I watched the movie last night and it got me thinking too. Did people need another MySpace or Friendster? It was essentially the same thing. What made Facebook a success? I don’t think it took off because it was exclusive to Harvard students. The key ingredient was “status update” so students could find out who was available to sleep with. That was what got Facebook the early traction and thus, the Winklevoss brothers didn’t deserve the $65 million settlement because this feature wasn’t their idea.
Is there anything else we can learn from this movie? My takeaway (doesn’t mean I subscribe to them):
1. There’s always a need your product can address. Psst, sex sells.
2. It’s good to have a rich BFF (best friend for Facebook)
3. Must have Sean Parker’s ego. If not, get him in as a partner.
4. When you’re CEO, you can print anything you like on you business card.
5. If you’re naturally arrogant, make sure you’re a billionaire or on your way there.
The movie was entertaining and if you want to find out how much of it is true, read What parts of the The Social Network (movie) are accurate and which are not? on Quora which by the way was started by Adam D’Angelo who was CTO of Facebook
If you’ve seen the movie, what was your takeaway? As an entrepreneur, user, programmer or film maker?
