Social Media, Friends and Family, and the Scary Truth In ‘The Social Network’

A few days after it came out, I went to see ‘The Social Network’. Working in social media, there was no surprise there; I pretty much had to right? Anyway, as a history of disliking Oscar winning movies and a summer spent watching really terrible horror movies (for fun) can attest, I am in no way qualified to critique a movie. All I know after a ‘film’, which I’m told is the proper way to say it, is whether or not I enjoyed, if I learned anything from it, and how I left the theater feeling.

I don’t want to spoil any of the plot or give away anything about the movie, there will be more posts about it later on, but I will say that the number one thing I learned from this movie is about business, not social media.

‘The Social Network’ does a great job of covering the business side of early Facebook and the players that shaped it. Watching that process unfold was hard to watch for me because of what it did to the two best friends that started it. Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin were all each other had in their early days at Harvard, but when investors, Sean Parker, and the business world started taking over, it destroyed them.

Honestly, it has been a goal to go into business with my best friend and this story scared me. In school, we’re basically taught to avoid friends and family even during bootstrapping if at all possible. I can see why. I know of stories that would support both sides though, great successes and hurtful turmoil.

We all want to believe that we can avoid the problems that come with business and most dangerous, money. But sometimes, even the strongest of friends fail and families fall apart. As entrepreneurs and future entrepreneurs, this has to be something you have experience with or have thought about. What are the critical factors for succeeding while keeping what you love?

In entrepreneurship there is never a right answer and I fear that this question lacks one as well. The prospect of building a company with someone close sounds absolutely amazing, but is it worth the risk? What do you think?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB95KLmpLR4[/youtube]

“Your best friend is suing you for 600 million dollars”

This movie had a ton of great stuff in it; it’s one of those that leaves you walking away with a lot of different emotions and thoughts. It is so relevant and feels so close because Facebook is such a part of our lives. Definitely go see it and look out for more articles about it!