The Social Network: A Movie Review From An Entrepreneur’s Mindset #SocialNetwork

Social Network Movie Review

A Look at The Social Network Movie from the Mindset of An Entrepreneur

To all of those social network fans out there, the movie, The Social Network, (aka #SocialNetwork for the Tweeples) about facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s rise to billionaire status, has been the buzz for several weeks now.  On opening day, my facebook news feed was filled with post after post from people buzzing about the movie.  OK, I get it.  Facebook is a complete social phenomenon and a ton of people, entrepreneur’s included, use the massive social networking site to develop relationships with new “friends” from around the globe.

As an entrepreneur, I actually practice and teach social media marketing principles, so I admit I was a little bit interested to see how this movie was going to play out and what entrepreneurial elements I may be able to take away from it.

In this review of The Social Network, I want to share a few focus points that entrepreneur’s can take away from the film and apply to their own business for growth and success.

Be Laser Focused

The movie version of Zuckerberg was intense and laser focused.  When he “wired in” working on the facebook code he was completely oblivious to the things going on around him.  Headphones on, focus targeted to the project at hand.  At several points in the movie, it was very apparent that regardless of where he was or what he was doing, his thoughts were focused on the project at hand.

The movie portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of facebook, is said to be fictional by in large and Zuckerberg  is reported to have told Oprah, that he is actually much more hard working than the movie version of him.  If that is true, then I am impressed because the movie version of Zuckerberg was intensely and almost obsessively focused on his work.

Take Fast Action

There is one scene in the movie where Zuckerberg’s character was speaking with a friend about the relationship status of one of the students when the idea hit him to add relationship status’ to the facebook profile specs.  Zuckerberg, stopped mid-sentence, with a look of epiphany plastered across his face, gathered his belongings and raced to his dorm room where he furiously enters the code to add relationship status.  This reminds me of the importance of taking fast action on not only your ideas as an entrepreneur, but on implementing the new information you learn.

Know How to Recognize the Right Timing

As the popularity of “the facebook” (as it was called in the beginning), grows, the movie demonstrates that Zuckerberg’s friend and business associate Eduardo Saverin began to press him to monetize the site.  Zuckerberg was not comfortable with that and wanted to wait for it to spread more and gain popularity.

He wasn’t willing to compromise the “coolness” of the facebook in order to make a quick buck.  Zuckerberg recognized, it was far more important to wait for the right time, grow the audience, and fan base before monetizing.  This turned out to lead to facebook being a multi-billion dollar corporation rather than a multi-million dollar corporation.

Millions are good, but billions are better.  🙂

I see a lot of on-line entrepreneurs make the same mistake, they come out of the gate eager (or desperate…haven’t really decided which it is yet) to make money fast on-line.  What many fail to realize is that before you can generate a business partner or a customer, you must first have earned their trust and respect.  People are generally skeptical about on-line opportunities because of the massive amount of “scams” out there.  So building the relationship with others should definitely come first.  Sometimes waiting for the right time to “pitch your opportunity” to someone can make the difference between a “yes” and a “no”.  You must carefully monitor and understand timing.

Keep Your Priorities In Line

This lesson from the movie comes, not from what the fictional Zuckerberg did correctly, but what he did wrong.  Now I can’t speak to the character or the personality of the real Zuckerberg because I have never met him, nor have I done much research on him.  He could totally be a super nice guy in “real life”.  Only he and those closest to him know that.  All I know is I’m glad he invented facebook.  😉

The fictional Zuckerberg, however, was a complete sell out when it came to relationships and well….frankly, he screwed over just about everybody who crossed his path.   The movie portrays him as a guy with no “real friends” left at the end of the day.  (that’s not a spoiler either).  So, this leads me to my last and final take away from the movie – keep your priorities in line.

Your friends, your family, your relationships with those who love and care about you should always, always, always, take precedence over your ambitions.

You can have billions upon billions of dollars but if you don’t have the peace, joy, and satisfaction that comes from doing the right thing and keeping relationships first, then it’s all in vain.

So keep it real my friends.

Go see the movie and ask yourself what elements you can take away to help you be successful in your business. Your comments, retweets and facebook (yes I said facebook 🙂 ….) shares are always appreciated.  Oh…and on those “re-tweets” please use the hashtag code #SocialNetwork (that’s be extra awesome of you!)  Thanks!

Social Marketing For Your Success,

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  14. Unfortunately I have not yet had the chance to watch the “Social Network”, however I have been in deep anticipation for it and when I get the chance I will definitely watch. I too have been thinking to myself based on the previews all along what can I get out of this movie that I can apply to my business? Well you seemed to have summed it up. Great post thank you for sharing.

  15. It certainly didn’t hurt for Mark Zuckerberg to be named Time 2010 Man of the Year primarily for connecting 1/12 of the globe with one another. He was able to accomplish so much because of his Focus, Drive, and Persistence. These are qualities that sometimes can keep people from being “social.”

    I will definitely see this movie more than once
    🙂
    The story was fascinating and the movie very well structured and paced.

  16. Hey

    I NEED to see this movie. Everyone is telling me how great and inspiring it is. I like how you explain the parts about how an entrepreneur should think and take action. I need to start picking it up after ready this.

    Thanks again

  17. Hi Krista,

    Nice article. I have not seen the movie yet but I need to get out there and see it.

    I like what you said here. Do the right thing and relationships first!

    Thx,

    Steve

  18. Awesome post here Krista!

    I like your insight from the movie and noticed a similar thing when I watched the movie. One part that stood out was the relationship status thing. He literally left what he was doing to go to work. I have done this a few times while just hanging out with friends when an idea for a blog post/video hit me. However, on a smaller scale.

    I agree 100% that you need to spend more time with friends than Mark did in the movie. It seemed like because he ended up with no friends at the end, can he truly be happy? What’s the true vision of success and why do we not have this as one of the core values for businesses?

    It definitely was a good movie and an excellent post!
    -Chris

  19. Hrmm.. I loved this post… This comment could be considered brash… so understand the ‘you’ I speak about is collective… not directed to just you, Krista.

    I haven’t seen the movie.. and perhaps I shall this weekend on our family’s movie night because I know the judgements I make here are just an initial response.

    Like most movies out there, it seems to me they are infecting the public with the lack-mentality-mind-virus that the rich screw over people who get in their way and once you ‘make it’ in the business world, it’s because you’ve sacrificed the ‘things that matter most’.

    I always put my caution flags up whenever I hear things like this. It definitely doesn’t encourage an abundance mindset.

    I’ve got family who love getting in my way all the time and would like nothing more than to see me ‘give up the wasteful endeavors and get a real job’.

    The latest snide comment I got was “All that money you’re making… and none of it is an honest dime.”

    My turn to be frank with all the readers out there.

    I know that if some friends or family getting in your way of achieving your goals and dreams, you won’t achieve them.

    Screw them.

    Secondly… if people are so unfortunately stupid as to get in the way of a value-providing, mission-driven, passion-inspired, goal-orientated, vision-possessed, laser-like focus…. serves them right for getting screwed over.

    They’d have better luck at standing their ground between a mamma bear and her cubs.

    LOL…

    But this is me judging a movie I haven’t seen.

    And it’s in defense of the ‘fictional’ (and non-fictional) Mr. Zuckerberg. Neither of which I’ve had the honor of meeting.

  20. Great review Krista. You translated the lessons learned to entrepreneurial lessons expertly and seemlessly. Well done. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but now I know some of the important takeaways.

    Wendy

  21. Good review on the movie.

    There is a lot you can learn in that movie just from a business perspective.

    On an entertainment level I thought it was magnificent. It really played well with the new themes happening in our culture as this technology continues to rise and rise.

    It’s weird to think about not having Facebook now. It’s like the world was darker before it’s invention haha.

    To life,
    -Gregory

  22. Hey Krista
    That was a really cool review of the movie. You really got a lot of insights from the movie and it makes me want to go check it out to see what I can learn.
    Thanks for these great lessons.
    Steve

  23. Unfortunately, I only get to watch movies in the theater that my kids want to see :-), so I’ll have to grab this when it hits video. I can’t wait til the movies come out about regular people ruining their lives from what they post on facebook…lol.

  24. Fast action, I love it. Even though I am the only one on the planet who hasent seen the movie about one of the best marketing tools he uses by reading everyone’s reviews it almost feels spoiled. Still cant wait to see it though.

    Right when we have a great thought or idea, write it down or drop what you are doing and hit it! It is amazing how much more we achieve and how much less procrastination we experience when we adopt this philosophy.

    Thanks for sharing!

    Joe

  25. Krista,

    I really enjoyed the concept behind your review of the movie, because I’ve had to place my business which is ownership and promotions of my two traffic exchanges aside to help out family and friends in these hard times. But now the crisis is over I Need the man’s laser focus to get things back on tack.

    Bluestreakhits and Chipmunkhits

    Richmouse Promotions

    It seems these three businesses online or my main focus that and my blogging which I take a day off to do each week.
    The thing is how does one explain to family the business is how I can help them when they need it?

    Sincerely
    Monty Ferbert

  26. Krista,

    Great observations. Now I got to go see the movie.

  27. Krista,

    Thanks for the review, enjoyed your post. I haven’t seen the movie yet, something I’ll take time to do soon. You may have given me the extra incentive on taking the movie storyline up for a view.

    Mike

  28. I enjoyed your review so very much. “Keep your priorities in line” and ” be laser focused” is one point we need to constantly remember daily. So many distractions in this world of ours.

    Thanks for a great review.

  29. Awesome post here Krista Abbott and I love the shirt you have on on your header. This is my first time visiting your blog, It is very very nice. You awesome have a awesome alexa ranking which is cool. I will be back to read more. thanks a million for this great read.

  30. A friend just gave me the book 2 weeks ago. Then I came home to find that the movie he mentioned to me was already out! And now here is a review!

    The book is called The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich copyright 2009.

    Thanks for your great thoughts derived from elements of the film version. (I see you took to heart the fast action part by getting this review out before the popcorn cup was empty.)

  31. Hey Krista…very cool. I have been wanting to see the film and you piqued my interest even more. Great things to look for and take away from the film. Thanks so much for sharing.

  32. Excellent post!

    Social networks and Mr Mark

    I agree, you need to build relationships and see what the persons needs are!

  33. Loved the movie. Great post with business examples pertaining to the movie Krista! I learned some stuff that I did not know about in the movie that was quite interesting. Facebook has been an amazing journey so far.

    Regards,
    Mike

  34. Krista,
    I enjoyed your review of this movie. Really appreciate your statements about only knowing the “movie” version of the man, not jumping into judgment without a basis. “Real” life movies are a matter of perspective. But the underlying story sounds interesting.

    This one will definitely stir up the pot! Welcome to Hollywood!
    Val 🙂

  35. Krista,

    I absolutely love the way you took this movie and broke it up into life and business lessons that we can all benefit from. I’ve been looking forward to seeing this movie myself and now will look at it with different eyes.

    Without knowing the storyline, I’m intrigued but not really surprised to learn that this young man was better at his work than he was at maintaining wholesome relationships. This can be a challenge to us, as it can be easy for us to lose balance when we’re first starting out building our futures. Definitely an important lesson, and one thing we all need to take away from your great post.

  36. Aloha Kristal,

    Thank you so much for this very informative review of the “Facebook” movie. I haven’t seen it yet, so I love your outline of points to consider when watching the movie.

    I guess some of the points were the reason Mark wasn’t too happy with some parts of the movie.

    I love learning from successful people’s journeys because we can all learn so much.

    Thank you for sharing.

    Much aloha,
    Kellie 🙂

  37. Hi Krista,

    Thanks for the review! We’ve not heard much about it here in Portugal!

    Certainly sounds like an interesting movie – I’ll be checking it out!

    Focus and near obsession seem to be a very common trait it successful people!

    Kind regards,

    Emma 🙂

  38. Hi Krista,

    thanks for sharing your insights. Taking action fast on the one hand and taking the time it takes when it comes to monetizing on the other is crucial. Most people are tempted by their need for instant gratification or greed.

    Take care

    Oliver

  39. Krista,
    How cool…you jumped right on this and got a post out as a review of what I’m guessing will be huge blockbuster of a movie. So, like the lesson you picked up on…you took fast action. I believe this will reward you well for your efforts. It sounds like there is some good principles to be gleaned from this movie and it is one I certainly want to see.

    I see it making noise on Facebook as others check in for the theater and also seeing status updates from them afterwards. I typically wait a few weeks for the initial buzz and crowds to thin so I won’t be jumping on my blog with a quick review as you did.

    Thanks for sharing your business insights with us.

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