Authoritas
by Aaron Greenspan · first published 2008
10mentions
1recommended by
9HN commenters
2008–2012first – last mentioned
11% recommend67% neutral22% critical
Success Has Many Fathers, But One Has The Proof.Aaron Greenspan was just like any other recent Harvard graduate until the day he read that one of his many software inventions, a web site for college students called The Facebook, was apparently worth billions of dollars—and someone else was taking the credit. Shut out of his creation by his own classmate and the venture capital world while simultaneously trying to find his way in life, Greenspan sat down to write his story. What emerged was a tale of ingenuity, triumph and betrayal that follows an idealistic boy with a knack for machines and
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I usually read the HN comments before the article and so I didn't read this piece, but... I already bought and read Aaron's Authoritas book so have read 200+ pages of this sort of stuff before. Oops.. :) (Oddly, though, I'd still recommend the book. I couldn't put it down - it was like watching a car crash in slow motion.)
on “The Fallacy of Execution, or Why Mark Doesn't Talk About Facebook's Origins” ↗I don't believe one must label every self-promoter a sociopath. And Aaron's post is foremostly a promotion for his self-published 2008 book, Authoritas, whose sales are currently lagging (http://www.amazon.com/Authoritas-Students-Admissions-Foundin...)
on “The End of the Facebook Era” ↗I wrote a memoir that's mostly about education, leading up to the creation of Facebook. http://www.amazon.com/Authoritas-Students-Admissions-Foundin... It's self-published through my company, Think Computer Corporation, under the Think Press label. The web-based version contains links on a page-by-page basis to primary…
on “Ask HN: Have you written a book?” ↗The relevant pages of Authoritas are up (they were never taken down), but I have the right to charge for them, especially given that the book is now published. In the meantime, the documents are all available and more easily accessible…
on “Why I Sued Google (and Won)” ↗Read some more of Aaron's stuff, including his Authoritas thing he promotes at the end of the article, and he's the one who comes across as the possible sociopath.
on “The End of the Facebook Era” ↗…Cancel with the United States Patent and Trademark Office regarding Facebook, Inc.'s registered trademark on the term "FACEBOOK," after Think Press was denied the right to advertise its upcoming book, Authoritas: One Student's Harvard Admissions and the Founding of the Facebook Era for trademark reasons." http://www.thinkcomputer.com/corporate/news/pressreleases.ht...
on “Fraud Charges Against Facebook, Sean Parker, Mark Zuckerberg to Stand” ↗My (very low) opinion of your claims is not based on any Register article, but your own written account of your dealings with Zuckerberg, on p. 294 and up of your book Authoritas, a section I read when you had it online. I commented with my unvarnished opinion long before your Facebook lawsuit [1]. Congratulations on your small-claims win against an unprepared Google paralegal;…
on “Why I Sued Google (and Won)” ↗…interest in his anti-Money Transmission Act crusade. Insulting him does not explain why he might be wrong. Disclosure: I knew Greenspan in college, but I wasn't important enough to be included in his book Authoritas. Sigh.
on “Allegations of past and present Internet crime haunt Airbnb co-founder” ↗…case anyone is interested, I've recently published a book that's pretty directly related to PHP, as well as issues of programming, intellectual property, and computer security and privacy. It's called "Authoritas:... " And now I think Aaron also uses sock puppets.
on “Allegations of past and present Internet crime haunt Airbnb co-founder” ↗At the bottom of the blog post, it says: Aaron Greenspan is the CEO of Think Computer Corporation and author of Authoritas: One Student's Harvard Admissions and the Founding of the Facebook Era. He is the creator of the FaceCash mobile payment system, ThinkLink business management system, and PlainSite legal transparency…
on “The Lost Chapter” ↗