the social network

About how Facebook was created and how it expanded.  The tragic drama behind glory.  Well, not really.  It was one of those coming of age stories.  Except that these Harvard kids had achieved something people never do in a lifetime.  It's always interesting to watch American college students in movies because their lifestyle makes Japanese college students seem so innocent.  I found it really funny that Eduardo had to keep a chicken around him for a week to get into one of the "clubs" - something that does not exist in Japanese top universities.

I didn't think Zuckerberg was such a unique character as I had read earlier on a review.  He was just a lonely young man who hid his loneliness with an ambition and a cold/aggressive attitude.  He was somewhat rude or even brutal to his only friend, but maybe he was too young.

Regarding Facebook itself...  I use it once in a while, my name is definitely there (I was actually the only one with my name before this movie came out and a whole lot of Japanese people started using this networking service); it's useful in that you always have a way to contact a long lost friend, but that's the only attractive feature.  I don't necessarily think transparency between friends make a better friendship.

Sharing information may make the world a better place, but when it comes to sharing your own life, I think there is a certain appropriate timing.  People never think about friends who just lost their job when they post how happy they are about their new job.  They never think about friends who have just ended their relationship when they post happy wedding pictures.  Rather, as many people point out, it's almost like there's a competition going on - who is the happiest?

If Facebook is just stirring competition, I think it's a pretty sad phenomenon.  It might've been inevitable though - after all, it was made by people who love competition.