Jump to content

ConnectU

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 75.187.156.216 (talk) at 02:13, 18 October 2010 (this uncited statement adds nothing more than a reasonable person can immediately infer). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

ConnectU, Inc.
Type of businessPrivate
Type of site
Social network service
FoundedCambridge, Massachusetts (2004)
Area servedWorldwide
Founder(s)Cameron Winklevoss
Tyler Winklevoss
Divya Narendra
ProductsConnectU.com, i2hub.com, Jungalu.com, StallScribbles.com, Digital Flyers, ConnectHi (theyearbook.org), ConnectGroups, The Winklevoss Chang Group Representative Program, The Rep Center, Social Butterfly
URLconnectu.com
RegistrationRequired
LaunchedMay 21, 2004
Current statusInactive

ConnectU was a social networking website launched on May 21, 2004.[1] It was founded by Harvard students Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra in December 2002, and was originally named HarvardConnection.[2] Users could add people as friends, send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves.[3] Users were placed in networks based-upon the domain name associated with the email address they used for registration.[4]

History

In December of 2002, Harvard students and friends Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra wanted a better way to connect with fellow students at Harvard University and other universities.[5] As a result, the three conceived of a social network for Harvard students named HarvardConnection,[2] which was to expand to other schools around the country.[6][7][8] In January of 2003, they enlisted the help of fellow Harvard student, programmer and friend Sanjay Mavinkurve to begin building HarvardConnection.[4] Sanjay commenced work on HarvardConnection but left the project in the spring of 2003 when he graduated and went to work for Google.[9]

After the departure of Sanjay Mavinkurve, the Winklevosses and Narendra approached Narendra’s friend, Harvard student and programmer Victor Gao to work on HarvardConnection.[4] Gao, a senior in Mather House, had opted not to become a full partner in the venture, instead agreeing to be paid in a work for hire capacity on a rolling basis.[8] He was paid $400 for his work on the website code during the summer and fall of 2003, however, he excused himself thereafter due to personal obligations.[7]

Mark Zuckerberg

In November 2003, upon the referral of Victor Gao, the Winklevosses and Narendra approached Mark Zuckerberg about joining the HarvardConnection team.[10] By this point, the previous HarvardConnection programmers had already made progress on a large chunk of the coding: front-end pages, the registration system, a database, back-end coding, and a way users could connect with each other, which Gao called a "handshake".[8] In early November, Narendra emailed Zuckerberg saying, “We’re very deep into developing a site which we would like you to be a part of and ... which we know will make some waves on campus.”[8] Within days, Zuckerberg was talking to the HarvardConnection team and preparing to take over programming duties from Gao.[8] On the evening of November 25, 2003,[11] the Winklevosses and Narendra met with Zuckerberg in the dining hall of Harvard's Kirkland House, where they explained to Zuckerberg the HarvardConnection website, the plan to expand to other schools after launch, the confidential nature of the project, and the importance of getting there first.[6][8] During the meeting, Zuckerberg allegedly entered into an oral contract with Narendra and the Winklevosses and became a partner in HarvardConnection.[1] He was given the private server location and password for the unfinished HarvardConnection website and code,[7] with the understanding that he would finish the programming necessary for launch.[1] Zuckerberg allegedly chose to be compensated in the form of sweat equity.[12][13]

On November 30, 2003, Zuckerberg told Cameron Winklevoss in an email that he didn't expect completion of the project to be difficult. Zuckerberg writes: "I read over all the stuff you sent and it seems like it shouldn't take too long to implement, so we can talk about that after I get all the basic functionality up tomorrow night."[10] The next day, on December 1, 2003, Zuckerberg sent another email to the HarvardConnection team. "I put together one of the two registration pages so I have everything working on my system now. I'll keep you posted as I patch stuff up and it starts to become completely functional."[6] On December 4, 2003, Zuckerberg writes: "Sorry I was unreachable tonight. I just got about three of your missed calls. I was working on a problem set."[6] On December 10, 2003: "The week has been pretty busy thus far, so I haven't gotten a chance to do much work on the site or even think about it really, so I think it's probably best to postpone meeting until we have more to discuss. I'm also really busy tomorrow so I don't think I'd be able to meet then anyway."[6] A week later: "Sorry I have not been reachable for the past few days. I've basically been in the lab the whole time working on a cs problem set which I"m still not finished with."[6] On December 17, 2003,[11] Zuckerberg met with the Winklevosses and Narendra in his dorm room, allegedly confirming his interest and assuring them that the site was almost complete.[8] On the whiteboard in his room, Zuckerberg allegedly had scrawled multiple lines of code under the heading “Harvard Connection,” however, this would be the only time they saw any of his work.[8] On January 8, 2004, Zuckerberg emailed to say he was "completely swamped with work [that] week" but had "made some of the changes ... and they seem[ed] to be working great" on his computer. He said he could discuss the site starting the following Tuesday, on January 13, 2004.[10][14] On January 11, 2004, Zuckerberg registered the domain name thefacebook.com.[15] On January 12, 2004, Zuckerberg e-mailed Eduardo Saverin, saying that the site [thefacebook.com] was almost complete and that they should discuss marketing strategies.[8] Two days later, on January 14, 2004,[11] Zuckerberg met again with the HarvardConnection team, however, he never mentioned registering the domain name thefacebook.com nor a competing social networking website, rather he reported progress on HarvardConnection, told them he would continue to work on it, and would email the group later in the week.[10] On February 4, 2004, Zuckerberg launched thefacebook.com, a social network for Harvard students, designed to expand to other schools around the country.[1]

On February 6, 2004, the Winklevosses and Narendra first-learned of thefacebook.com while reading a press release in the Harvard student newspaper The Harvard Crimson.[8] According to Gao, who looked at the HarvardConnection code afterward, Zuckerberg had left the HarvardConnection code incomplete and non-functional, with a registration that did not connect with the back-end connections.[4] On February 10, 2004, the Winklevosses and Narendra sent Zuckerberg a cease and desist letter.[16][17] They also asked the Harvard administration to act on what they viewed as a violation of the university’s honor code and student handbook.[18] They lodged a complaint with the Harvard Administrative Board and university president Larry Summers, however, both viewed the matter to be outside of the university's jurisdiction.[19] President Summers advised the HarvardConnection team to take their matter to the courts.[14]

Leaked Instant Messages

Between November 30, 2003 and February 4, 2004, Zuckerberg exchanged a total of 52 emails with the HarvardConnection team and engaged in multiple in-person meetings.[14] During the same period of time, Zuckerberg engaged in multiple electronic instant message communications with people outside of the HarvardConnection team. On March 5, 2010, certain electronic instant messages from Mark Zuckerberg's hard drive were leaked to the public.[6] On September 20, 2010, Facebook confirmed the authenticity of these leaked instant messages in a New Yorker article.[20] One exchange between Zuckerberg and a friend reads:[20]

FRIEND: so have you decided what you are going to do about the websites?
ZUCK: yea i’m going to fuck them
ZUCK: probably in the year
ZUCK: *ear

The Winklevoss Chang Group

See also: The Winklevoss Chang Group

A partnership allegedly formed between i2hub, a popular peer-to-peer service at the time, and ConnectU. The partnership, called The Winklevoss Chang Group, jointly advertised their properties through bus advertisements as well as press releases. i2hub integrated its popular software with ConnectU's website, as part of the partnership. The team also jointly launched several projects and initiatives, including:[21][22]

  • Jungalu.com, an internet-based book exchange
  • StallScribbles.com, an online "anonymous confessions" board
  • Digital Flyers, a portal for purchasing advertisements to be placed on the various WCG websites and on i2hub
  • ConnectHi (also known as ConnectHigh and theyearbook.org), an effort to penetrate the high school social networking market
  • ConnectGroups, an initiative to provide clubs and organizations with a means for their members to communicate online with each other about their organizations
  • The Winklevoss Chang Representative Program, a sales representative program which WCG used to establish a presence on college campuses and to promote ConnectU and the other WCG properties
  • The Rep Center, an internet-based portal, accessible through ConnectU.com, providing a centralized location for the representatives of The Winklevoss Chang Representative Program to communicate and earn points (redeemable for prizes) by recruiting and signing up new users for all of WCG's properties
  • Social Butterfly, a feature added to ConnectU to enable users to consolidate their accounts at various social networking sites, such as Facebook, and make that information accessible through ConnectU
  • US Patent Application 20060212395, related to a method of purchasing of copyrighted computer files through affinity programs, such as using points from a credit card to purchase copyrighted movies.

Lawsuits

Facebook Lawsuits

See also: Criticisms of Facebook: ConnectU.com Lawsuit

In 2004, ConnectU filed a lawsuit against Facebook alleging that creator Mark Zuckerberg had broken a relationship with them. The suit stipulated that Zuckerberg had copied their idea[23][24] and illegally used source code intended for the website he was hired to create.[25][26][27][28] Facebook countersued in regards to Social Butterfly, a project put out by The Winklevoss Chang Group, an alleged partnership between ConnectU and i2hub, another campus service. It named among the defendants ConnectU, Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, Divya Narendra, and Wayne Chang, founder of i2hub.[29] A settlement agreement for both cases was reached in February, 2008, reportedly valued at $65 million.[30] However, in May 2010, it was reported that ConnectU was accusing Facebook of securities fraud on the value of the stock that was part of the settlement and wants to get the settlement undone. According to ConnectU's allegations, the value of the stock was worth $11 million instead of $45 million that Facebook presented at the time of settlement. This meant the settlement value, at the time, was $31 million, instead of the $65 million.[31][32] On August 26, 2010, The New York Times reported that Facebook shares were trading at $76 per share in the secondary market, putting the total settlement value at close to $120 million.[33][34] If the lawsuit to adjust the settlement to match the difference goes through, the value will quadruple to over $466 million.[35]

Quinn Emanuel Lawsuits

One of ConnectU's law firms, Quinn Emanuel, inadvertently disclosed the confidential settlement amount in marketing material by printing "WON $65 million settlement against Facebook".[36] Quinn Emanuel sought $13 million of the settlement as part of a contingency agreement. ConnectU fired Quinn Emanuel and sued the law firm for malpractice.[37] On August 25, 2010, an arbitration panel ruled that Quinn Emanuel "earned its full contingency fee". It also found that Quinn Emanuel committed no malpractice.[38]

The Winklevoss Chang Group Lawsuit

On December 21, 2009, i2hub founder Wayne Chang and The i2hub Organization launched a lawsuit against ConnectU and its founders, Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra, seeking 50% of the settlement. The complaint says "The Winklevosses and Howard Winklevoss filed [a] patent application, U.S. Patent Application No 20060212395, on or around March 15, 2005, but did not list Chang as a co-inventor." It also states "Through this litigation, Chang asserts his ownership interest in The Winklevoss Chang Group and ConnectU, including the settlement proceeds."[22] Lee Gesmer (of prominent law firm Gesmer Updegrove, LLP) posted the detailed 33-page complaint online.[21][39]

The story of the relationship between ConnectU and Facebook is depicted in The Social Network, a film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Bombardieri, Marcella (2004-09-17). "Online Adversaries: Rivalry between college-networking websites spawns lawsuit". The Boston Globe.
  2. ^ a b Pontin, Jason (2007-08-12). "Who owns the concept if no one signs the papers?". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Cassidy, John (2006-05-15). "Me Media: How hanging out on the Internet became big business". The New Yorker.
  4. ^ a b c d McGinn, Timothy (2004-05-28). "Online facebooks duel over tangled web of authorship". The Harvard Crimson.
  5. ^ Bourne, Claire (2004-11-23). "Web sites click on campus". USA Today.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Carlson, Nicholas (2010-03-05). "At Last--The full story of how Facebook was founded". The Business Insideer.
  7. ^ a b c ConnectU, Inc. v. Facebook, Inc. et al, Declaration of Victor Gao (Massachusetts Federal Court 2007-09-21), Text.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j O'Brien, Luke (2007-12-03). "Polking Facebook". 02138 Magazine.
  9. ^ Richtel, Matt (2009-04-11). "Tech recruiting clashes with immigration rules". The New York Times.
  10. ^ a b c d "Facebook accused of stealing idea". The Daily Free Press, Boston University. 2004-09-09.
  11. ^ a b c ConnectU, Inc. v. Facebook, Inc. et al, Complaint against all defendants, filed by Connectu, Inc. (Massachusetts Federal Court 2007-03-28), Text.
  12. ^ Macatee, Rebecca (2010-10-01). "The real Cameron Winklevoss says 'The Social Network' is 'nonfiction'". PopEater.
  13. ^ Milcetich, Jess (2005-03-16). "Thefacebook.com faces lawsuit from rival site". The Diamondback, University of Maryland.
  14. ^ a b c Maugeri, Alexander (2004-09-20). "TheFacebook.com faces lawsuit". The Daily Princetonian.
  15. ^ "WHOIS Lookup thefacebook.com". Retrieved 2010-10-01.
  16. ^ Glenn, Malcolm (2007-07-27). "For now, Facebook foes continue fight against site". The Harvard Crimson.
  17. ^ Stadtmiller, Mandy (2010-09-15). "Facebook's worst enemies". The New York Post.
  18. ^ Hale, David (2004-10-06). "Facebook faces litigation over design concept". The Daily Orange.
  19. ^ Sharif, Shirin (2004-08-05). "Harvard grads face off against thefacebook.com". The Stanford Daily.
  20. ^ a b Vargas, Jose (2010-09-20). "The face of facebook". The New Yorker.
  21. ^ a b Lee Gesmer (2010-01-18). "Chang v. Winklevoss Complaint". Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
  22. ^ a b Caroline McCarthy (2010-01-04). "Fresh legal woes for ConnectU founders". CNET News.
  23. ^ Michael Levenson (2008-06-27). "Facebook, ConnectU settle dispute:Case an intellectual property kerfuffle". Boston Globe.
  24. ^ Malcom A. Glenn, "For Now, Facebook Foes Continue Fight Against Site", The Harvard Crimson, July 27, 2007
  25. ^ O'Brien, Luke (November/December 2007). "Poking Facebook". 02138. p. 66. Retrieved 2008-06-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ McGinn, Timothy J. (2004-09-13). "Lawsuit Threatens To Close Facebook". Harvard Crimson. Archived from the original on 2004-09-13. Retrieved 2008-03-08. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2007-08-15 suggested (help)
  27. ^ Maugeri, Alexander (2004-09-20). "TheFacebook.com faces lawsuit". The Daily Princetonian. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  28. ^ Tryhorn, Chris (2007-07-25). "Facebook in court over ownership". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
  29. ^ California Northern District Court (2007-03-09). "The Facebook, Inc. v. Connectu, LLC et al". Justia.
  30. ^ Brad Stone (2008-06-28). "Judge Ends Facebook's Feud With ConnectU". New York Times.
  31. ^ Owen Thomas (2010-05-19). "Facebook CEO's latest woe: accusations of securities fraud". VentureBeat.
  32. ^ Nick Farrell (2010-05-21). "Facebook's Zuckerberg faces security fraud allegation". TechEye.
  33. ^ "Investors Value Facebook at Up to $33.7 Billion". New York Times. August 26, 2010.
  34. ^ Eric Eldon (February 12, 2009). "Financial wrinkle lost ConnectU some Facebook settlement dollars". VentureBeat.
  35. ^ Owen Thomas (May 19, 2010). VentureBeat http://venturebeat.com/2010/05/19/facebook-connectu-securities-fraud/. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  36. ^ Dan Slater (2009-02-10). "Quinn Emanuel Inadvertently Discloses Value of Facebook Settlement". Wall Street Journal.
  37. ^ Zusha Elinson (2010-02-10). "Quinn Emanuel Brochure Spills Value of Confidential Facebook Settlement". The Recorder.
  38. ^ Nate Raymond (2010-09-15). "Arbitrators Confirm Quinn Emanuel's Fee in Facebook Settlement". The National Law Journal.
  39. ^ Lee Gesmer (2010-01-18). "The Road Goes on Forever, But the Lawsuits Never End: ConnectU, Facebook, Their Entourages". Mass Law Blog.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=ConnectU&oldid=391355038"