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Shawn Fanning: Entrepreneur . By Ramit Prasad. Biographical Information. Born in 1980 Family lived in poverty Raised in Brockton Oldest of 4 children. Uncle John. He was one of the most influential people in Shawn Fanning’s life. He rewarded Fanning’s for good grades and working hard.
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Shawn Fanning: Entrepreneur By Ramit Prasad
Biographical Information • Born in 1980 • Family lived in poverty • Raised in Brockton • Oldest of 4 children
Uncle John • He was one of the most influential people in Shawn Fanning’s life. • He rewarded Fanning’s for good grades and working hard. • He continuously encouraged Fanning to work hard. • He was a role model who Fanning tried to imitate. • Gave Shawn Fanning a computer while younger and a laptop when he went to college.
The High School Years • Uncle John paid him $100 for an A • Fanning was an excellent student and made lots of money • Uncle John introduced him to computers with an internet ready Apple512 • Fanning spent a lot of time on the internet as a teenager.
The College Years • Wanted to go to Carnegie Mellon but was rejected. • Attended college at Northeastern majoring in Computer Science. • Because of his previous knowledge, Fanning was often bored and uninterested in his college work
End of College • Fanning began to become extremely interested in MP3s from his college roommate. • Started working on Napster to help people find music. • Dropped out of school in order to pursue the development of Napster
What is Napster? • First peer-2-peer connection • Search people across the internet for music • Download music directly from another person
Reason’s Behind Napster • Wanted to give people an easier way to search for and download mp3s. • For anyone and everyone who wanted music. • Was a personal project for him to learn to code in a windows based environment.
Jordan and Ali A few people who helped with Napster • John Fanning provided moral support and guidance for Shawn Fanning. • Ali Ayadar, Jordan Mendelson, Jordan Ritter and many others helped with the actual programming and upkeep of Napster Jordan & Holly
Napster Lawsuit • The Recording Industry Association of America is suing Napster. • The RIAA claims that Napster is stealing intellectual property • Napster claims it is legal under the Audio and Home recording act of 1992 • This states that it is legal to record and load media as long as there is not intent to merchandise the materials Protest against the RIAA
Current Information • Napster was sold to Bertelsmann for 5.3 million dollars in November of 2002. • They are currently redesigning and working on the software interface in order to comply with the regulations imposed on it. • Shawn moved to Boston and currently is taking a break from work. He is focusing on his relationship with his friends and family.
A Few Sources of Information • http://www.idg.net/idgns/2000/12/12/2000ITPersonalityOfThe.shtml • http://www.businessweek.com/ebiz/0004/em0412.htm • http://www.darkridge.com/~jpr5/napster.shtml • http://www.starstruck-mag.com/articles_behindnapster.asp • http://www.nunews.neu.edu/nu-news/Issues/101800/n4.html • http://www.cnn.com