BY GMA
San
Francisco, 31 Jan (TAG) – Joe Green is most likely the Facebook roommate you've never heard of,
but the Harvard graduate is trying to make a difference in the world, with
friends.
Joe lacks the name recognition of company co-creator Mark Zuckerberg, or
even Eduardo Saverin, who famously helped launch Facebook, although he was
there with the Internet entrepreneurs in that dorm where the social media
powerhouse was born. And he walked away from it.
Joe was one of Mark's roommates at Harvard University in 2004, and asked
by the young man, who is now worth an estimated $17.5 billion, to drop out of
the Ivy League school to join him in building the social media website, which
is expected to file for an initial public offering this week.
After the two had gotten into some hot water with Harvard for a previous
project -- the "hot-or-not" website Facemash, the building of which
was dramatized in Oscar-winning film "The Social Network " -- Joe
ultimately told Mark "no" because the school had threatened him with
expulsion.
His decision not to join Mark could now be considered a $400 million
mistake.
"We'd gotten into a little bit trouble with the previous project
... and my father, who's a professor, was not too happy with the prospect of me
getting kicked out of school," Joe told ABC News. "Mark likes to make
fun of my dad for this, but we're still very close."
Rather than following Mark and his team to Silicon Valley, Joe followed
his passion for politics and worked for John Kerry's failed 2004 presidential
campaign.
Now, despite his initial decision, he's back in the Facebook fold,
running a for-profit business called Causes, a Facebook application and website
that lets friends suggest to friends a charity, social cause and even political
candidate. The stated goal of Causes is "to empower anyone with a good
idea or passion for change to impact the world."
"The way to get people civically engaged, not just during the
election but throughout the year, is to tap into Facebook and let them do it
with their friends," Joe says.
In increasing numbers, political candidates and campaigns are turning to
social media to win elections. As President Obama proved in 2008, social media
has become a powerful political tool that can mobilize voters.
"You can't ignore it," Joe says. "It's like ignoring
television or ignoring, you know, mail. It's become such an integral part of
people's lives."
Joe says his company has helped raise $50 million for 50,000 charities,
while Causes' Facebook page boasts 6.5 million active monthly users.
The New York Times reported in December that Causes received $9 million
in venture capital financing, bringing its total financing to $16 million.
Joe, the roommate who said "no" to what became a Web behemoth,
has no regrets, although he does have plenty of Facebook stock, and he's found
his own cause.
"Everyone has the ability inside of
them to make a difference," Joe said.[]
Related articles:
Man’s $400 Million Facebook ‘Mistake’
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January 31, 2012
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