The Social Network Movie Questions

Name: Zedrich Vargas                       

The Social Network Movie Questions

1.    “There's difference between being obsessed and motivated,” Mark assures his girlfriend. What is Mark most passionate about? How much is he prepared to sacrifice in pursuit of his goals?
Mark appears motivated but also obsessed with achieving his goals. The film shows that he is willing to sacrifice his relationship with his girlfriend as well as his best friend to pursue his business. He is passionate about programming and being in the “club” which he thinks will make him successful. He is driven to be the best.

2.    Why did Mark get in trouble for creating FaceMash at the beginning of the movie? What was the privacy rule that he broke?

Mark get in trouble for creating FaceMash because he hacked the face book of each house and made a software that compares two faces of girls. It was an intentional bridging security, violating copyrights, and violation of university policy by distribution of digitized images. The rule that he broke was the individual privacy.

3.    Mark tells the Winklevoss twins that he uploaded CourseMash for free online instead of selling it to Microsoft for millions. What does this reveal to us about Mark’s motivation for creating these sites?
He never cared about the money and he created the site because he wanted to help other people instead of gain money from it. This shows his passionate with coding and in anything he does

4.    The Winklevoss twins came up with the idea of HarvardConnection. What made this idea unique from MySpace and Friendster?
HarvardConnection was unique from MySpace and Friendster because they will use Harvard.edu, the most prestigious email address in the country, and because it’s explicit. However, it’s basically about girls who want to get boys from Harvard.

5.    What was Mark’s motivation behind creating Facebook? How is his motivation different/same to the Winklevoss twins?
Mark’s motivation behind creating Facebook was he realized that FaceMash became a hit because they want to see pictures of the people they know. And through that, he thought of creating software where it gives you pictures and profiles of the person you want to know. There’s nothing to hack in this software because people will be providing their own pictures and profiles. Mark’s motivation is different to the Winklevoss twins’ because it’s not about dating site, as what the twins are planning to, but it’s about taking the entire social experience of College and putting it online.

6.    “I was your only friend - you had one friend,” Eduardo tells Mark across the deposition table. What is Mark and Eduardo's friendship like? Why did it break down?
Mark and Eduardo had a good friendship in the beginning of the movie. It seemed like they trusted each other until Mark took away a large portion of Eduardo’s share in Facebook. Eduardo was pursuing investors but also pursuing his own interests, while Mark was building the company in California and Eduardo felt threatened by his role and Mark’s relationship with Sean Parker. He put a freeze on the money in their account. I think that both of them were wrong for doing things without talking to each other first. They were partners.

7.    How did Mark get the idea to include relationship status on Facebook profiles? What explanation does he give to Eduardo for including this on Facebook?

Mark got the idea to include relationship status on Facebook profiles when his friend ask him about the girl in his Art History class if she has a boyfriend or is she going out with someone. Mark explained that relationship status is what drives the life in college and including it in the Facebook would be great.

8.      Why doesn’t Mark want to put advertising on the site? Do you think he made the right decision?

Mark doesn’t want to put advertising on the site because Facebook is cool and if they started to sell pop-ups, its not going to be cool. Moreover, they still don’t know what it is, can be or will be; all they know is, it is cool. And it’s a priceless asset that Mark doesn’t want to give up. I think he made the right choice because Facebook is about knowing someone and not selling something. Also, if ever they put advertising, there is a big chance that advertising will over-power Facebook and the site will not be successful.

9.      When does Mark decide to expand the site to other schools? What role did Erica have in this decision?

Mark decided to expand the site to other schools when he saw Erica, his ex-girlfriend, in a club and they talked to each other. Mark asked her if she knows about his site and he’s surprised when she said “No”. After that, mark decided to expand so that everyone will know about Facebook. He’s starting to expand in Yale and Columbia. Erica served as a motivation in this decision.

10.  “As if every thought that tumbles through your head was so clever it would be a crime for it not to be shared,” Mark's ex Erica snaps at Mark. Why are people drawn to the idea of broadcasting their personal lives on the internet?
People probably think what they are thinking is important and that other people care what they are thinking about. Most people want attention and putting your thoughts and beliefs out there gets attention.  Someone like Mark believes that his thoughts are that important. He also thinks that he is smarter and better than most people. When Mark created Facebook he probably believed that other people think the way he does.

11. “The internet's not written in pencil, Mark. It's written in ink,' states Erica, seething at the comments he blogged about her. Why is the typed word so powerful? Why is it tempting to misuse this power online? What positive things can social-networking sites achieve when used to their full potential?
The typed word on the internet is so powerful because once it’s out there, there is no erasing it and everyone will see it. What people say can damage a person’s reputation. It may be tempting to misuse the power if you want to get revenge for something. The internet can be used to make a positive difference by making important information available to a wide audience within seconds.

12. Who is Sean Parker?

Sean Parker is an entrepreneur and he founded Napster, an Internet company that lets people download and share music for free.

13. Sean Parker: 'You know what's cooler than a million dollars?' 
Eduardo Saverin: 'You?'
Sean Parker: 'A billion dollars.'
How are the themes of 'coolness' and money played out through the film? How do you think users of Facebook will react to knowing that, by sharing their lives publicly, they are allowing someone else to make billions from their personal information?

The themes of coolness and money are the key themes in this movie. These are the most important things to Sean Parker and he knows he can convince Mark that he can make him the richest and most popular person. Mark initially did not seem motivated by money, but that changed. They were once nerds and now they had power, women, etc. This made them cool. 

14. “Who are you? . . . I mean, what do you do?” Mark asked junior lawyer Marylin Delpy. In what ways does Facebook encourage us to define ourselves? How does this affect our identity and self-image?

Facebook encourages us to define ourselves. We create profiles so that we can identify ourselves with a certain group or groups of people. For example, where we live, go to school, work and who we hang out with. People look at profiles and posts and make assumptions about people based on those things even without really knowing them.

15. How did Mark cheat on his Art class final exam using Facebook?

Mark cheat on his Art class final exam using Facebook by creating a page because they have a Postwar Art exam and he hasn’t been going to school. The page enables him to post the pictures of the painting, that they need to write something about, and people comment about it, there will be a great debate, and through that he could get the answers for it.

16. What finally convinces the Winklevoss twins to sue Mark for intellectual theft?

The Winklevoss twins were finally convinced to sue Mark for intellectual theft when they learned that Facebook is already expanding like in Cambridge, Oxford, and others.

17.  Why was Eduardo right to mistrust Sean? How is Eduardo pushed out of the business?
Eduardo is Mark’s best friend and he gave Mark money. Eduardo has the right to mistrust Sean because he likes to party.  Increasingly dissatisfied with Eduardo, Mark decides to push him out of the company. To do so he does a major stock issue, increasing the total number of shares of Facebook stock available. While he, Moskowitz, and Thiel all get more shares of stock, Eduardo retains the same number of shares he originally had. Since there are more overall shares this means that Eduardo controls far less of the company than he did originally. Eduardo's share of the company went from 33%, second only to Mark's 51%, down to an insignificant 0.03%, effectively removing him as a power within the company. This enraged Eduardo and he sued Mark, settling for an undisclosed amount of money out of court and having his name restored as co-founder of the site.

18. By the end of the film, what judgements - if any - do you think the film ultimately makes about Mark and the creation of Facebook? Did he steal the idea?
The film makes Mark look like a self-centered, unemotional person. He seems to care for his ex-girlfriend Erica but he constantly insults her. He doesn’t seem to understand that he is obnoxious and that other people may not care about all the money he has or being in the most elite group.

19.  What are your experiences of Facebook? If you do not have a Facebook account, what are your thoughts about the site? What do you see as its benefits and drawbacks?

My experiences with Facebook has been great because it helps me connect with other people instantly and it’s an easy way to communicate with other people. The benefits of it’s easier to talk to other people even if they’re far away from you. A drawback of Facebook might be the privacy because they can access everything you have posted on Facebook even your messages.

20.  Facebook has around 500 million members worldwide. What impact has it had on our culture?
Facebook has had a huge impact on our culture because it is the way most people communicate. If you are not on Facebook you will feel like you don’t know what’s going on. Since Facebook is the easiest way to reach a large group of people, most people use it to plan parties. If you are not on Facebook you will feel disconnected or may be excluded from events. I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t use Facebook even though some people prefer to use different social media.

21. What did you think of the film? How did you respond to Mark?

I really enjoyed the film. The film made me feel sad for Mark. Even though the film shows how he becomes the youngest billionaire, I think the film portrayed Mark as a very shallow and unhappy person