Facebook to Settle Lawsuit Over Origin, Air Out Dirty Laundry

April 7 - Facebook announced today it agreed to settle a lawsuit with Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, creators of ConnectU over origins of the idea of the social networking site. One year ago, the ConnectU creators filed a suit in a district court in Boston against Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, alleging that Zuckerberg stole the website social network concept from them in 2003. Facebook did not voluntarily acknowledge its agreement on its press page and would not comment on legal issues. Both parties acknowledged that motions to dismiss the lawsuit would be filed in the next few weeks.

One year ago, Zuckerberg and ConnectU creators battled back and forth in the courtroom over the merits to this lawsuit. The Winklevoss brothers provided the New York Times, 02138 magazine, and eventually with court with documents describing discussions and even Zuckerberg’s online journal describing the development of Facebook. The settlement remains disclosed from the public record. Many speculate that Facebook is attempting to discard and challenges to its independent existence prior to a possible initial public offering (IPO) sometime next year.

This is not the first of claims that Zuckerberg stole the online social network website idea. According to a chronological account, which Zuckerberg does not deny, Aaron J. Greenspan started a website called “houseSYSTEM,” a campus dating and social networking program several months before Facebook and ConnectU went online. Zuckerberg was one of the early participants. One email, which Greenspan circulated widely to fellow Harvard students, introduced houseSYSTEM’s newest feature, called “the Face Book.” It served as a quick way for students to locate each other online. This site had many similar features, including birthday reminders, event calendars, RSVP’s, photo albums, and “how you know a friend” features.

Zuckerberg certainly deserves credit for the work he has completed. The determination to move to Palo Alto, raise capital, and grow the company to have over 37 million users is something Internet pioneers dream of and a handful may come close to achieving. Derivative concepts happen all of the time in business and many people become incredibly successful at adapting ideas and then marketing them.

The main issue with this lawsuit is, and it may be due to the immaturity of Zuckerberg in giving credit where credit is due, there is very clear evidence that many of these ideas are not just derivative but exact copies. It seems less like Facebook and Zuckerberg are willing to give overdue credit by settling and more like, “What can we do to get rid of this?” In isolation, this does not seem like a major issue. Companies live and die by public relations problems.

Where does this fit in the bigger picture? Facebook has had enough blunders to put their public reputation in question. Their frequency and magnitude make them look less like isolated incidents and more like a company that needs to focus on its mission, on its reputation, and on its users.

Mini-feed: When the “mini-feed” function first came out in 2006, it took all users by complete surprise. It broadcast often personal information including new friends, events attended, pictures, and name changes. At first, users did not even know how to turn off (or if they could) this function. An enormous backlash from users forced the creators to quickly revamp privacy settings to minimize the amount of information Facebook published.

Beacon: The integrated advertising program that broadcast what products users were buying on the mini-feed without many people knowing. Sure it was in the user agreement’s fine print; in reality, few people paid attention and had spending habits quickly plastered over hundred’s of users’ “home” pages on facebook. This blunder was so great, Moveon.org launched a nationwide petition to change Facebook’s position, which it originally refused to do. It since has removed this feature.

Searchability: Facebook opened up user profiles for searching on search engines such as Google and Yahoo. The default at the outset was for searchability to remain open, where the user had to affirmatively change privacy settings and make their profile hidden to search engines. Had users not made this affirmative step, anyone searching could find their name and realize they had a Facebook account.

Deleting Accounts: Recently users realized that if they wanted to remove themselves and their personal information from Facebook, it was not possible. The site instead “deactivated accounts” for users to retrieve if they later wanted to rejoin. Facebook now allows for users to permanently remove themselves from the site servers.

Applications: The third party developer applications started initially as a way to personalize the Facebook profile. Now, every conceivable interest has a group with the option to invite entire lists of Facebook friends at one time. Without thinking, users email hundreds of people, flooding inboxes without considering inconveniences.

Facebook recently has tightened privacy controls and given the user more control over the information on their profile. The site also has many useful functions in connecting professional and social contacts. On a larger scale, what the company lacks is foresight in protecting the interests of its users in an attempt to expand and maintain an image of professionalism in a business world. The company many times has had to apologize to its user base and save face for the sake of PR.

How many times will users give Facebook a pass? Have other companies had similar missteps and equal attempts to self-correct?

Spread the Word: :: :: :: :: ::

Review: “Flock” Aggregates Social Networking Into Web Browsing

March 2 – “Flock,” a new “social web browser” created by Flock, Inc., integrates web surfers with social networking to make managing online content easier. This seems like the next logical step for the the web browser world as memberships to Facebook, Myspace, Youtube, Flikr, and Photobucket become almost expected. Though it is still in beta form, the Flock team seems energetic about this new product. The “About Us” section of their site shows enthusiastic and young entrepreneurs eager to come up with the Internet’s next big change. Take a look at it and see for yourself. It is worth the short time to explore Flock’s new features.

Operating System: Windows or Mac
Development Stage: Beta
Version: 1.1
Most Recent Release Date: February 19, 2008
Site: www.flock.com
Developers’ Blog: http://www.flock.com/blog

Overall Rating: (Four of Five Bars)

Pros:

Innovative – As previously mentioned, this product is the next logical step in the evolution of web browsing. Internet aggregating sites have caught on quickly as the web 2.0 movement has gained momentum. Digg, Del.icio.us, and Newsvine become a dashboard for heavy web surfers looking for popular information all in one place. It takes the work out of searching for popular trends in website trafficking. Flock comes out at the right time to aggregate the most commonly used, highly trafficked sites that depend on strong user-based interaction.

Firefox Plus Sidebar – Flock has all of the Firefox innovations to web surfing: tabbed browsing, bookmark/cookie importing, bookmark toolbars, pop-up blocker, and embedded search bar. It simply adds an additional layer for signing into multiple social networking and file-sharing websites. On the left of the browser, Flock has created a navigation haven for Facebook, Youtube, and News feeds. One click seamlessly switches back and forth between different online services.

Web Clipboard – This extremely useful feature, which opens in the sidebar, allows the web surfer to grab pictures, large amounts of text, or portions of favorite websites and drag them into the side navigation bar. Then, this portion of the favorite site can be revisited later. Additionally, with one click, this portion can be published in a blog or embedded in an email.

Blog Editor – Flock has integrated a blog editor directly into the toolbar. With one click, the user creates an account and begins editing and publishing posts. It would be nice if the user could simply sign into an already existing blog account (e.g., wordpress, blogger, typepad) and simply edit posts from there. A feature like this seems like Flock would accommodate in the very near future.

Photo Uploader – With one click, the user can open a photo uploader with the ease of drag and drop technology. By simply grabbing files from the computer and placing them into the photo editor, pictures can be cropped, rotated, and tagged. A drop down menu then provides the option of what site (e.g, Facebook, Youtube, Flikr, or Photobucket) to upload the photos. For many sites, this simplifies the “click-browse-upload, click-browse-upload” annoyance of getting pictures in to web gallaries one file at a time.

Webmail integration – Flock allows for the user to sign in to Yahoo Mail and Gmail, and with one click, monitor their email inboxes, compose mail, and share current web pages.

Cons:

Busy Work – If you have signed into the various social sites, the browser window ends up becoming incredibly overwhelming with graphics, information, windows, and frames (see example screen shot here). This is easily fixable, as you can close “sidebars” and open them as needed. This seems to beg the question that if the user can sign into multiple sites while browsing, and closes them as the window becomes busier, why use this feature in the first place? It seems perfectly reasonable to simply have multiple tabs in Firefox or Microsoft Internet Explorer to serve the same function Flock desires to perform.

Not for the Office – While giving credit to the graphics team at Flock.com, as their logo and user interface is very visually appealing and entertaining, it lends toward the cartoon-ie side with all of the bubbles and colors. A working professional may steer clear of this as the default browser for two main reasons: social networking at work screams unprofessional; the color scheme falls in the same camp.

For the web surfer deeply entrenched in the web 2.0 community, this sight is very effective and innovative. Keep an eye out for this idea to catch on as it seems the Flock team eagerly anticipates meeting the demands of the web 2.0 surfer.

Where Social and Professional Networking Part Ways

Feb. 11 – “Get Linked In or Get left out?” Hardly. The wildfire of social networking copycats continues to spread despite a saturation of the market and many sites missing the point.

Technology companies are trying to transcribe the success of Facebook and MySpace in the professional world. Some are new; some are growing and developing. Yahoo! launched “Kickstart,” a social networking site for college students and young professionals. Doostang, a private, invite-only professional networking site boasts unique professional profiles aimed at advancing users’ careers. Jobster has a modern user interface with the same aspirations. The juggernaut of professional networking, however, is “Linked in” – over 12.5 million users and growing.

Linked in boasts several successes to appear more marketable to potential users. The site includes all ranks of employees, from data input technicians to CEO’s. “See, we appeal to all age groups: baby boomers and the Internet generation.” The site grabs a user’s email, work information, and all other potential contacts to demonstrate just how connected members actually are. “Look how easy it is to connect to everyone you’ve ever contacted.” In theory, all of these features should create the most effective professional network users can imagine. Why then, do many urban professionals and recent graduates find themselves signing up for Linked in only to leave it for months at a time and rarely employ the benefits of such a resourceful rolodex?

There are several reasons to explain why the professional social network may not be catching on AND working like Facebook and Myspace. First, and most important, a site needs daily traffic. The user traffic keeps people involved in the development of the site. Social networking sites require user-base daily traffic with simple services. Facebook and Myspace have dozens of sub-features such as blogs, videos, and comment postings which serve as personal expressions of the user. Link-In generates traffic when users update a resume or look for a promotion. How often does that happen? If the user is interested in a stable career, not more than once every six months. With lighter traffic comes lighter interest and less upkeep.

Second, and related to the first point, online communities feed on instant gratification. A quick laugh from a funny comment board or an intriguing link provide quick and easy entertainment. Instant gratification that keeps people engaged is virtually non-existent in the professional networking arena. So a user adds a contact- then what? The user sets up a profile, baits the hook and waits (almost indefinitely) for someone to bite. Constant emails updates saying, “Someone has written a fun message on your wall, check it out!” is much more engaging than, “You now have a new contact that likely will do nothing for your career.”

Third, Linked in sets up the expectation that the user will advance their career simply by joining. The bright colors and multiple illustrations of people networking create the impression that the moment users create a profile, their inboxes will be full of new job offers for CEO positions. Professional advancement is something people have to work hard to establish. Making connections is the first step. Aside from introducing and recommending contacts, Linked in does little to help users with the follow through techniques that are necessary for professional development.

Fourth, the interests of the two networking sites are diametrically opposed to each other. Social networking sites started as another way to better understand people in your community. Secondary purposes, such as reuniting old friends, developed after. The profiles depend on creative personal expression: photographs, journal entries, favorite books, quotes, sites, and groups. This keeps users entertained. Working professionals want to keep their portfolio as simple and substantive as possible with a clean divide between work and play: education, career, and a few interests that show a personality without giving too much away. Quite simply: boring without putting the reader to sleep. Too much creativity in the professional world up front is, unfortunately, a turnoff.

This is not to say that professional networking sites are dead or dying. As previously mentioned, many business fields are attempting to replicate the Facebook/Myspace business model. The foundational concept may be of some use. The potential for the Internet to facilitate business relationships is endless. Before the wildfire continues to grow, however, investors in the technology arena should carefully consider what makes social networking sites tick and whether or not the same ticking will take place when transcribing business models into new fields.