Valleywag: ConnectU

Guy who sued Facebook joins Facebook

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:00:00 PDT

Harvard alum Divya Narendra is on Facebook, one of his classmates noticed today. The social network started at that Ivy League school, so his joining it wouldn't be notable — except Narendra started ConnectU, the social network from which Narendra and his cofounders say fellow Harvard man Mark Zuckerberg stole the idea for Facebook. The other two founders are Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who rowed in the Beijing Olympics and are also very tall. Narendra didn't take advantage of Facebook's excellent privacy features and has his profile exposed to the entire New York network. Narendra has been less vocal than the Winklevosses about ConnectU's continuing fight with Facebook, but according to his Facebook wall, which we've pasted below, Narendra's freinds still can't believe he joined the site. Also below: Guess which company Narendra did not include in the "Education and Work" section of his profile:

ConnectU's uniques spike 50 percent

Jackson West — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:00:00 PDT

At the party last Friday hosted by our publisher, Gawker Media, ConnectU twintrepreneurs Cameron Winklevoss (left) and Tyler Winklevoss (right) made an appearance. They were in town for their short film production's screening the following day. Intrepid Valleywagger Nicholas Carlson managed to keep them talking for half an hour — but all I got from Carlson about the exchange was, "They're very handsome." Write a better headline in the comments and we'll use it for the post's title. Friday actionhero11 won a few chips for "This Hard Drive sponsored by Seagate."(Photo by Nick McGlynn)

ConnectU twins' film production has NYC premiere tomorrow

Jackson West — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:40:00 PDT

ConnectU cofounders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss lost control of ConnectU, their also-ran social network, in the settlement of a lawsuit with Facebook CEO mark Zuckerberg. And they finished last in their Olympic rowing final. But they just got some good news! A short film the pair executive-produced (read: paid for) has won a slot at the New York City Shorts Festival. First Bass, a treacly story directed by fellow Harvard grad Phil Hodges, features a young bassist who ditches rehearsal to run off to a Chicago Cubs game. It looks like a typical "calling-card film," the kind of flicks Hollywood wannabes produce to get a foot in the door to the entertainment industry. The five- to six-figure budgets are usually funded by wealthy family and friends. The best part is this little tidbit from Tyler's bio:

Played: A twin eunich [sic] with his brother in his high school play, "ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM."

Maybe the Waspy wantrepreneurs can use some of that money from the Facebook settlement to get started as producers in Hollywood. Tip next time they get pitched by a buddy from Harvard to fund his vanity short: It will be about as likely to make any money as it will be for Zuckerberg to publicly admit that he totally ripped you two off.

Google pulling for Facebook's rower foes?

Owen Thomas — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:20:00 PDT

On Sunday, Google featured rowers in a custom Olympics logo on its homepage. Were the mullahs of Mountain View pulling for Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the Olympics hopefuls in rowing who charged Harvard classmate Mark Zuckerberg with nicking the idea for Facebook from ConnectU, their college social network? The Winklevosses lost in the pair rowing finals, after handing their company to Zuckerberg in a court-ordered settlement. Then again, Google is known for backing losers in social networking.

ConnectU twins sink in rowing finals, rise in our hearts

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:00:00 PDT

ConnectU cofounders and identical twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss finished sixth out of six in Saturday's Olympic rowing finals. As you can tell from NBC's clip above, it wasn't close. It was an anticlimactic end to a rousing — for some, arousing — Olympic run for the beefy Harvard-grad dreamboats. The pair only made the finals after a stirring upset last week. Australians Drew Ginn and Duncan Free finished first. Sure, they have a gold medal, but did they create a college social network good enough for Mark Zuckerberg to copy? (Photo by Getty Images)

Know your Olympic finalists, ConnectU founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss

Nicholas Carlson — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:20:00 PDT

ConnectU may be the college social network that isn't Facebook, but then Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is also the social network founder who isn't an Olympic finalist. Row2K interviewed the pair who are, ConnectU founders and dreamboats Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. From the interviews, giddy fangirls and boys will be excited to learn that Cameron is the one who likes to play guitar, read books and watch movies. He's also very excited to seeing Beijing because he's never been to China before. Tyler doesn't say as much, but we do learn from the interview, excerpted above, that he was very tall in his youth. In an early 1960s rock band, we think he'd be the one who wore sunglasses on stage. The pair — who, along with third cofounder Divya Narendra, handed over all ConnectU shares to Facebook this week after months of legal wrangling — compete for gold this Saturday.

In rousing upset, ConnectU founders advance to Olympic finals

Nicholas Carlson — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:40:00 PDT

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the twin cofounders of a college social network which is not Facebook, finished second in today's Olympic rowing semifinals, just behind the Aussies, and will compete in the finals on Saturday. It was quite the upset. Previewing today's race, Row2k.com wrote that "the Aussie pair is a lock," that "Serbia, Germany, Italy are the like contenders for the final two qualifying spots," and that the ConnectU cofounders "have their work cut out for them if they want to win a spot in the A final." While they were winning in Beijing, they lost a battle in court.

The pair alleged that Harvard classmate Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea in creating Facebook, ended up settling, and then appealed over the terms of the settlement; a judge denied their request. But if their long-fought legal battle with Facebook proved anything, it's that the JFK Jr.-lite Winklevoss brothers never quit, even when everyone — including judges — thinks they should. Take that, Serbia! (Photo by Getty Images)

As ConnectU founders prepare for Olympic semis, Facebook takes over their company

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:00:00 PDT

ConnectU cofounders and Olympic rowers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss beat out Croatia to win their second heat yesterday, advancing to Wednesday's semifinals. Meanwhile, back on the home front, U.S. District Judge James Ware said Monday that ConnectU has until Tuesday to transfer all its stock to Facebook and comply with a settlement to the ConnectU founders' suit alleging that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea.

The news is hardly bad news for the Winklevoss brothers and ConnectU's third cofounder, Divya Narendra. Court papers say the three will get "millions" of dollars in cash as well as stock in a startup too popular with mainstream America's millennial generation to fail. (The Winklevosses were fighting the settlement after they discovered that the Facebook common stock they would receive was worth less than they supposed.) Plus, there's still that shot at gold.

Winklevoss brothers finish last in first try at Beijing

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 08:00:00 PDT

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss — the founding twins of social network ConnectU who are Facebook's legal foes and also Olympic rowers — fared poorly in their first Olympic outing Saturday, finishing fifth out of five in a 2000 meter preliminary heat. The Winklevoss brothers — who delighted fans on the home front when they practiced shirtless late last week — finished in 7:13.64, well behind the Polish team which finished up in 7:01.90. Also waiting on the other side of the finish line were the French, Italian and Canadian teams, one of which presumably won, but who cares, our boys did not. The Winklevoss brothers were supposed to get a second chance on Sunday, but that second heat rained out and will be rescheduled. Nevermind that, we think its time for the Winklevosses to go to Plan B: sue the French, Italian, Canadian and Polish teams for stealing their idea of finishing faster. Update: The brothers won their second heat and advanced to Wednesday's semifinals.

ConnectU twins, Facebook's Olympian enemies, spotted shirtless near Beijing

Nicholas Carlson — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:20:00 PDT

ConnectU founders and Olympic rowers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss — the guys who are still in a legal wrestling match with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg after suing him for stealing their idea, settling, and then rethinking the settlement — took their shirts off for rowing practice in Beijing. We thought some of you might want to know.

ConnectU twins try to disprove dumb-jock image, and fail

Owen Thomas — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:00:00 PDT

The not-so-subtle thesis of a Boston Globe profile of Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the twins who claim Mark Zuckerberg stole the idea from Facebook from them: They're not just dumb jocks. The Twinklevosses, as they're known in Silicon Valley, lost in their legal effort, but are hoping to win at the Beijing Olympics, where they are competing in rowing. They and fellow cofounder Divya Narendra settled with Facebook, agreeing to sell ConnectU for shares in the company — but are now trying to overturn that agreement, saying Facebook isn't worth as much as they thought. That argues strongly against the piece's attempt to bust stereotypes.

One would think they would have gotten a proper valuation on the shares before agreeing to take them as payment. That in itself suggests that the twins, who majored in economics at Harvard, weren't paying attention in class.

And if they have some other evidence of brains, it wasn't on display for the Globe. Their coash, Ted Nash, tries to argue that they're just strong, silent types: "Inside, everything's working all the time with them. What you see isn't what you get."

What you see, according to the Globe:

They are impossibly constructed: 6 feet 5 inches tall, with shoulders that jut out like coat hangers, their limbs wrapped in the long, strong muscles typical of rowers, their heads crowned with identical waves of light brown hair.

A photo accompanying the piece shows the two with California governor and former bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger; all three have equally rippling pecs, sculling forward from their white polo shirts.

What you get, from Cameron:

One of the cool things about amateur athletics is that I think the pursuit is sort of the pursuit of excellence for nothing more than trying to be excellent. At the end of the day, going fast in the water, in its own intrinsic value, doesn't mean much more than the time that you put on the clock. But I think it's the focus and the effort and what you put in to become excellent, and the fact that it is, in some respects, meaningless, that makes it all the more interesting. We're getting a lot out of it, but it's not like an NBA championship, or something like that. We're trying to be good at something for the sake of being good.

Sartre would be proud. Tyler's contribution:

"I think people get caught up in what's the value of rowing — what does it do for you? — and that's just totally missing the larger picture.... The way it shook out, we ended up in the pair. We thought it was a good fit for us... If you miss a practice, you pay. It's a direct correlation. You see it. It's impossible to not be hit over the head with that reality.... Everybody counts on every stroke.

At that last bit, Cameron nodded eloquently. And a stereotype held firm.

(Photo by Reuters)

Court documents show Facebook's worth $3.75 billion, unless you're Microsoft

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 08:40:00 PDT

Court documents in the ConnectU case reveal that when it comes to the price of Facebook common shares, Facebook's board values the company at $3.75 billion — far lower than the $15 billion valuation set by Microsoft's $240 million purchase of 1.6 percent of the company. As an investor, Microsoft owns preferred stock — worth more in part because, in case of an acquisition or an IPO, it's the stuff that gets sold first. That means Facebook board really thinks the company isn't worth $3.75 billion or $15 billion, but somewhere in between. Actual shareholders — including Facebook employees, we've heard — are more than willing to move their shares at a $4 billion valuation. The revealing court documents, in which ConnectU lawyers complain about Facebook's valuation, are embedded below. Before you feel too sympathetic, ask yourself: Isn't this the kind of thing lawyers are paid to know?

ConnectU vs. Facebook on settlement - Upload a Document to Scribd

Transcripts confirm: ConnectU founders better rowers than accountants

Nicholas Carlson — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:20:00 PDT

Released court transcripts from the last skirmish in the ConnectU-Facebook legal battle — in which Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was charged with nicking the code for his site from a rival social network — reveal why ConnectU founders Divya Narendra, Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler WInklevoss returned to the fight this summer after settling with Facebook in February. It seems they thought their original lawyers didn't make as much from the deal as the ConnectU founders thought they would. In the February settlement, ConnectU sold itself for Facebook shares which the founders figured would have a value similar to those bought by Microsoft, which paid $240 million for 1.6 percent of Facebook, valuing the company at a notional $15 billion. The transcripts show that while Microsoft bought preferred stock in the company, ConnectU's founders were awarded common shares. That kind isn't worth nearly as much. In fact, given the problems Facebook shareholders have had selling their private shares, the settlement might not be enough to pay ConnectU's legal bills. The founders' first team of lawyers have asked the Judge not to award ConnectU its settlement funds until its legal bills are paid first.

CNET legal objection might reveal Mark Zuckerberg's private IM transcripts

Jackson West — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:40:00 PDT

The legal case opened by ConnectU founders Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra against Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is closed, but the courtroom drama continues. CNET has filed an objection to San Jose District Court Judge James Ware's decision to close the courtroom and put all the evidence under seal. What's in those documents that might be so interesting? Facebook's internal valuations, for starters. But most intriguing are the purported instant message conversations that the plaintiffs were led to believe provided proof that Zuckerberg is a little thief. (Photo by AP)

Facebook convinces judge it isn't worth $15 billion

Nicholas Carlson — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 08:20:00 PDT

When Facbook and the ConnectU founders who say Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg stole their code settled in February, ConnectU founders Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra figured they were getting stock in a company worth $15 billion. Not so, according to Facebook laywers and the federal judge who ruled in their favor. From the Judge's ruling:

Apparently, in October 2007, Facebook and Microsoft issued a press release stating Microsoft would “take a $240 million stake in Facebook’s next round of financing at a $15 billion valuation.”... Defendants [Facebook] proffer evidence that subsequent to the press release, in the regular course of its operations, Facebook’s Board of Directors determined a value of the company’s “shares” which was different than the valuation disclosed in the press release.

So while Facebook was happy to sell 1.6 percent of the company to Microsoft for $240 million for a $15 billion valuation last fall — and tell the press all about it — remember, that doesn't mean the company is actually worth $15 billion. In fact, a Silicon Alley Insider commenter reports: "Try $2 billion to $3 billion. An owner is out trying to peddle common stock to VC's right now. The price is under $4 billion for sure."(Photo by AP/Ruttle)

ConnectU's case against Facebook to remain closed

Nicholas Carlson — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:00:00 PDT

Harvard classmates and ConnectU founders Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra signed a settlement with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in February, and despite what the ConnectU founders say is relevant new evidence, a federal judge ruled yesterday that the settlement will stick. "The court finds that the agreement is enforceable and orders its enforcement," the order said. We prefer how the last judge ruling on the case put it, describing the ConnectU founders suddenly renewed interest in revisiting the settlement with new lawyers as little more than "buyer's remorse."

ConnectU founders hire new lawyers to fight Facebook

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:00:00 PDT

ConnectU founders Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra have hired new lawyers to argue their suddenly renewed case that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea for his site. The parties agreed to a settlement in February, but last week ConnectU cited new evidence and asked a judge to let it out of the deal. Now, the New York Times reports one of ConnectU's new lawyers is stock fraud expert Sean F. O’Shea of O’Shea Partners in New York. Speculates the Times's Brad Stone:

Since the Facebook-ConnectU settlement was likely part-cash, part-stock, one possibility is that the ConnectU founders feel misled by the value of the equity portion of the settlement and believe that fraudulent representations about its value were made to them.

Could be. Or it could be that the Winklevoss' and Narendra don't have much going and need more than they originally agreed to. ConnectU has about 2,000 users and the founders' last law firm, Quinn Emanuel, recently filed a lien against Connect for any bounty turned up in court going forward. (Photo by AP/Krupa)

Rolling Stone's Mark Zuckerberg bio -- the 100-word version

Jackson West — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:00:00 PDT

In Rolling Stone magazine's continuing efforts to be hip and with it, Claire Hoffman was granted dozens of column inches to detail the rise of Facebook, especially including the allegations that co-founder Mark Zuckerberg essentially stole the idea and reneged on promises of coding help to other Harvard students when he realized that he might have a business success on his hands. The list of aggrieved parties is long, starting with Harvard which punished Zuckerberg for invading other student's privacy by creating Facemash to the ConnectU founders and even Facebook's original co-founder, both of whom have sued Zuckerberg for various improprieties. But what does it all boil down to?

The school already had an online database known as the facebook ... The fact that a couple of other students had the same idea at the same moment doesn't mean he is a thief. And the fact that many consider Zuckerberg a grade-A asshole doesn't mean he did anything illegal. "There are lots of things that an average person might consider reprehensible that aren't against the law," says James Boyle, who co-founded the Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke Law School. "I'd warn against assuming that the 'Ew, what a slimeball' reflex be equated with what is illegal."

Zuckerberg's immaturity and megalomania might make him intolerably arrogant to anyone around him, but that's pretty much what the Valley rewards. So unless it gets in the way of his management of the company (which it may yet), he has nothing to worry about.(Photo by Andrew Feinberg)

ConnectU lawyer on the IM transcripts that will totally milk more millions from Facebook

Jackson West — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:40:00 PDT

Mark Hornick, the lawyer representing ConnectU's Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, on the "smoking gun" chat transcripts that data forensics expert Jeff Parmet may or may not have discovered on hard drives subpoenaed from Facebook implicating Mark Zuckerberg in grand theft source code: "We don't have them. The courts have them, Facebook has them, but ConnectU doesn't have them." [Silicon Alley Insider]

Citing new evidence, ConnectU founders want out of Facebook settlement

Nicholas Carlson — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:40:00 PDT

The ConnectU founders have long argued Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg used code commissioned by ConnectU, a rival college-based social network, to create Facebook at Harvard. Now, after agreeing to a settlement with Facebook in February, the ConnectU founders want out of the deal. They say instant messaging files found on Facebook's computers offer new "smoking-gun" evidence to make their case.

U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock called ConnectU's move to ditch the settlement a case of "buyer's remorse" after the company perhaps unwisely agreed to a settlement before all the documents in the case had been turned over. "The parties chose to do what they did based on imperfect knowledge of what the outcome of the case might be," Woodlock said. "You knew at the time you entered into the agreement it wasn't complete." ConnectU lawyer John Hornick said that if ConnectU isn't allowed out of the settlement, "the next step is going to be a fraud claim."

Last ruling in ConnectU vs. Facebook went against Mark Zuckerberg

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:20:00 PDT

A judge last summer called the ConnectU founders' claims that Mark Zuckerberg had used code written while employed by them to create Facebook "tissue thin." Yesterday, in the final ruling before Facebook's lawyers decided to settle, a higher court disagreed and rejected Facebook's call for a dismissal. According to the appeals court ruling, Facebook's defense arguments were "either unavailing, or inadequately developed, or both. We reject them out of hand and, for the reasons elucidated above, we reverse the order of dismissal." Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg, unwilling to go on with the case, chose to settle.

Zuckerberg agrees to pay off ConnectU founders

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:00:00 PDT

Facebook is preparing to settle with ConnectU founders Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra. The three allegedthat in 2003, Facebook founder and then-fellow Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg turned code he wrote for ConnectU into Facebook. All motions in the case have been terminated, the New York Times reports — a usual prelude to a settlement. In July 2007, a judge characterized the ConnectU founder's case as tissue-thin, remarking that dormroom chatter does not equate to a contract. Still, the case didn't seem to be going away. Already, inadvertently released court filings proved embarrassing to Zuckerberg, and a trial would likely have revealed worse. What the Times didn't get: the terms of the settlement.

We don't have inside information, but simple logic tells us the cleanest way to handle this is an acquisition. Buying ConnectU gives its founders a payoff, which they greatly desire, for an otherwise worthless company. For Facebook, buying ConnectU makes the issue of who owns its code moot. While Facebook's executives have been urging Zuckerberg to end the lawsuit for a while, new Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has to have weighed in favoring a settlement. At Google in 2004, Sandberg watched as the company handed over 2.7 million shares to settle claims that Google had infringed on Yahoo's patents. It's a history lesson that makes us wonder: After Zuckerberg rebuffed its $1 billion offer, why didn't Yahoo buy ConnectU?

Zuckerberg: Value of users' trust is immeasurable

Tim Faulkner — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 07:26:18 PST

Mark Zuckerberg in his own words:

It's hard to quantify that because this isn't a short-term thing. If an event [like] this happens and our users get spammed then they trust the site less and they use it less, then that could affect us tremendously down the line, even if it doesn't affect it right at this point.

No, that's not the Facebook founder's mea culpa on the much-derided Beacon advertising program. It's Zuckerberg's deposition account of rival network ConnectU's attempts to harvest emails from Facebook profiles. But Zuckerberg's claim that the impact of losing user trust is "immeasurable" is just as apropos today as it was three years ago.

Why Mark Zuckerberg really is the next Bill Gates

Owen Thomas — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:58:22 PST

When I read Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's deposition in one of his pending lawsuits with the founders of ConnectU, who claim he stole the idea for the social network from them, my first thought was, "Did anyone at Microsoft read these before investing $240 million in Facebook?" Zuckerberg is at his worst in these transcripts — by turns arrogant, befuddled, condescending, and obfuscating. And then it hit me.

If anyone at Microsoft has seen these, it surely caused their hearts to warm to Facebook's 23-year-old founder. Zuckerberg's performance no doubt reminded them of Bill Gates's grilling by government lawyers a decade ago. Here are 18 pages of excerpts from Zuckerberg's deposition, made available by 02138 magazine, and a clip of Gates's testimony. Compare for yourselves.

Facebook founder's sordid college days

Owen Thomas — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:26:57 PST

02138, an independent magazine for Harvard alumni, has done an in-depth profile of Harvard dropout Mark Zuckerberg and the on-campus origins of Facebook. There's plenty on the lawsuit filed by the Winklevoss twins and ConnectU, the Facebook rival for which Zuckerberg did some programming work. But the magazine digs deeper and gets some tantalizing details. Did you know that Facebook cofounder Eduardo Saverin and Zuckerberg sparred over money, and Saverin is suing Zuckerberg for squeezing him out of the company? Or that fellow Harvard alums Sanjay Mavinkurve, Joe Jackson, and Victor Gao also did programming for ConnectU — and thereby might have a claim to the title of wannabe Facebook founders? Aaron Greenspan, whose HouseSystem social network may have inspired Zuckerberg, also makes an appearance. Zuckerberg didn't speak to the magazine for the story, but his response to Harvard's Administrative Board still rings true today.

After the Winklevosses brought charges against Zuckerberg for violating college rules, he responded in a letter:

Frankly, I'm kind of appalled that they're threatening me after the work I've done for them free of charge, but after dealing with a bunch of other groups with deep pockets and good legal connections including companies like Microsoft, I can't say I'm surprised. I try to shrug it off as a minor annoyance that whenever I do something successful, every capitalist out there wants a piece of the action.

The board decided the matter lay outside Harvard's purview, and the case will no doubt be settled in court. (Or out of court, now that Facebook has raised $240 million from Microsoft.) Whatever you think of the merits of the case, the 02138 profile has come to a definitive ruling: For such a nice guy — the "crazy kid" who only cares about his users — Zuckerberg is a quick study when it comes to capitalism.

Founders Club, MC Hammer take over SNL studios

Nicholas Carlson — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 10:00:18 PST

Digital media types here in New York are always looking for a reason to celebrate their own achievements. A couple of months ago, a few of them began calling themselves the Founders Club and decided to start holding mixers around town. Last night, NBC hosted the latest in the series on the set of Saturday Night Live. Who showed? Mostly wantrepreneurs looking for a VC teat to suckle, of course. But I also ran into Digg CEO Jay Adelson, pictured above; a definitely not-pictured angel Ron Conway, who dodged my camera; a Facebook "founder"; and MC Hammer.

Probably the biggest surprise last night was that despite Facebook's busy day announcing new features to allow users to spam each other, one of the company's Harvard connections still showed at last night's Founders Club party here in New York. Which one? ConnectU founder and litigious claimant to the Facebook throne, Divya Narendra, of course.

What, you were expecting Adidas? I asked Narendra what he really thinks of Zuckerberg, but he wouldn't. Didn't want to piss off his lawyers. Narendra was happy to dish on fellow wannabe Facebook founder Aaron Greenspan, however.

"I have no idea how he got that New York Times article," Narendra told me. "He has nothing to do with any of this."

Bitches just jealous.

New York angel investor Ron Conway also turned up last night. I'd have snapped a photo of him, but for a big fella, the man pulls a mean pirouette at the sight of a camera. And did you really want to see a photo of his backside? Silicon Alley wantrepreneurs are not allowed to answer that.

One thing I didn't know about Adelson: Apparently he lives in Dutchess County, north of New York, and commutes to San Francisco to run Digg. Does this mean we can claim him for Silicon Alley? (Ed.'s note: No.)

CollegeHumor's Zach Klein and Ricky Van Veen also showed, dragging down the whole affair with their ironic style and funny-looking glasses. They only cost $7 dollars on eBay. Father figures Josh Mohrer of BustedTees and Vimeo's Jonathan Marcus mostly managed to keep the boys in line, though dress code violations (sneakers) barred the entire crew from the Rainbow Room afterparty. Nobody said beauty was easy, fellas.

Facebook rivals' site proves easily hacked

Megan McCarthy — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 16:36:06 PDT

Poor Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. The athletic and very identical twins are suing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg over claims that he stole their idea for a college social network. Now, too, though, they're suffering much the same security woes as their better-known rival, and, if that's possible, not as gracefully. Just as Facebook had its source code leaked, someone has discovered that ConnectU, the comely twins' site, has major security flaws of its own. Flaws so obvious, says the engineer who discovered the flaw, that they beggar the imagination.

This bug is one of the most elementary security bugs that can exist in a PHP website. It's a clear sign of a shoddy, amateurish effort; my coworker Dave Fayram, a web engineering expert, describes it as "shameful".

We here at Valleywag — well, just yours truly, really — would like to extend our condolences to the Winklevoss twins on the subject of this unfortunate discovery. Should aid and comfort be needed, please let me know how to help.

Tyler Winklevoss, stop rowing your way into my heart

Megan McCarthy — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 14:48:25 PDT

FROM THE DESK OF MEGAN MCCARTHY — This weekend, the New York Times ran an article on how entrepreneurs really need to get their paperwork in order before hiring staff, using the Facebook-ConnectU lawsuit as an example. One person's oral contract is another person's "dorm room chit-chat," as the judge in the case put it, and what have you. Or something along those lines. Whatever. I couldn't really pay attention to the text. Did you see that picture? That was a bold move, Mr. Anonymous Times Photo Editor, illustrating the article with a gratuitous full-on crotch shot of one Mr. Tyler Winklevoss. One that I'd like to applaud, if I could stop staring at that image. Goodness.

I mean, seriously. The whole picture is framed to make Winklevoss's shadowy loins — the same loins he claims birthed the very notion of a college social network — the focus of the image, from the composition to the fisheye lens. It's directly in the center — the same exact spot Tyler claims ConnectU deserves in the pantheon of social networks! I'm sure there's some wacko professor at Berkeley who will incorporate this picture into the curriculum and hold a joint symposium with her Gender Studies class and some Haas MBA students. As for me, all I can think is, "Yeah, I'd friend that."

(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Why does Facebook want to hide its source code?

Owen Thomas — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 12:56:09 PDT

Facebook has suffered another software bug this weekend — one that displays the site's source code on users' screens. How ironic: Instead of violating its users' privacy, as it did last time when a bug let people see other users' personal data, Facebook has now violated its own. The Facebook Secrets blog has posted the code for the curious, as have others. Facebook lawyers have already started sending cease-and-desist letters asking that the code be taken down, and spokesperson Brandee Barker has requested that people not post it. Which raises the question: What's in the code that Facebook doesn't want you to see?

First off, I should say that I'm not a programmer, but I've seen a few pieces of source code in my day, and there's little in here that raises my suspicions, or even my curiosity. From what I can tell, the source code for Facebook's homepage is just a script written in PHP that makes a series of calls to other PHP scripts. (I've asked some programmer friends for more opinions, and welcome yours in the comments.)

There is, of course, the sheer embarrassment of the breach. Barker hastened to point out that the site hadn't been "hacked" by an outsider. Of course. But that's hardly reassuring. Who needs to bother to do the work of laboriously hacking into Facebook's site when the company's sloppy programmers do the work for them? Nik Cubrilovic points out ways Facebook could have avoided the source-code breach — pretty basic steps, apparently.

But Facebook's immediate, forceful legal reaction suggests that there's more to it than sheer embarrassment.

Here's one possibility: What if the code is similar to ConnectU's codebase — code that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg allegedly had access to when he worked on the rival college social network? Any resemblances, coincidental or not, in the code could add fuel to alegal fire; ConnectU's founders are suing Zuckerberg for, they claim, ripping off their site. I have no way of knowing if there are, in fact, any similarities. But you can bet ConnectU's lawyers will be scouring the leaked code before the next hearing in the case.

An open letter to the twins suing Facebook

Megan McCarthy — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 10:22:03 PDT

FROM THE DESK OF MEGAN MCCARTHY — A note to Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the inhumanly hunky main plaintiffs in the ConnectU-Facebook lawsuit. Yes, we are aware that you are identical twins. Smolderingly hot identical twins. Yes, we are aware that, in your quest to be Olympic rowers — lean, athletic, sweaty Olympic rowers, we might add — you are used to wearing team uniforms, cut and colored to make you look like clones. This does not excuse the fact that you wore the exact same navy-blue pinstripe suits to your court hearing yesterday. And the same belts. And the same shoes. Good lord, have you no taste?

You're 25. However smart and entrepreneurial (and smolderingly hot) you are, identical suits make you look like your mom picked out your outfits for this year's Easter parade. And that's a buzzkill for any girl who doesn't write twincest fanfic on LiveJournal. Don't give those girls hope for an endless round of "Twinklevoss" narratives. By all means, make the most of the fact that you both look like a dry John F. Kennedy Jr. and let that be your fashion guide. Wear Izod and Polo and other preppy clothing lll you like. But please make sure you never go out in public wearing the same suit again. (Photo by AP/Charles Krupa)

Winklevoss brothers hold a press conference

Owen Thomas — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 15:14:51 PDT

I listened in live to a conference call with Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, two of the plaintiffs in ConnectU's lawsuit against Facebook. "You may wonder why ConnectU is holding its first press conference now," says Tyler Winklevoss in a set of prepared remarks. "This dispute with Thefacebook is over three years old." Winklevoss cites his and brother Cameron's schedules as "Olympic hopefuls" training for the 2008 Beijing games. He says that ConnectU is not trying to shut down Facebook. (Oddly, he keeps calling it "Thefacebook," even though Mark Zuckerberg's company hasn't used that name in almost two years.) Cameron Winklevoss then joins in, largely reciting the facts stated in his lawsuit, but also emphasizing that he challenged Mark Zuckerberg shortly after he launched Facebook, not, as some press reports had it, only recently as Facebook became successful.

The Winklevosses' lawyer says that the brothers have no plans right now to seek a shutdown of Facebook, but it is a remedy they might seek at trial. He also dismisses Facebook's countersuit against ConnectU as a "nuisance" suit. (Of course, the Facebook users spammed by ConnectU might have different views on what constitutes a nuisance.) He adds that "there are no active settlement talks."

Facebook gets a reprieve: A judge has delayed ...

Owen Thomas — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 14:27:21 PDT

Facebook gets a reprieve: A judge has delayed a decision on whether to dismiss rival ConnectU's lawsuit for two weeks, seeking more information from the plaintiffs. A new hearing is set for August 8. [News.com]

ConnectU gets its day in court

Owen Thomas — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 08:32:09 PDT

"Mo money, mo problems," says a Facebook insider. The wisdom of the late Biggie Smalls explains, in a nutshell, why Facebook has found itself in court. A judge in Boston is considering at a hearing today whether to let a lawsuit filed by the founders of ConnectU — the Dickensian-named twins, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra — against Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his company proceed. This lawsuit, of course, only exists because of Facebook's supposed success, and the inflated valuations bandied about by board members tired of fending off buyout offers. I'll be covering this story throughout the day, but if you need to catch up, here's the full coverage.

A brief history of Mark Zuckerberg's legal woes

Owen Thomas — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 13:43:48 PDT

Earlier this week, CNBC asked me to come on the air to discuss Facebook's legal woes. I've spent days immersed in legal filings, and the clip, above, just scratches the surface of what I've learned. Next week comes a critical moment for Facebook, the red-hot social network that has captured Silicon Valley's imagination, and its founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. After the jump, I explain why Zuckerberg will face a moment of reckoning next Wednesday, July 25, and detail a timeline of Facebook's legal battles.

In November 2003, as a student at Harvard University, Zuckerberg fell in with three classmates who were working on a new idea: ConnectU, a set of interlinked social networks for people at a single college. Zuckerberg did some work for them, but then launched his own website — what's now known as Facebook. The result: A lawsuit that just won't end. Next Wednesday, in a Boston courtroom, Zuckerberg's lawyers have their best shot at making it go away for good, at a hearing on a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

Legal experts say that Zuckerberg's best shot is to get the suit dismissed on a technicality, by making a claim that the statute of limitations ran out on his opponents' charges on February 4, 2007, three years after Zuckerberg first launched Facebook.

That's a tough one, but more likely than the alternative, which is getting it dismissed on the substance of the case. One lawyer described ConnectU's charges as "squishy," which sounds bad — but in a hearing on a motion to dismiss, squishy is actually a good thing. If there's any doubt on whether a claim is valid, in such a hearing, the judge's inclination will be to let it go forward to trial. And a trial, with all its uncertainty, is the last thing Zuckerberg needs, with his stated plans to keep Facebook independent and apparent goal to pursue an IPO.

It all comes down to timing, then. With that, here's how Zuckerberg got into this legal spot. Anything missing? Let me know in the comments, and I'll update it.

December 2002: Harvard students Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra conceive of a college social network and hire Sanjay Mavinkurve to work on what later becomes ConnectU

May 2003: Mavinkurve graduates from Harvard, with the site still unfinished; Victor Gao, another Harvard student, later picks up work on the site

November 2003: After Gao leaves the project, ConnectU's founders hire Mark Zuckerberg to work on Harvard Connection, a website that later became ConnectU

January 11, 2004: While still promising to finish Harvard Connection, Zuckerberg registers the domain for thefacebook.com, a fact that the ConnectU founders allege that didn't disclose in a meeting three days later

February 4, 2004: Zuckerberg launches thefacebook.com

April 2004: Facebook expands to other colleges

April 13, 2004: Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskowitz, and Eduardo Saverin form Thefacebook.com LLC, a partnership (despite this, Saverin is not credited today as a founder by the company)

Spring 2004: ConnectU hires a Web-development firm, iMarc

May 2004: Cameron Winklevoss allegedly emails his father detailing a plan to steal email addresses from Facebook's website

May 2004: Having appealed to Harvard administrators, without success, to rule that Zuckerberg violated the school's honor code, ConnectU's founders appeal to Harvard president Larry Summers, who also rebuffs them

May 21, 2004: ConnectU launches its first website, Harvard Connection

June 11, 2004: ConnectU's founders allegedly ask iMarc to write a script that automatically logs into the Facebook website and harvests users' email addresses; iMarc refuses

July 22, 2004: ConnectU's founders allegedly send thousands of emails to Facebook users inviting them to join ConnectU

September 2, 2004: ConnectU files a lawsuit against Zuckerberg and other Facebook founders

February 2005: Facebook blocks ConnectU's alleged continued attempts to harvest emails from its website

May 26, 2005: Accel Partners invests $13 million in Facebook

August 23, 2005: Facebook, at bad-boy entrepreneur Sean Parker's instigation, buys the facebook.com domain name for $200,000

October 14, 2005: Facebook's founders file a motion to dismiss ConnectU's lawsuit

September 11, 2006: Facebook allows any user with an email address to join the site, and its user base begins to grow explosively

March 9, 2007: Facebook files a countersuit against ConnectU, charging it, among other things, with violating antispam laws

March 28, 2007: A court dismisses ConnectU's original lawsuit, without prejudice, allowing ConnectU to immediately file a new lawsuit against Facebook's founders as well as the company itself

June 23, 2007: Court grants a hearing on a motion to dismiss ConnectU's lawsuit against Facebook, scheduled for July 25

Tyler Winklevoss rows against the Facebook tide

Owen Thomas — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 21:31:14 PDT

Portfolio.com has interviewed Tyler Winklevoss, one of the Harvard graduates who has charged Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg with stealing the idea behind the hot social network. Winklevoss, who founded HarvardConnection, a college-networking site now known as ConnectU, appears to be a very angry, bitter young man. We love those types! Here's what Winklevoss had to say to Portfolio about Zuckerberg's actions: "Premeditated, well thought out, duplicitous and conniving." Winklevoss adds, "He messed with the wrong guys." Of course, Winklevoss is more than a bit duplicitous himself in the interview.

Where he goes too far is whe he tries to pretend that he, twin brother Cameron, and partner Divya Narendra — Facebook-founder wannabes, all three — are just trying to right a wrong, not trying to win a big legal settlement:

We've been pursuing this since Facebook had 200 users. We are fully prepared to go all the way.

Of course they are, now that Facebook has raised millions of dollars in venture capital, and has valuations in the billions of dollars bandied about as cocktail-party chatter. If Zuckerberg's startup had flounderd and failed? Of course Winklevoss wouldn't be bothering with this legal battle. As a rower training for the Olympics, Tyler Winklevoss knows when to go all-out in the pursuit of a prize: Only when it's made of solid gold.

Facebook's wannabe founders

Owen Thomas — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 17:42:03 PDT

As Facebook's theoretical value soars, the interest of its hangers-ons grows practical indeed. I think that's why Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra are pursuing their lawsuit against sandal-sporting Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg with such tireless vigor. But the three Harvard school chums, who say they hired Zuckerberg to work on their competing ConnectU site before he launched what became Facebook, are far from the only ones pressing a claim to have been present at Facebook's creation. (For the record, long-suffering Facebook PR chief Brandee Barker says the company's official cofounders are Zuckerberg, Chris Hughes, and Dustin Moskowitz.) After the jump, a gallery of everyone who's not an official founder — but who'd like to be.

Mark Zuckerberg's lawsuit that won't go away

Owen Thomas — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 14:34:20 PDT

A legal dispute from Mark Zuckerberg's past is not going away. Three years ago, fellow Harvard students Tyler Winklevoss, Cameron Winklevoss and Divya Narendra sued Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, claiming he'd taken code he'd written for ConnectU to launch his rival site. Now, legal filings reveal, the lawsuit is rolling forward, with motions to dismiss set to be heard on July 25. While it's likely that the case will keep wending its way through the courts for a while, I'm betting Facebook will settle, probably with Facebook shares rather than cash, before an IPO. After all, a lawsuit against the CEO is one of those pesky things investors don't like to see in an S-1 filing.