Judge Says Facebook Can Get the “Smoking Gun” Contract
August 15, 2011 by admin
Filed under Lingerie Events
A federal judge has order that Facebook should access to what it calls the “smoking gun” in the strange saga of a New Yorker who claims to own more than half of the social networking giant based on a contract that Facebook says is a forgery.
Both parties agree that Mark Zuckerberg signed a contract in 2003 with Paul Ceglia, the woud-be-heir-apparent to Facebook, to do some freelance programming work. But in 2010, Ceglia filed suit, produced a copy of the contract that also included a $1000 investment in “The Page Book” entitling him to half of Facebook. Facebook charges that Ceglia, who has a checkered past, forged a page of the contract.
Now Facebook will get to see the contract that Ceglia sent to his lawyer in a series of e-mails in 2003. Facebook described these as the “authentic contract” that were smoking guns proving fraud. Ceglia’s current set of lawyers tried to keep those e-mails out of the case, citing attorney-client privilege.
But on Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie Foschio overruled that designation and said the four e-mails, along with dozens of other pieces of evidence designated as “confidential” by Ceglia, had to be turned over to Facebook’s lawyers by 10:00 am Wednesday morning.
Foschio’s ruling wasn’t published until Sunday. The full ruling reveals that Foschio decided that just because the e-mails were sent by Ceglia to his then-lawyer, that does not make them protected.
“Because the email merely transmits another document – the contract – to an attorney, it neither seeks confidential legal advice nor constitutes a confidential communication relating to such advice,” Foschio ruled. “Specifically, the contract, already signed by Zuckerberg, by definition cannot be considered as a confidential communication…”
If indeed, the original contract differs significantly from the one produced in 2010, when Ceglia said he discovered the existence of Facebook and remembered that he’d been the first investor, the suit will likely end.
That, in turn, will likely stamp “The End” to the long-running legal saga over Facebook’s founding. That drama included a now-settled suit with three Harvard classmates, including the now infamous Winklevoss twins, made famous in the 2010 Hollywood hit, “The Social Network.”
Facebook is valued above $80 billion, and is widely expected to hold an IPO sometime in 2011.
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Social networking and the future of political reporting in Zimbabwe and beyond
August 15, 2011 by admin
Filed under Lingerie Events
Mark Zuckerberg could arguably be a modern day Albeit Einstein because of his revolutionary project- Facebook. Over the years Facebook has become one of the most influential factors in grassroots socio-political mobilization worldwide, in fact the January 25 2011 Egyptian revolution could be credited to Facebook as it captured global attention. When the Egyptian revolution gained momentum the government tried without success to contain the social networking site by blocking it. Social media became a big player in politics. Bosmol- a social media marketing news website wrote: “Social media makes social organization easier and effective. Social media used by Egyptian protesters brought together individuals who shared common goals and ideas, but also offered a medium for planning. In the case of Egypt, social media forced the government to take accountability. Transnational social networks made it very difficult for governments to lie and hide from their citizens.” The Egyptian scenario is just one of many the world over that has social media networking sites such as Facebook playing an integral part in shaping history.
In Zimbabwe, Facebook is as popular and essential as water. People cannot imagine life before facebook. With mobile internet most people use it to log in to facebook to connect into a society that is free to speak its mind out without physical intimidation or confrontation. This “free” world is the best bet to get people’s uncensored views on socio-political issues. Because of the power Facebook holds in Zimbabwean communities, it has become necessary for politicians to also engage themselves getting connected to Zimbabweans all over the world. Naturally facebook has become a political constituency. The major players involved are the dreaded Central Intelligence Organisation, politicians, the masses and yes the journalists who now get leads for stories as well as exclusive chats with politicians.
Zimbabwean journalist, Nqaba Matshazi, wrote that politicians have taken to social networking in the hope of gaining an extra edge over their rivals. “With the growth of internet penetration and the advent of mobile internet access in Zimbabwe, observers maintain that social networking may one day define the next Zimbabwean leader,” he wrote in The Zimbabwe Standard. Zimbabwean politics is largely dominated by old school politicians who can be traced to more than 30 years back. However, the few new school politians’ have seen the importance of social networking sites. MDC politicians like David Coltart, Nelson Chamisa, Obert Gutu, Gorden Moyo, Welshman Ncube, Tendai Biti and Jameson Timba are among a host of politicians with Facebook pages, while Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai has a fan page.
From Zanu PF, Tourism and Hospitality Industry minister Walter Mzembi and Youth Development, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment minister Saviour Kasukuwere are the only ones who maintain regular presence on the world’s largest social networking site. Even political parties now have facebook pages.
Their regular interaction on facebook makes the work of journalists more efficient. The Deputy Prime Minister Professor Arthur Mutambara always answers questions from journalists whenever he is online- at times when he is busy he just replies by saying. “Busy lets chat later.” When he does that Facebook may become invaluable for a journalist. But the bigger picture is that facebook gives reporters an access to communities involved in newsmaking. In this way journalists find leads and develop sources. However, newspaper companies are still lagging behind in understanding what Facebook is all about. There was a time in the state controlled Herald and Chronicle when a move to block the use of Facebook during working hours was mooted. The argument brought forward although met with heavy resistance was that it diverted the attention of reporters. This is a lie because reporting is all about communicating and interacting with society.
Online news sites such as The Zimbabwe mail, Newzimbabwe.com have got regular posts on Facebook pages because they understand that for journalism to fulfill its mandate reporters and the publications they write for can connect on facebook to engage with their readership and sources to build their brands. Perhaps the most imperative skill for a journalist on facebook should be finding sources on the site and using them to full effect. Mxolisi Ncube a freelance journalist says he uses facebook with caution. “I am not that much into checking other people’s profiles because some of the prominent names are just fake identities, but I do get direct mail to my inbox that give me tips and others from organisations,” he said. The issue of facebook use in Zimbabwean media brings about the questions of basic ethics. Facebook can be a great source of news and ideas but no news story should be entirely sourced via social media. This is so because it is very easy to lie or misrepresent on a social networking site and no credible journalist wants to be taken for a hoax.
Zimbabwean journalism needs social networking just like any proggressive newsroom anywhere in the world. The use of social media tools like facebook cannot be ignored even though they are a sudden phenomenon. There is need to teach on ethics and use of social networking tools for practicing journalists. The popularity that facebook is getting in media circles has propelled the launch of “Journalists on Facebook” a page entirely dedicated to the used of the social networking site by journalists. The forum gives hints on how journalists can best use facebook to make their jobs easy and exciting.
© 2011, Vladimir Mzaca. All rights reserved. – Reproduction of Newstime Africa content on any other news medium without the prior consent or approval of the publishers is forbidden, and in direct contravention of International copyright laws. Violators will be pursued and prosecuted.