Customer Reviews

The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Remarkably detailed history of a unique company. Kirkpatrick, a scrupulous journalist, who was encouraged to write the book by Facebook's controversial founder, gives a detailed play-by-play of how Facebook amassed half a billion users. He provides a fascinating history of how the company was built, and manages to touch upon most of the controversies surrounding it. But, perhaps because of the access given to him by Zuckerberg, the founder and not-so-benevolent dictator running the company, he avoids any substantial critique of the actions and motivations of the facebook management team. Possibly because of the book's timing - it must have been completed in April or so - he doesn't address the company's most recent issues and, most importantly, he provides little insight to help the reader understand Zuckerberg and why and how he manages to get himself into so much trouble, particulary around the topic of user privacy, though we get plenty of anecdotes about his behavior and maturation. There is also very little reflection about where Internet advances, as exemplified by facebook, will take our economy or society. But this is still a "must read" for anyone interested in the evolution of the Internet and how facebook got here and managed to monopolize billions of hours of our collective attention.

I've just finished reading The Facebook Effect, and it was like a movie I didn't want to end. I'm considering reading it again. As a budding internet startup entrepreneur, learning from major successes, such as Facebook, is incredibly valuable. The problem is, where can you learn about the juicy details that essentially positioned a company like Facebook to be so ubiquitous? Details such as:

- how Facebook gained so much traffic early on
- how they scaled the site school by school
- the major decisions Mark and his team grappled with at every stage
- the strategy and thought process that went through Zuckerberg's mind
- how they raised their first dollar of investment
- what sort of information did they pitch their first professional investors
- etc...

It includes everything that an internet startup entrepreneur would want to know, encapsulated in one of the world's most fascinating phenomenon -- The Facebook Effect.

Enjoy.

Kirkpatrick was for years one of Fortune's best writers, and that talent is on full display here. He assesses the often broad and complex situations around facebook deftly, in accessible and subtle ways. But it's when he lets his interview subjects speak in their own words -- from founder to current and past executives to investors -- that the book really shines. It's better than a good book, it's an important book.

I originally purchased this book because I thought it was required reading for someone like me who works in Silicon Valley. However, after a few chapters, I realized this could be one of the top ten business books of the decade and...it was fun to read.
Here is why I found it so enlightening:

-The book was filled with anecdotal stories of incredible financial and business growth challenges, potential technology disasters and public opinion/communication crises--that for the most, were handled swiftly and successfully. Valuable lessons learned were scattered throughout the book, cover to cover. The author made you feel like you were part of the team taking the company through its first five years of phenomenal growth.

-Mark Zuckerberg. You will learn about one of the most visionary CEOs of our time by the way he handled the above mentioned situations, his passion for transparency, philosophy on the "gift economy" and vision of global communication and via a number of direct quotes that the author chose to include (and noted below):

"The best thing we can do is to move smoothly with the world around us, and to have constant competition, not build walls."(commenting on the possible integration of Facebook across the Web)

"We're a vehicle that gives people the power to share information, so we are driving that trend. We also have to live by it." (commenting on user backlash and potential government intervention)

-Finally leveraging social media as a global communications platform; the book contains a bevy of inspirational examples of the potential for positive change--a glimpse into the future, that we should all be aware of.

There are really two parts to this book: the story of how Facebook started and a general set of essays outlining the author's thoughts on the impact of Facebook and social media on society in general.
I suppose my slight issue with Kirkpatrick's offering is that the two different parts are somewhat intermingled and interfere somewhat in the flow of the Facebook story itself (which is really what I bought the book for). These story of Facebook's founding and growth are actually very interesting and paints a portrait of Zuckerberg that is both different and the same very to his recent film portrayal; different because he isn't portrayed as a sociopath here but the same because, well, it is pretty odd not to agree to walk away with $250M cash at age 22 for 2 years work. The "story" seems to peter out in around early 2009 and the rest of the book really focuses on the societal impact (or the author's interpretation of them).

I don't write many Amazon reviews but I felt this book deserved at least 5 stars - can I give it 6 stars? It's a really fun read, truly informative, seems balanced, and highlights a textbook case in how to do most things right, and combine with a historical amount of lucky timing to create one of the world's most successful companies - ever. And the book delves into the mistakes FB has made in a fair way. After reading this book I'm in awe of Zuckerberg, and I hadn't previously given him much thought. I truly hope people don't watch the recent film without considering reading this "counterpoint" book which I suspect is closer to the true story. But this book goes beyond the sensationalism of its topic to think longer term about facebook and the changes it illustrates to our society and how we communicate, make changes, do business etc. and is truly thought provoking. It's a great example of how a book can both educate and entertain and do a great job of both. It's one of the best books I've read in years.

Many of us use Facebook nearly every day, and some use it even more frequently. But how did this particular social network come to exist, and why is it now the most popular social network in the world?

Originally known as Thefacebook.com, it was launched on 4 February 2004 from Mark Zuckerberg's dormitory room at Harvard. In the beginning, it was only available to those with Harvard eMail addresses. From such small beginnings, the site has grown to have around 500 million members today.

In part of this book, David Kirkpatrick tells the story of the development and growth of Facebook from 2004 to 2010. The second part of the book includes chapters focussed on the place (and impact) of Facebook: `Facebook and the World'; `Changing our Institutions'; `The Evolution of Facebook'; and `The Future'.

David Kirkpatrick spoke with a number of those involved with the early development of Facebook, including Mark Zuckerberg. This account of how a group of students were able to envisage and deliver the phenomenon that is now Facebook makes for fascinating reading. The development of Facebook is a curious blend of vision, commitment and self-belief coupled with the ability (mostly presented as Zuckerman's) to access advice from dot.com veterans where required.

To illustrate the impact of Facebook, the book opens with an account of how Oscar Morales, a civil engineer from Barranquilla, Colombia, formed a Facebook group in 2008 protesting the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. This Facebook activity quickly inspired massive, real-life protests against the leftist rebels. Yes, it's a dramatic illustration of how, in just a few years, Facebook has impacted on people and institutions around the world, by providing another effective communication medium.
Kirkpatrick then returns to Zuckerberg in late 2003 when he was experimenting with a number of online projects. But it was The Facebook that really took off, spreading quickly through the Harvard student body. Then, Zuckerberg and co-founders Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes and Eduardo Saverin rolled The Facebook out to other schools. In 2006, the site was expanded to the non-school population.

The first part of the book provides a fascinating corporate history of Facebook, largely from the perspective of Mark Zuckerberg. The second part of the book is focussed on the impact of Facebook and raises some of the issues that need to be considered as the site continues to grow in coverage and popularity.

As Facebook itself is dynamic and continually evolving, its story will continue to unfold. There are a number of issues in the development and use of Facebook that all of us who participate in it should be mindful of. And, too, there is a sense that there are other versions of the Facebook story still to be told.

The book is not without its flaws but it is well worth reading for those who want to know more about the development and impact of one of the most popular internet sites in the world.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Easily one of the best books I have read this year. A page turner that will give you a more positive view of Zuckerberg versus what the movie portrays of him. Read the book and you will enjoy the movie even more.

It's hard to comprehend an internet user who hasn't heard of Facebook, sure there are many out there who don't feel the need to use the application, and some who stubbornly resist signing up for various reasons (usually privacy fears or strange phobias of their friendships being somehow changed irreparably by the experience) but the chances are that if you've logged onto the World Wide Web you're familiar with the phenomenon known as Facebook.

In this work, Kirkpatrick takes us through a candid journey with Mark Zuckerberg, the brains behind the whole thing. It's a surprising journey in many ways, for one thing - compared to other `phenomenon' entrepreneurial tales, Facebook's is quite short, spanning barely more than half a decade. Despite this, there is more than enough material for a full non-fiction book, (and a feature length film.)

Most of the information for The Facebook Effect is straight from Zuckerberg himself, who like his creation, is open to sharing details of his personal and professional life with anyone who cares to see them. That is except for the specific details of a few lawsuits brought against Zuckerberg for theft of ideas - which unfortunately for us curious readers, were settled with confidentiality agreements meaning we'll likely never know the exact details of what went down behind closed doors.

The Facebook Effect, is really a story of delirious success, both financial and world changing. Even for those not so keen on geekery and computers, the political wrangling of the company supplies plenty of drama. For those heavily into Facebook, or at least who have been keeping up with the web app's changes over the past few years, you'll enjoy reading about the developments you've already experienced from the side of the developers - in particular I loved the irony when the `newsfeed' was added it allowed users easy access to groups they might want to join, which promptly lead to mass numbers joining anti-newsfeed groups.

Love it or leave it, Facebook has done what Zuckerberg intended it to - it has changed the way we conduct our social relationships - and thus changed society itself. Employees, employers and public figures are re-evaluating how they manage their very public profiles on Facebook, with some pundits predicting that rather than people tending towards circumspect and professional Facebook profiles, society will just come to accept that Facebook will reveal certain aspects of our lives that we don't necessarily want public, and not judge too harshly. Even if you don't have a profile yourself, there is no way you can prevent others from posting photos of you, or revealing personal information about yourself (although one might question why said acquaintance is doing so) so perhaps a society that doesn't judge our drunken photos too harshly is more preferable to trying desperately to keep such things from the internet.

My only real criticism of this book is it left me wishing that I had a college friend on the verge of creating a billion dollar company who just needed a small amount of investment to get started - and that I got to be one of those lucky fools who gave thousands only to have the investment return in the millions...

This seems to be as close to a true story about the founding of Facebook as it gets, vs the largely fictional version we saw in The Social Network. A fascinating, insightful, detailed and captivating account of what happened early on in Facebook's days. Great reading, highly recommended for entrepreneurs, social media professionals and just fans of Facebook.