Summary: Tyler and Cameron were working out on the rowing machines when Divya came up to them, showing them the latest issue of Harvard's Crimson newspaper. It was talking about the overnight sensation, thefacebook.com created by Mark! As Divya continued to read the paper aloud, Tyler grew more and more upset. This whole "facebook" site was definitely gaining popularity and the similarities between their Harvard Connection site that was yet to be running and "thefacebook.com" seemed more than coincidental. "theft" is the word tyler used. Mark stole their idea! In the Crimson, he bragged that he doesn't know why it took Harvard so long to make a site like facebook because he did it in a week. Mind you, Mark put off programming The Harvard Connection for Divya, Tyler, and Cameron for 2 months, saying he was busy with school and other projects, but to Tyler, that was all a lie. He had led them on for 2 months just so steal their ideas and create his own website. They felt like this was completely unfair, but there was no contract, no paperwork or anything that prove Mark had used their ideas for his website or that he even did work for them at all. Tyler decided to call his dad, a very powerful businessman, and tell him everything that happened.
Tyler, Divya, and Cameron wrote a letter to Mark telling him how they felt about him launching "thefacebook.com" while he was supposed to be working for their site and that the sites were very similar. Mark responded with a letter explaining that he was initially intrigued by their project, and after their first meeting, he began working on Thefacebook, using none of the same code of The Harvard Connection. Mark and Eduardo decided that Mark's roommates Dustin and Chris could also help with the site, seeing as how they needed all the help they could get.
Tyler, Cameron, and Divya were so upset by Mark's response that they decided to take things to the next level. They met with the president of Harvard, hoping he would make Mark pay some type of consequences. But, to their surprise, he explained that the situation had nothing to do with Harvard itself, that it was a more personal problem that they needed to work out amongst themselves and that there was nothing they could accuse Mark of because he hadn't violated any contract.
The story then switches over to Sean Parker, a bad-boy computer genius known for founding famous sites like Napster and Plaxo that made tons of money. He stumbled across thefacebook.com and he instantly knew that this website was going to be BIG. That was just the kind of project he needed to take it to a higher level. He ended up meeting up with Mark, Eduardo, and Eduardo's girlfriend Kelly. Mark and Sean talked the whole time, as mark was completely fascinated by Sean, he was like God to him. Eduardo had a shady feeling about Sean, even calling him a "snake oil salesman".
Quote: "Eduardo had a feeling- Sean Parker couldn't possibly have been the only one who'd taken notice of their little Web site. It only a matter of time before deep pockets came calling, pockets that could afford a bit more than a dinner at a fancy New York restaurant" (Mezrich 150).
Reaction: Although I already know that Facebook has become a phenomenon, I can see how quickly it gained its popularity. I personally dont think that Mark stole ideas from the Harvard Connection because 1.) it hadn't even launched yet 2.) Mark hadn't even done any work on their site at all, all he did was look it over. He actually lost interest in it quickly 3) The harvard connection was supposed to be like a dating site for students at harvard, whereas facebook was just a place to make friends of people that attend harvard and, later on people at other colleges. I think Sean parker might be trying to weasel them out of their creation in a way, because all he's interested in is making money, and he might try to take ownership of the site and be taking advantage of Mark, because he looks up to him.
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