• ConnectU is an online social network community explicitly for university students and alumni from all over the world. ConnectU was founded in 2002 by Divya Narendra, and brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, students at Harvard University at the time.ValleyWag: A brief history of Mark Zuckerberg's legal woes (July 20, 2007)

  In 2004, ConnectU's founders sued Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who had once worked for them, accusing him of stealing their business plan. Settled in June 2008, the court case reportedly netted ConnectU's founders $65 million in stocks and cash.CNET: Did ConnectU's founders really get $65 million from Facebook? (February 10, 2009) Boston Globe: Facebook, ConnectU settle dispute (June 27, 2008)

• Fast Facts

  1. Founded in 2002ValleyWag: A brief history of Mark Zuckerberg's legal woes (July 20, 2007)
  2. Mark Zuckerberg, current CEO of Facebook, worked ConnectU in late 2003ValleyWag: A brief history of Mark Zuckerberg's legal woes (July 20, 2007)
  3. Zuckerberg launched Facebook in February 2004ValleyWag: A brief history of Mark Zuckerberg's legal woes (July 20, 2007)
  4. ConnectU launched in May 2004, three months after Facebook
  5. Primary purpose: an online meeting place for students and alumni of Colleges and Universities around the worldConnectU: About Us
  6. Original intent: an online, university-wide friends and dating networkConnectU: About Us
  7. Eligibility: restricted to people 18 years or older and affiliated in some way (alumni, student, faculty, or staff) with a universityConnectU: About Us

• UConnect Timeline

  • December 2002: ConnectU conceived and begun by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narenda
  • November 2003: ConnectU hired Mark Zuckerberg
  • January 2004: Zuckerberg registered the domain name thefacebook.com
  • February 2004: Zuckerberg launched thefacebook.com
  • May 2004: ConnectU launched its first websiteValleyWag: A brief history of Mark Zuckerberg's legal woes (July 20, 2007)

• Lawsuit Against Facebook

  After Zuckerberg launched the first iteration of Facebook, ConnectU first appealed to Harvard's administration, arguing that Zuckerberg violated the school's honor code. They were rebuffed.

  Next, ConnectU are alleged to have harvested user email addresses from Facebook and sent thousands of emails to Facebook users asking them to join ConnectU. In September 2004, ConnectU filed a lawsuit against Facebook, accusing Facebook of stealing their business plan.CNET: Did ConnectU's founders really get $65 million from Facebook? (February 10, 2009)

  The suit was settled in ConnectU's favor in June 2008 for an undisclosed sum. On February 10, 2009, media reported that a marketing brochure by the firm that represented ConnectU claimed that ConnectU got $65 million in stock and cash in the settlement.CNET: Did ConnectU's founders really get $65 million from Facebook? (February 10, 2009)

• Quote

  "The idea of ConnectU was spawned in the winter of 2002 after it became obvious that the social and dating scene at Harvard needed some work. ...Over the course of development, we've had our ups and downs. We've cycled through several programmers, even one who stole our ideas to create a competing site, without informing us of his intentions. But we've been troopers. At first we were devastated and climbed into a bottle of Jack Daniels for a bit, but eventually emerged with a bad headache and renewed optimism. We weren't going to lie down and get walked over like this." —ConnectUConnectU: [http://www.connectu.com/about/short.php About Us: Short History

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