Summary Social Network
In October 2003, Harvard University student Mark Zuckerberg has the idea to create a website to rate the attractiveness of female Harvard undergraduates after his girlfriend Erica Albright breaks up with him. Over the course of a single night, Mark hacks into the databases of various residence halls, downloads pictures and names of female students and, using an algorithm for ranking chess players supplied by his best friend Eduardo Saverin (essentially the Elo rating system, written on a window pane recalling a scene of A beautiful mind), he creates in a few hours a website called "FaceMash.com", where male students can interactively choose which of two girls presented at a time is more attractive.
Mark is punished with six months of academic probation after the traffic to the site brings down parts of Harvard's computer network, and he becomes vilified among most of Harvard's female community. However, the popularity of "FaceMash" and the fact that he created it in one night, while drunk, brings him to the attention of Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss, identical twins and members of Harvard's rowing team, and their business partner Divya Narendra. As a result, he gains a job working for the Winklevoss twins as the programmer of their website, Harvard Connection.
Soon afterwards, Mark approaches his friend Eduardo and tells him of his idea for what he calls "Thefacebook", an online social networking website exclusive to Harvard University students. He explains this would let people share personal and social information securely. Eduardo agrees to help Mark, providing a fee of $1,000 to help start the site. Once complete, they distribute the link to Eduardo's connections at the Phoenix S-K final club, and it quickly becomes popular throughout the student body. When they learn of Thefacebook, the Winklevoss twins and Narendar believe that Zuckerberg stole their idea while simultaneously stalling on their website. Cameron and Divya want to sue Mark for
Mark is punished with six months of academic probation after the traffic to the site brings down parts of Harvard's computer network, and he becomes vilified among most of Harvard's female community. However, the popularity of "FaceMash" and the fact that he created it in one night, while drunk, brings him to the attention of Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss, identical twins and members of Harvard's rowing team, and their business partner Divya Narendra. As a result, he gains a job working for the Winklevoss twins as the programmer of their website, Harvard Connection.
Soon afterwards, Mark approaches his friend Eduardo and tells him of his idea for what he calls "Thefacebook", an online social networking website exclusive to Harvard University students. He explains this would let people share personal and social information securely. Eduardo agrees to help Mark, providing a fee of $1,000 to help start the site. Once complete, they distribute the link to Eduardo's connections at the Phoenix S-K final club, and it quickly becomes popular throughout the student body. When they learn of Thefacebook, the Winklevoss twins and Narendar believe that Zuckerberg stole their idea while simultaneously stalling on their website. Cameron and Divya want to sue Mark for