Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake in the David Fincher movie ‘The Social Network’

The 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook: A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal by Ben Mezrich was a large influence on attracting the screenwriting services of Aaron Sorkin to the table for the movie we’re reviewing. The David Fincher directed movie The Social Network (2010) earns our attention today.

(From left, Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin and Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in the David Fincher movie The Social Network).

The movie The Social Network begins in the fall of 2003 with the fictionalized Erica Albright, a student at Boston University as portrayed by Rooney Mara, dumping Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg, portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg in the movie and feeling scorned, insults Albright on his LiveJournal blog. Fueled by that scorn and alcohol into doing something noteworthy, Zuckerberg creates a precursor to Facebook called Facemash wherein he hacks individual online databases at Harvard University for pictures of female students, later posting the photos online while asking fellow students to rate the girls on physical attractiveness.

(Armie Hammer and Josh Pence as Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss in the David Fincher movie The Social Network).

Many, many people took notice of the cynical tackiness of the approach in addition to the wild popularity of scheme led to a segment of Harvard‘s computer servers crashing not due to the initial breaches but due to the volume of people engaging in the ranking. Also taking notice were Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra, who had a vision for a social media network.

(From left, Max Minghella as Divya Narendra and Rooney Mara as Erica Albright in the David Fincher movie The Social Network).

The trio invited Zuckerberg to develop a social media network for them, with Zuckerberg seemingly agreeing to the proposition while immediately turning to his friend Eduardo Saverin for seed money to develop a social media platform that would grow into the modern day Facebook. Narendra was portrayed by Max Minghella. Saverin was portrayed by Andrew Garfield. A physical and digital combination of Armie Hammer and Josh Pence portrayed Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss.

(From left, Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker and Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in the David Fincher movie The Social Network).

The introduction of Sean Parker as portrayed by Justin Timberlake was introduced to filmgoers through litigation brought in separate concurrent claims against Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook by Winklevoss, Winklevoss and Narendra on the one hand and Saverin on the other. Sy as portrayed by John Getz and Marilyn Delpy as portrayed by Rashida Jones were serving the Zuckerberg point of view. The drama for how the different interests of what became Facebook, in both scale and profitability, were at stake in the litigation. That very real human drama was dramatized in the movie was the cinematic point.

(From left, Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg, John Getz as Sy and Rashida Jones as Marilyn Delpy in the David Fincher movie The Social Network).

That the movie The Social Network did a solid job of communicating the drama of growth, ambition, substance use, sex and greed were all strongly in evidence in making a moving story for this movie. The acting met the task of conveying the story for me, with kudos from me on that level as well. I give the David Fincher movie The Social Network 4.25-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, January 6, 2024

Club Officer Roles in Toastmasters

The Toastmasters calendar lasts runs on a 12-month cycle, similar to the notion of calendar for how we mark time from year-to-year. One definite distinction from the January to December format used in many cultures is precisely when the annual cycle occurs, which in Toastmasters International is July to June.

A primary way that most people experience Toastmasters is through a club experience of applied practice in communication, organization and some measure of facilitated leadership. This offering today aims to introduce the notion of defined leadership roles within the context of managing individual clubs. This intended audience for this message would be Toastmaster members curious about club officer roles, whether of their own accord or through a service request from another member of a club where you are a member.

The club officer roles as defined at this writing are President, Vice President Education, Vice President Membership, Vice President Public Relations, Secretary, Treasurer, Sergeant at Arms and Immediate Past President. I recommend visiting the Club Officer Resources page for the latest Club Officer Handbook (PDF), which defines and offers specific advice for how to conduct individual roles.

Each role has specific responsibilities as spelled out in the handbook. The President is tasked with 1) presiding over meetings, 2) working with other club leaders to earn Distinguished Club recognition, 3) offering leadership and guidance to the club as required, and 4) facilitating member progress in the Pathways learning experience in an online tracking package called Base Camp. The president serves as one of the Club’s representatives on Area and District Councils.

The Vice President Education is responsible for 1) coordinates the club schedule, 2) supports the education program as a resource for questions, 3) manages Base Camp, 4) plans and manages speech contests, 5) manages the club mentorship program and 6) facilitates member progress in the Pathways learning experience in an online tracking package called Base Camp. The speech contest kit is located here. In what feels like potentially old information, the club mentorship program kit is located here; As the mentoring process has transformed with the Pathways learning experience, I recommend aiming to incorporate the useful parts of the old process with relevant directions from the current offerings. The vice president education serves as one of the Club’s representatives on Area and District Councils.

The Vice President Membership 1) recruits new members, 2) conducts membership building programs, 3) assists guests with activities that can include answering direct inquiries as well as distributing guest packets and 4) processes membership applications. The vice president membership serves as one of the Club’s representatives on Area and District Councils.

The Vice President Public Relations 1) publicizes the club to members as well as external audiences through media outlets while 2) safeguarding the branding, trademarks and copyrights of Toastmasters. Some common external media outlets include LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Meetup, Patch, newspapers, radio, television, podcasts and blogs.

The Secretary 1) takes the minutes at each club meeting and executive committee meetings, 2) maintains the club files, 3) reports the new officers on the Toastmaster International site after elections and as needed, and 4) facilitates member progress in the Pathways learning experience in an online tracking package called Base Camp.

The Treasurer is the club accountant. In addition to 1) overseeing the club accounts, the treasurer 2) collects membership dues payments and 3) pays bills for the club. Within some clubs, this includes creating a club bank account, facilitating third party payment options such as PayPal or Venmo, and making financial reports to the club. The recommended frequency for reporting back to the club, as stated in the Club Officer Handbook, is at least quarterly.

The Sergeant at Arms 1) tends to club property, 2) coordinates club meetings, 3) accommodates individuals with disabilities and, 4) in the age of online and combined online and in-person meetings, aims to make for a constructive meeting for both types of meeting participants. The opportunity for making this role your own rests with considering ways that special needs like venue changes, hybrid meetings or contest logistics and open houses can work best.

The Immediate Past President offers a voice of experience through the Toastmasters experience in a club setting. A primary responsibility for this role includes helping new officers in their roles while ensuring continuity with past terms. One of the roles also includes in recruiting members to serve as club officers when the next round of elections for club officer roles is due within your club. Some clubs hold elections every six months, whereas others do so annually.

All club officers are asked to 1) attend officer training (sometimes called Club Officer Training or Toastmasters Leadership Institute) once for each 6-month term, 2) participate in the Club Success Plan, 3) attend club executive officer meetings, 4) attend club meetings regularly and 5) be aware of important dates and deadlines.

Matt – Monday, April 11, 2022