On another note, this was also a big day for Facebook, because it won a legal battle worth tens of millions of dollars. For those of you who saw The Social Network, which tells the story of how Facebook was founded by Zuckerberg in his Harvard dorm room, you also know about the Winklevoss twins. The twins, along with their friend Divya Narendra sued Facebook, claiming that Zuckerberg stole their idea for Facebook, when the trio first asked him to help design HarvardConnection, which would was going to be a networking site, but only for Harvard students. After originally signing a settlement for $65 million in 2008, the trio decided to sue again in 2009, saying that the Facebook stock they were awarded as part of the deal, was actually worth less than the $35.90 they were told it was valued at. Ultimately, Judge Alex Kozinski, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the deal, which was originally signed in 2008 was valid and must be upheld. This was a major victory for Mark Zuckerberg, who could have been forced to hand over millions of dollars to Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (a.k.a. "the Winklevil") and their friend Divya Narendra.
Citations: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYetluKUcCxp0Jqm_POObRHoo4nAW1kMGF1zCevm8IJyuze9a3QVkRHtsvfFCgXQR1fbwiY3HzMWB4WRTNNHwc4ZxGGvw4ERM-cL3N7qJDoWH2EnYF529i37YNarAdjqbo_2bhPO_pag5V/s1600/facebook-coke.jpg
Tyler,
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great way to end- with none other than Facebook. The concept is great, combining sms, email, Facebook messages, and more in the future as it says in the video. I wonder, though, is Facebook going too far and trying to take over say, Gmail? I mean, it is no doubt that Google and Facebook are contenders on the world wide web, but Google got to mail first. Is it possible for Facebook to take over such a big email system that is already trusted and so frequently used? I think Facebook started out as a social networking site, and because of its success, it is trying to get to all mediums, such as advertisements, games, instant messaging, email, and more. Don't get me wrong, I think it is a great concept, but I know that when Facebook started it's "Facebook messaging", after AOL instant messaging, it didn't really take off- people would still rather instant message than Facebook message. I wonder if it will be the same phenomenon with this new technology or if Facebook will come through. What do you think?
Tyler,
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Soph, what better way to end The Go Blue Crew blog than with a follow up of what we've been talking about all year long: Facebook. I have very similar questions to Soph's, how far is Facebook really going right now? They've cornered and completely taken over the social networking market, and now they're moving on to e-mail. It is, of course, a great idea and will make Facebook even higher functioning than it is already. I wonder if Facebook really is looking to corner the e-mail market, or if they're main concern is still social networking. Regardless, it is clear that Mark Zuckerberg is a brilliant man, and I'm sure Facebook will not be the last thing we see from him. About the legal battle you mentioned, I think it was very interesting that you brought this up. I'm sure we were all wondering what the outcome would be in the case! I guess we won't need to see any Social Network sequel!