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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

BoomTown’s Top 10 List of Fact-Challenged Revelations That Should Be in the Facebook Tell-All Book

accidentalbillionairesjpg

How much is BoomTown and everyone else in Silicon Valley trying to nab a copy of Ben Mezrich’s likely-to-be-entirely-made-up-but-who-cares tale of dirty doings at Facebook?

Muchety-much! But, so far I have come up peanuts in grabbing an early copy of the work of “fact”-ion–titled “The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal”–which is set to come out July 14, along with a movie later.

Facebook is not pleased, of course, and will likely be challenging Mezrich’s work as specious dreck, but here’s my own list of 10 completely made-up, utterly fabricated, just-call-me-Jayson-Blair facts that should be in the book.

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Friday, February 13, 2009

Law and Disorder: The Curse of the Winklevii

One thing that’s nice in these volatile times is that the Winklevoss identical twins–aka the Olympic rowing hunks whom Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg seems to have repeatedly dunked since college–can always be relied upon to create nonstop entertainment for those riveted to their increasingly kooky lawsuit against the hot social-networking site.

In any case, it’s only the legal hijinks–either via rank incompetency or, more likely, creative leaking–that I want to know more about, especially since release of heretofore confidential information seems to keep seeping out of this case like some hole-plagued rowing shell.

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Thursday, August 14, 2008

Winklevoss-tastic!

BoomTown simply cannot resist the irresistible urge to compare the gripping quest for gold by Olympic rowers Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss with their more lackluster effort to grab a piece of Facebook via a lawsuit.

In an unlikely upset in the semifinal of the men’s pairs, the hunky brothers placed second and will go on to the finals on Saturday.

Apparently, the Winklevosses actually have some magical come-from-behind in them.

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Monday, July 21, 2008

Kara Visits studiVZ in Berlin! (Yes, the Facebook of Germany–Lawsuit Pending!)

A few months ago BoomTown was in Berlin and visited a number of Internet companies there, including studiVZ, which I called the Facebook of Germany in the video posted below of my visit there.

Ooops!

As it turns out that is apparently the illegal way to describe it, at least according to Facebook itself, which sued the German company in a California court last Friday, accusing it of making a “knock-off” of the popular social networking site.

Apparently, studiVZ is also trying to block the suit in German court too, creating what amounts to an international SuperPoking incident (called a “gruscheln” on studiVZ).

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Thursday, June 26, 2008

Winklevosses AboutFacebooked!

Ah, the Winklevosses!

They lost.

In court, I mean, not in rowing!

But I am sad to say BoomTown is deeply uninterested in the long-running legal struggle between Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the hot social-networking site and the group affiliated with ConnectU–heretofore referred to by BoomTown as NotFacebook.

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Saturday, December 1, 2007

A Well-Deserved Court Loss for Facebook

It should come as no surprise, of course, given it was essentially a legal temper tantrum on the part of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
But a judge in Massachusetts wisely denied an inane request by the Palo Alto, Calif.-based social-networking start-up to take down confidential court documents that 02138 magazine had made available for downloading on [...]

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Friday, November 30, 2007

Ironic, Yes, But Zuckerberg’s Privacy Violated

[UPDATED with more information.]

So exactly why did Facebook unleash such a massive legal fury on 02138 magazine yesterday over documents the publication posted online?

Because, said sources, those documents–including an application to Harvard University–contained Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s Social Security number, the full name of his girlfriend and the address of his parent’s house in New York.

Now, apparently, the Beacon’s on the other foot.

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Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Facebook’s Close-Up Too Close?

It was interesting that the New York Times opted to use the gam shot for its weekend story on what makes a contract dispute–using the comely rower legs of one Tyler Winklevoss, one of two brothers who is suing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for allegedly stealing their business plan and technology for a social-networking service [...]

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About Kara

Kara Swisher started covering digital issues for The Wall Street Journal's San Francisco bureau in 1997 and also wrote the BoomTown column about the sector. With Walt Mossberg, she co-produces and co-hosts D: All Things Digital, a major high-tech and media conference.

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Ethics Statement

Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.

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