What is The Facebook Effect?

The Facebook Effect is a book written by David Kirkpatrick, a former writer for Fortune magazine. The book, published in June 2010, focuses on the social networking site Facebook. The book has been reviewed to be very well written. In describing the book, Simon & Schuster, the book's publisher, states that Zuckerberg "and a small group of key executives have created a company that has changed social life in the United States and elsewhere, a company that has become a ubiquitous presence in marketing, altering politics, business, and even our sense of our own identity. This is the Facebook Effect."1

One reporter stated that "Kirkpatrick has written the definitive account of Facebook's breathless rise to power."2

Michael Arrington of TechCrunch highly praised and recommended the book, but warned readers that the book is biased. While Kirkpatrick talked to Facebook officials, he didn't interview those who filed lawsuits, he merely read court documents. Arrington goes as far to compare Kirkpatrick and his relationship with Facebook to Bella and Edward, the popular couple of the Twilight series.3