Salma likes the Social Network

Last night, I watched The Social Network. What particularly struck me while watching the movie was how Mark Zuckerberg's character was depicted as socially-unadjusted. Perhaps the movie would sell better if he were painted in such an interesting light. Either it's an irony that the founder of the giant social network is socially unadjusted, or seen in a different light, it is the reason he founded facebook. Maybe Zuckerberg was so engrossed in cyberspace that he didn't know how to interact in the real world. But he was aware of how popularity and social circles worked in the real world, and he just thought it would be great to bring the "entire college experience" into the virtual world. He's right, alright, and I won't fuss any more about how great facebook is.

Another thing that got me thinking about the movie is how conventional business thinking is just not enough to make it in the IT industry, let alone make it big. I think that's where Eduardo Saverin is lacking. As Zuckerberg's most trusted friend, his financial acumen just wasn't enough. Saverin was actually able to earn $300,000 from smart investments during his undergraduate studies at Harvard, headed an investment organization, and graduated magna cum laude! But not enough.

It's also not enough to just have an idea or even the cash. Without a radical and clear vision and the geeky capacity to actually get it done, you'll just end up like a kid whose triple-layered ice cream fell on the ground before you even got the chance to actually lick it. Tsk, tsk, tsk... That's the tragedy endured by the twin rowers and their weirdo friend.

The movie also shows how important it is to keep one's image clean. There's really no distinction between business image, social image, or online image. So it's important not to be an asshole or to try being one in an effort to be cool (Zuckerberg), not to torture animals or seem like torturing one in an effort to conform (Saverin), and not to engage in anything illegal, no matter how innovative (Sean Peters' napster) or just plain stupid (the heroin bust implicating Peters).




Salma F. Angkaya
Entry #16