Social Networking

Plot

In 2003 Erica Albright breaks up with Harvard University student Mark Zuckerberg. Back at his dorm, Mark writes a scathing, crudely demeaning blog entry about her, and in his drunken rage is inspired to create a website that rates the attractiveness of female students when compared to each other. He hacks into the databases of various residence halls, downloads pictures and names of female students and, in a few hours, using an algorithm for ranking chess players supplied by his best friend, Eduardo Saverin, he creates a website called "FaceMash," where male students can choose which of two girls presented at a time is more attractive. Mark receives six months of academic probation after the traffic to the site brings down parts of Harvard's network, and becomes vilified among most of Harvard's female community. However, "FaceMash"'s popularity and its one night creation, while drunk, brings him to the attention of Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, identical twins and members of Harvard's rowing team, and their business partner Divya Narendra. As a result, he gains a job working for the Winklevoss twins as the programmer of their website, Harvard Connection.

Soon afterward, Mark approaches Eduardo and tells him of his idea for what he calls "Thefacebook," an online social networking website exclusive to Harvard University students. He explains this would let people share personal and social information securely. Eduardo agrees to help Mark, providing $1,000 to help start the site. They distribute the link to Eduardo's connections at the Phoenix S-K final club, and it quickly becomes popular throughout the student body. When they learn of Thefacebook, the Winklevoss twins and Narendra believe Zuckerberg had stolen their idea while stalling on their website. Tyler and Divya want to sue Mark for intellectual property theft, but Cameron convinces them they can settle the matter as "Harvard gentlemen" without the courts.

At a visiting lecture by Bill Gates,...