Facebook: Formula

            I have struggled to come up with a formula about Facebook.  I decided that the creation of Facebook fits into a formula as much as anything else.  Idea, limited movement on the idea, expansion of the idea, success, conflict among the creators of the idea, and resolution seem often to be the steps of getting an idea to fruition. 

            In the case of Facebook, a group of college kids had an idea to have a way to socialize with other students at Harvard.  Once the idea came about, the creators of the idea had trouble bringing it to a reality.  Mark Zuckerberg was already writing “Facemash”. (Facebook, 2012)  It was kind of a “little black book” that was shared campus wide.  The “computer geek” helped make the idea a reality.  Once he was brought into the process, Mark Zuckerberg expanded the idea and included colleges other than Harvard.  Once Facebook started gaining national popularity, there was conflict over who actually “owned” Facebook.  Was it Mark Zuckerberg who took it to its popular form, or was it the Winklevoss twins who had the original concept?  The Winklevoss twins sued Zuckerberg, eventually settling out of court and leaving Zuckerberg considered to be the creator of Facebook.

            Intellectual Property lawsuits are not unique to Facebook.  Currently, a battle between Apple and Samsung is in the headlines with each claiming the other has infringed on their patents. (Levine & Gupta, 2012)

References

Facebook. (2012, July). Retrieved July 29, 2012, from Wikipedia:                         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook,_Inc.

Levine, D., & Gupta, P. (2012, July 27). Apple, Samsung Patent Lawsuit Enters New Phase Monday,   Trial Could Make History. Retrieved July 29, 2012, from Huffington Post:             http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/27/apple-samsung-patent-lawsuit- trial_n_1711785.html