Summary
As Mark is creating FaceMash, he is trying to convince himself that what he is doing is not wrong. After all, compared to what he really is capable of doing, it really is nothing at all. In his mind, he is convinced that he is doing the greater good for everyone because information and pictures are meant to be shared amongst people. Three days later, Mark began to notice the effect of what he had already done. Many reporters show up to his school asking him questions about the website he created. He also notices that his laptop had frozen because it is serving as a server for the site. He had previously forwarded the website to his friends but his friends had also obviously forwarded it to other people, making it a sensation, and causing his computer to freeze. People from different clubs and backgrounds at Harvard are interested in his website because they can vote between two girls to see who is prettier. Within a matter of thirty minutes, three hundred kids had signed up for FaceMash. He hadn't intended for it to be this way - he only wanted to show it to his friends and they could give their suggestions and feedback about how it could be made better. Mark then realizes that he could be in big trouble because of the ingrowing- popularity of FaceSmash so he decides to take down the website.
Tyler and Cameron hear about the website from their friend Divya. They become very interested in Mark because he could potentially help them with their own idea about the Harvard Connection. They are in great need of a highly skilled programmer which Mark obviously is. Mark gets called to the ad-board meeting to decide what his punishment would be for posting some of the websites. On his way to the meeting, a lot of girls are being judgmental of him because he hurt their feelings because of the rankings on the website. This is discussed in the meeting where they give Mark a probation rather than an expulsion. They tell him to stay out of trouble for the next two years or "or else".Because he is comparing girls to other girls and was considering comparing girls to farm animals, it did flair up the interest of a lot of people. It pissed off girls, feminist groups, and so many different types of other organizations.
Soon after the ad-board meeting, he receives an email from the twins and Divya. The email says that they are in need of a programmer because of a new project they are working on. Eduardo advices Mark to forget about it but in Mark's opinion, it could be interesting. Therefore, he decides to pursue it. He meets up with the twins who present to him their idea. Mark is apparently very excited about it but is also curious about what would be his benefits. They say that he would be a part business owner, make money out of it, and would have the opportunity of clearing his name. Mark then sees it as an easy task because the twins had already done most of the work. The next day, Mark meets up with Eduardo at an Italian Restaurant. Eduardo tells Mark that he has been initiated into Phoenix after the hard work he has put in so far. Mark then tells Eduardo about a website he is thinking of. It is going to be a social network site where people can invite their friends, put up a profile with pictures, connect, and it would be like their social circle similar to the ones they have in real life.Eduardo, after hearing the idea, thinks it's a pretty good one. He notices that Mark must have planned everything in his mind and must have even combined his ideas with the previous programming work he had already done in the past. He will call the website "The Facebook". Eduardo tells Mark that he wants to be a part of the project. Mark tells him he will need his help - financial wise, as well as advice. He would be made the CFO and would be the one who makes the business decisions since that is his major anyways. They both then agree to split it up 70-30. Mark will obtain 70% if the profit while Eduardo gets 30%.
The twins are raged with fury that Mark has not been working with them. Each time they agree to meet up, Mark makes up some excuse that he has a paper to do or some school work to work on. Over time, Mark begins to make up other excuses like the faults of their website. He starts off by saying that the server isn't properly working and the website isn't functioning properly. Later on, the tells them that the website itself is just simply boring. The twins, however, hate the fact that they're waiting for Mark to finish up. The rest of the website will need about ten hours to complete but he keeps on stalling. They then decide to leave him alone for a few weeks, hoping that he will be back to his regular self. Soon, Divya shows up with the Crimson newsletter which features a story about "The Facebook" and an interview with Mark. As soon as they all see this, they are very stunned and raged because the idea is their's and although there are some differences, the concept of having a website where only Harvard students can connect through is the same. This causes the twin to call their multi-millionaire father who understands their perspective. They then come to the conclusion that they will need a lawyer - a good lawyer to make things right and get everything back to order.
Quote
"Every time Tyler glanced toward them, and saw that blue-bordered screen, his cheeks heated up, and fire sparked behind his eyes. This wasn't right, damn it. This wasn't fair." (Mezrich 107)
Reaction
This quote makes me question a lot of things. It makes me question, for one, if business men who have been successful in their endeavours are actually geniuses or they simply took the idea of someone else and renovated it. To me, it seems as if Mark so enjoyed the idea and knew it would get him profit that he decided to pursue the idea. That explains why he previously avoided them and created excuses to avoid interacting with them. Besides that, I like the way Mezrich describes the emotion going through Tyler's mind. I like the fact that he uses "blue-bordered screen" to describe Facebook. That's actually cool and better than just saying "Every time Tyler glanced toward them, and say that website, his cheeks heated up..." It shows the success of Facebook because by writing "blue-bordered screen", I automatically knew what he meant. Therefore, he makes use of common knowledge. With the description, I can feel the intensity of Tyler's emotion with his use of language. He says that his cheeks heated up and fire also heated up behind his eyes meaning that his eyes have a lot of emotions behind them, he is, of course, clearly angered by what he witnessing before his eyes.
I can understand Tyler when he feels as if it isn't fair and it isn't right. With this instance, he probably learns the lesson that life isn't fair and although there might be a killer idea someone thinks of, the person who enforces the idea will end up being the successful one. It also teaches Tyler and the reader also that this is a world of competition. It really is the survival of the fittest. If you have an idea, you must act upon it otherwise someone is going to steal the idea and make it their own. I do appreciate the fact, however, that Tyler is stepping up and making sure Mark is reprimanded for stealing what clearly is his. The only mistake that I think Tyler made was to not work create Facebook between himself, his brother, or Divya or at least work with someone he knows really well. Since his father is a very prosperous and wealthy guy, he must have some great connections.
This quote helped me learn that if I have a killer idea that I know is going to change the world, I definitely should act upon it and very quickly. It's also not morally right to take someone else's work and claim it as your own - I, personally, have to avoid that with essays that I have to do frequently. In conclusion, although Mark may be some kind of "genius", doing this to the brothers and their friend was very wrong and demonstrated in this quote, Tyler's anger is very much understandable. I don't blame him. I, too, would be very angry if I had an idea worth over a billion dollars and the kid who stole the idea is making all the money.
Questions:
*Would they make more money if they sue him or if they decided to partner up with him (only having a small percentage of the company's profit)?
*Without the idea of the twin, could Mark have made his way to opening Facebook anyways since he created FaceMash and other websites?
*How much really is an idea worth? Is it possible to get a large chuck of money for suggesting what the name of a website/company will be?
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