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

David Kirkpatrick

Jun 2010 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

The exclusive inside story of Facebook and how it has revolutionized the way the world uses the Internet. “A fantastic book, filled with great reporting and colorful narrative” (Walter Isaacson).

In little more than half a decade, Facebook has gone from a dorm-room novelty to a company with 500 million users. It is one of the fastest growing companies in history, an essential part of the social life not only of teenagers but hundreds of millions of adults worldwide. As Facebook spreads around the globe, it creates surprising effects—even becoming instrumental in political protests from Colombia to Iran.

Veteran technology reporter David Kirkpatrick had the full cooperation of Facebook’s key executives in researching this fascinating history of the company and its impact on our lives. Kirkpatrick tells us how Facebook was created, why it has flourished, and where it is going next. He chronicles its successes and missteps, and gives readers the most complete assessment anywhere of founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the central figure in the company’s remarkable ascent. This is the Facebook story that can be found nowhere else.

How did a nineteen-year-old Harvard student create a company that has transformed the Internet and how did he grow it to its current enormous size? Kirkpatrick shows how Zuckerberg steadfastly refused to compromise his vision, insistently focusing on growth over profits and preaching that Facebook must dominate (his word) communication on the Internet. In the process, he and a small group of key executives have created a company that has changed social life in the United States and elsewhere, a company that has become a ubiquitous presence in marketing, altering politics, business, and even our sense of our own identity. This is the Facebook Effect.

Ratings and reviews

I much preferred this book to the movie 'The Social Network' that was based on 'The Accidental Billionaires'. 'The Facebook Effect' seems to be a more grown up version of events, dealing more seriously with Facebook's growth while still capturing the buzz that surrounded it from its beginnings in Harvard. Facebook was an idea that was waiting to happen and Mark Zuckerberg was the right person at the right time to follow it through and run with it. The book shows the virtues of the young billionaire despite controversy over stealing the project from the Winkelvoss brothers - his patience in rolling the project out school by school, his pursuit of a higher goal in social utility over profit and his persistence in persuading the world to be more open. Having said that, the hype around Mark Zuckerburg and references to his blog entries in the book make me think of the god-like Christof character in the movie 'The Truman Show.' I picture Mark Zuckerburg at his keyboard soothing Facebook users through his blog posts like Christof talking through his microphone at the end of the movie trying to convince Truman that the TV show is more real than reality itself. What keeps Facebook real though is the real life identity of its users and David Kirkpatrick touches on the uniquesness of this in an online world of anonymous forums. The book gives a thorough insight into the innovation and growth of the network from developing the news feed to its status as a platform for other applications to its makeover of advertising with engagement ads.

On page seven, it is explained that: “…The Facebook Effect happens when the service puts people in touch with each other…about a common experience, interest, problem, or cause…” The book begins with the story of Mark Zuckerberg’s arrival at Harvard, and an initial computer project he designed that would lead to the beginnings of the type of service Facebook has become. If you’re interested in the history of social networking, there is a lot of information in (chapter three of) the book about it: services that were, and are, in this category….some of them no longer exist, some do…how others have matured from what they were, to what they are… There’s much explanation about how Facebook was financed. A lot I don’t understand, but anyone interested in how business investement can be done should enjoy the depictions of how some funding was courted…and others discouraged. There are a lot of great descriptions of how Facebook came to be, and where it may go. Take your time digesting this book. Some of what is in it can come in handy in the future if you are in similar situations and need to consider what actions to take, and how to react to issues of a beginning and growing organization. On page 340 I found the “Notes” section: notes that pertain to pages I have read. As I was reading, I did not see ANY footnote markings, so you need to be aware of this BEFORE you being to read so you can consider referring to this “Notes” section as you go along (to see if any of the notes enhance the section you are reading). My preference is to have the “Notes” section at the beginning of the book so I know it’s there, and can refer to it as I am reading the book…

Long time i interested make income through facebook. But i afrait to go on time make and registrations online becsuse why that there i have no experiences regardings any online markrting. So i have to take care more and more before i fall down to the wrong ways. Therefore. I must learn more and more time spending to understanding any details regarding online marketing with deeping knowledge and stay calm for better experiences and get best of the best memories for future refference to views more and more largest in around world market place with many more idear with open minding that there i or we can developping much more stories that we can use for public speaking an idear to so on going along the skylighting any news or more becoming atories nettetials talking abd product salling wich people like and intersting reading trusting like gold onward like as must more interestd to buy our product or metterial thst me must shows for buyer customers in around the world buyrs end like talkin

About the author

David Kirkpatrick was for many years the senior editor for Internet and technology at Fortune magazine. While at Fortune, he wrote cover stories about Apple, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Sun, and numerous other technology subjects. Beginning in 2001, he created Fortune’s Brainstorm conference series. More recently, he organized the Techonomy conference on the centrality of technology innovation for all human activity. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and appears frequently on television, radio, and the Internet as an expert on technology.