Summary:
Mark enters his room mad, as he starts using his laptop. The connection between him and his laptop is unbreakable, as he starts writing on his blog. He blogs about his frustration, and how he wants to create a site called, Facemash, where people can compare two girls. He then starts to pull pictures from various dorm house servers, as he works his magic with hacking. Soon afterward, he's nearly done, except for sneaking inside an empty room of another dorm house, to hack their servers. Three days later, he arrives home to his laptop to realize Facemash has accidentally gone public, much to his dismay. He then quickly shuts it down. Back to Tyler and Cameron, they are met by Divya, as he shows them the Crimson, Harvard's newspaper, with Facemash and Mark as headline. Divya explains how much of a hit Facemash was, and Mark's capability of helping them with the Harvard Connection. The three conclude to e-mail Mark and ask him to join them. The story then comes back to Mark, who has just got out of a ad-board meeting, for causing chaos with Facemash, and hacking into the school's servers. However, he's only given a warning, because of his unintentional purpose to crash the school's servers. He then talks to Eduardo about an e-mail he received, offering him to write the code for a secret website, and to meet up with Tyler, Cameron, and Divya. Later on, Mark meets only Tyler and Cameron, because Divya couldn't make it. Tyler proceeds to inform Mark about the goal for the Harvard Connection, which lets people socialize easily. After they were done, Tyler shakes Mark's hand, and notices the new energy in him. A couple days later, Eduardo is at a cafe, as he is suffering from a hangover. The previous night, he was doing last-minute rituals for new members at the Phoenix, which involved heavy drinking. He meets Mark, who has been thinking of what is now the premise of Facebook, and states his discontent with the Harvard Connection. Mark then asks Eduardo to help start out Facebook with finances, and offers him to be CFO, and split the money seventy-thirty. Eduardo agrees, and the both shake on it.
Quotation:
"Maybe the idea of hanging out with guys like the Winklevoss twins appealed to something inside Mark, or maybe it was just another lark, like Facemash—something that seemed like it could be amusing. Or, as Mark would put it, as he always put it: “It might be interesting.”" (Mezrich 62)
Reaction:
Mark is described as Eduardo to be passive and easy going, as he's willing to work with the Winklevoss twins. Eduardo views Facemash as a result of Mark's boredom, overlooking his intentions of actually creating a website. He fails to see Mark's overall vision of Facebook.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
The Accidental Billionaires (Pg. 1-40)
Summary:
The novel opens with Eduardo, who is at a party for a highly exclusive club called the Phoenix. The Phoenix is for wealthy guys with a legacy to live up to. However, Eduardo is Jewish, and doesn't have a real legacy to live up to. After conversing with a Phoenix member and lying about his knowledge in business, he comes across Mark Zuckerberg. Eduardo views him as socially awkward, and being out of place from the party. Later on, Eduardo sees Mark at a party again. He explains that Mark is a genius hacker, writing several of his own programs. As they both leave the party, Eduardo comments to the readers about Mark's lack of emotion in his words. The book then centers on Tyler and Cameron, twin brothers as they practice rowing early in the morning. They both are amazing at rowing, being the best at Harvard, and members of the Porcellian Club. Besides this, they are working on a side project with their friend, Divya. Their side project, Harvard Connection, is interrupted by their programmer, Victor, quitting. The three of them then seek out someone else with advanced computer skills. The story then jumps back to Eduardo as he quietly enters a lecture hall with a crate beside him. He spots Mark dozing off, and sits right next to him. Mark notices the crate, and lifts the blanket covering it. Instantly, it's obvious a live chicken is inside, as it starts making noise and flutters. The chicken is a final task for soon-to-be Phoenix members, as they have to ensure its safety, and carry it with them everywhere. Eduardo makes the silly decision to feed the chicken...chicken one day, which two members of the Porcellian Club witness. As a prank, they accuse the Phoenix of forcing its new members to torture live chicken, creating a scandal. As the whole thing blows over, Eduardo reminds Mark of a double date they both are having the same night.
Quotation:
"Eduardo knew, as he said it, how foolish the idea sounded. Phoenix members weren’t going to get excited about this awkward kid because of some computer program. You didn’t get popular by writing computer code. A computer program couldn’t get you laid. You got popular—and sometimes laid—by going to parties, hanging out with pretty girls." (Mezrich 19)
Reaction:
It reveals how Eduardo is aware of the elitism and popularity level needed for the Phoenix, contrasted with Mark's personality. It also hints at how Eduardo views himself slightly superior, because of his eligibility to Phoenix.
The novel opens with Eduardo, who is at a party for a highly exclusive club called the Phoenix. The Phoenix is for wealthy guys with a legacy to live up to. However, Eduardo is Jewish, and doesn't have a real legacy to live up to. After conversing with a Phoenix member and lying about his knowledge in business, he comes across Mark Zuckerberg. Eduardo views him as socially awkward, and being out of place from the party. Later on, Eduardo sees Mark at a party again. He explains that Mark is a genius hacker, writing several of his own programs. As they both leave the party, Eduardo comments to the readers about Mark's lack of emotion in his words. The book then centers on Tyler and Cameron, twin brothers as they practice rowing early in the morning. They both are amazing at rowing, being the best at Harvard, and members of the Porcellian Club. Besides this, they are working on a side project with their friend, Divya. Their side project, Harvard Connection, is interrupted by their programmer, Victor, quitting. The three of them then seek out someone else with advanced computer skills. The story then jumps back to Eduardo as he quietly enters a lecture hall with a crate beside him. He spots Mark dozing off, and sits right next to him. Mark notices the crate, and lifts the blanket covering it. Instantly, it's obvious a live chicken is inside, as it starts making noise and flutters. The chicken is a final task for soon-to-be Phoenix members, as they have to ensure its safety, and carry it with them everywhere. Eduardo makes the silly decision to feed the chicken...chicken one day, which two members of the Porcellian Club witness. As a prank, they accuse the Phoenix of forcing its new members to torture live chicken, creating a scandal. As the whole thing blows over, Eduardo reminds Mark of a double date they both are having the same night.
Quotation:
"Eduardo knew, as he said it, how foolish the idea sounded. Phoenix members weren’t going to get excited about this awkward kid because of some computer program. You didn’t get popular by writing computer code. A computer program couldn’t get you laid. You got popular—and sometimes laid—by going to parties, hanging out with pretty girls." (Mezrich 19)
Reaction:
It reveals how Eduardo is aware of the elitism and popularity level needed for the Phoenix, contrasted with Mark's personality. It also hints at how Eduardo views himself slightly superior, because of his eligibility to Phoenix.
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