← The Social Network

Two printed sides. Print double sided, or print the back separately.

Name: Period: Date:

Movie: The Social Network

Directed by David Fincher | Columbia Pictures (2010) | Rated PG-13 | 120 minutes

There are two sides to this worksheet. Do both sides!

Part 1: Watch and Learn (answer while watching)

Circle the best answer.

  1. What is Facemash, the site Mark builds in 2003?

    • A) A site for sharing homework
    • B) A site that lets visitors rate students' photos, taken from Harvard's online photo directories without asking
    • C) A dating site he sells to the school
    • D) A site for buying textbooks

  2. What happens to Mark because of Facemash?

    • A) He is given a prize
    • B) It crashes part of Harvard's network, and he is put on academic probation
    • C) He is expelled at once
    • D) Nothing happens

  3. Who gives Mark the first $1,000 to start thefacebook?

    • A) Sean Parker
    • B) Eduardo Saverin
    • C) Cameron Winklevoss
    • D) Larry Summers

  4. Which co-founder of Napster joins the company and pushes Mark to think bigger?

    • A) Sean Parker
    • B) Peter Thiel
    • C) Divya Narendra
    • D) Dustin Moskovitz

  5. What happens to Eduardo's share of the company?

    • A) It grows
    • B) A new investment shrinks his share to almost nothing, and he is removed as co-founder
    • C) It stays the same
    • D) He sells it to Mark's friends

Part 2: Think Like a Computer Scientist

  1. Whose Photos?: Mark builds Facemash from photos he took from Harvard's online directories without asking the students. Why is using people's photos or data without permission a problem even when a programmer can get at them? What should a programmer ask before building something like this?

  2. Why It Grew: The site spread school by school, first Harvard, then other colleges. Why would a site like this become more useful as more people join? Why might starting at one school have helped?

  3. Credit and Fairness: Two groups say Mark took their ideas or cut them out. Pick one and explain whether you think it was fair. What would a fair deal have looked like, and what should the friends have agreed on first?

  4. Fact or Fiction: The film is based on a book and the real people say some parts are made up. How should you treat a movie that says it is "based on a true story"? Describe two ways you could check what really happened.

  5. Personal Connection: Which character in the movie do you think you are most like and why? (Mark, Eduardo, Sean Parker, Erica, the Winklevoss twins, Divya, or another character)