beginning. David Fincher (as usual) directed a great movie and Aaron Sorkin (as usual) wrote a great screen adaptation. Jesse Eisenberg portrayed Zuckerburg exactly as I pictured him, capturing the mannerisms as I imagined them and pretty much as a computer nerd executes them.

The movie is done like this: Zuckerberg, in the midst of two lawsuits (around 2008), was talking with the prosecution of both. As each side was telling their version of what happened, we’d see that part of the story as it was happening in 2003-2004. We got to meet all of the major players mentioned in the book and how each of them viewed the events as they played out. I thought this was the perfect way to do it- it didn’t assigned blame to either party, and continually reminded us that while this is how the story was told, we’ll never really know what happened.

I don’t think the movie portrayed Zuckerburg as an asshole, as some believe. I think it shows that he’s a computer genius who wanted to make cool software, and he was manipulated, and made decisions that any 21 year old person would probably when placed in that situation. There were even parts where you could tell Zuckerberg regrets what happened, especially with his [former] best friend Eduardo. I think the person came out looking the worst was Sean Parker, who in the movie used his clout to manipulate Mark. However, it should be noted that without Parker’s help, Facebook may not be where it is today.

A couple of things to remember:  Eduardo Saverin, Mark’s business partner who seemingly got the shaft, is still worth around $1 Billion. That’s the kind of shaft I’d like to get. The Winklevoss Twins, who claim Mark stole their idea, were A) Already rich as hell, and B) Had an idea that wasn’t all that similar to Facebook, in my opinion. The book explains this in a little more detail, but it seems they wanted more of a dating site than a social network. To claim Mark stole the idea, and them winning in court, sets a somewhat dangerous precedent. Also, did I mention they are already super rich?

All in all, The Social Network is a great movie, and while some liberties were of-course taken, I think it provides some insight into Facebook and how Silicon Valley operates. One thing that’s certain: All I wanted to do after the movie was code.