Sean Parker

SAN FRANCISCO -- Facebook billionaire and tech mogul Sean Parker has a staff of hundreds and is spending millions to create a whimsical backdrop for his fairy-tale wedding in Big Sur to Alexandra Lenas, a source tells us. The total price tag could climb as high as $10 million, the person said. Nearly $9 million alone is going to building faux ruins, waterfalls, bridges and a gated cottage in Big Sur, according to TMZ.com. The stone dance floor in the woods surrounding the Ventana Inn & Spa will set the 34-year-old back $350,000.

SAN FRANCISCO - Even in the annals of over-the-top celebrity weddings, Sean Parker's planned nuptials may take the cake. The Facebook Inc. billionaire who also co-founded Napster is dropping nearly $10 million on a fairy-tale wedding in Big Sur that includes a whimsical fantasy world featuring faux ruins, waterfalls, bridges and a gated cottage, a person familiar with the plans said. Just the stone dance floor in the woods surrounding the Ventana Inn & Spa will set the 34-year-old back $350,000, according to the website TMZ. The plants and flowers will cost $1 million.

SAN FRANCISCO - Even in the annals of over-the-top celebrity weddings, Sean Parker's planned nuptials may take the cake. The Facebook Inc. billionaire who also co-founded Napster is dropping nearly $10 million on a fairy-tale wedding in Big Sur that includes a whimsical fantasy world featuring faux ruins, waterfalls, bridges and a gated cottage, a person familiar with the plans said. Just the stone dance floor in the woods surrounding the Ventana Inn & Spa will set the 34-year-old back $350,000, according to the website TMZ. The plants and flowers will cost $1 million.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Facebook billionaire and tech mogul Sean Parker has a staff of hundreds and is spending millions to create a whimsical backdrop for his fairy-tale wedding in Big Sur to Alexandra Lenas, a source tells us. The total price tag could climb as high as $10 million, the person said. Nearly $9 million alone is going to building faux ruins, waterfalls, bridges and a gated cottage in Big Sur, according to TMZ.com. The stone dance floor in the woods surrounding the Ventana Inn & Spa will set the 34-year-old back $350,000.

Two of Napster's founders have rejoined forces to launch another start-up, this time a live social video network. The new service by Sean Parker and Shawn Fanning is intended to bring users together through their social networks and shared interests. To use Airtime, which was launched at an event Tuesday in New York City, users need only a Facebook account and a webcam. Once inside Airtime's website, users can choose to video chat or simply instant message with people from their Facebook friends list.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Joe Green, Mark Zuckerberg's Harvard roommate, is famous for having turned down an offer to move to Silicon Valley to join Facebook. Instead Green finished his college degree and worked for 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime payday. Now he's reuniting with his college pal on a project that straddles two worlds for which he has great affinity: technology and politics. Green, 29, is the founder and president of Fwd.us., a new political advocacy group funded by Zuckerberg and other prominent Silicon Valley executives to press for immigration reform and other technology industry causes.

AUSTIN, Texas -- More than a decade ago, Alex Winter saw a revolution brewing. Winter is perhaps best known as Bill, the blond-haired high school slacker from the 1989 comedy “Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.” But he's also a tech head, a music fan and a director. On Sunday, Winter's new Napster documentary, “Downloaded,” will have its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival. Made with the participation of Napster co-founders Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker, “Downloaded” charts the rise and fall of the music file-sharing service, which had 25 million users before shutting down in 2001, and presaged the explosion of Internet communities and the widespread piracy of media on the Web. “To me, Napster wasn't about music,” Winter said.

Facebook is currently testing a video "Call" button for its Timeline profiles, giving more prominence to its little known Video Calling feature. The social network confirmed that the button is being tested on a few people's profiles, being placed under cover photos and in between the current "Message" and gear buttons. That location is a familiar spot for the "Call" button since that's where it was previously located after Video Calling was launched by Facebook last summer, as can be seen on Facebook's page for the feature.

How did Justin Timberlake — who in last year's movie "The Social Network" portrayed a pivotal figure in the history of Facebook's phenomenal growth — wind up owning part of rival social network Myspace? It's all about connections. Nicole Winnaman, president and founder of entertainment branding firm Winnaman & Associates, learned a little more than two weeks ago that Irvine-based advertising network Specific Media was in talks to acquire Myspace from News Corp. The executive, who has paired musicians like Justin Bieber, Britney Spears and Pink with well-known consumer brands, approached Timberlake's manager with a proposal to take a stake in the struggling Myspace as part of the new owner's attempt to bring sexy back to the once-dominant social network.

Can't get in on the Facebook IPO? Well, here's your chance to make a little money on the year's hottest public offering without even buying a share. Paddy Power, Europe's largest betting company, just started taking bets on what the share price will be when the social-media giant goes public later this year. Punters (that's gamblers in British slang) have given 10 to 11 odds that the most likely price range will fall between $35 to $44.99 a share.  There are 7 to 2 odds the initial price will be $25 to $34.99, 9/4 odds of between $45 and $54.99, and 7 to 1 odds of between $55 and $64.99.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Joe Green, Mark Zuckerberg's Harvard roommate, is famous for having turned down an offer to move to Silicon Valley to join Facebook. Instead Green finished his college degree and worked for 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime payday. Now he's reuniting with his college pal on a project that straddles two worlds for which he has great affinity: technology and politics. Green, 29, is the founder and president of Fwd.us., a new political advocacy group funded by Zuckerberg and other prominent Silicon Valley executives to press for immigration reform and other technology industry causes.

AUSTIN, Texas -- More than a decade ago, Alex Winter saw a revolution brewing. Winter is perhaps best known as Bill, the blond-haired high school slacker from the 1989 comedy “Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.” But he's also a tech head, a music fan and a director. On Sunday, Winter's new Napster documentary, “Downloaded,” will have its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival. Made with the participation of Napster co-founders Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker, “Downloaded” charts the rise and fall of the music file-sharing service, which had 25 million users before shutting down in 2001, and presaged the explosion of Internet communities and the widespread piracy of media on the Web. “To me, Napster wasn't about music,” Winter said.

Facebook is currently testing a video "Call" button for its Timeline profiles, giving more prominence to its little known Video Calling feature. The social network confirmed that the button is being tested on a few people's profiles, being placed under cover photos and in between the current "Message" and gear buttons. That location is a familiar spot for the "Call" button since that's where it was previously located after Video Calling was launched by Facebook last summer, as can be seen on Facebook's page for the feature.

Two of Napster's founders have rejoined forces to launch another start-up, this time a live social video network. The new service by Sean Parker and Shawn Fanning is intended to bring users together through their social networks and shared interests. To use Airtime, which was launched at an event Tuesday in New York City, users need only a Facebook account and a webcam. Once inside Airtime's website, users can choose to video chat or simply instant message with people from their Facebook friends list.

NationBuilder -- a Los Angeles start-up that helps politicos and other leaders build support -- has gotten some big backing of its own. On Thursday the company announced a $6.25-million Series A funding round, led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Former Facebook executive and Silicon Valley veteran Sean Parker participated in the round and joined the board of NationBuilder along with Andreessen Horowitz's Ben Horowitz. Founded by Jim Gilliam of Brave New Media, NationBuilder harnesses the power of technology and the Internet to help leaders (usually politicians)

Can't get in on the Facebook IPO? Well, here's your chance to make a little money on the year's hottest public offering without even buying a share. Paddy Power, Europe's largest betting company, just started taking bets on what the share price will be when the social-media giant goes public later this year. Punters (that's gamblers in British slang) have given 10 to 11 odds that the most likely price range will fall between $35 to $44.99 a share.  There are 7 to 2 odds the initial price will be $25 to $34.99, 9/4 odds of between $45 and $54.99, and 7 to 1 odds of between $55 and $64.99.

NationBuilder -- a Los Angeles start-up that helps politicos and other leaders build support -- has gotten some big backing of its own. On Thursday the company announced a $6.25-million Series A funding round, led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Former Facebook executive and Silicon Valley veteran Sean Parker participated in the round and joined the board of NationBuilder along with Andreessen Horowitz's Ben Horowitz. Founded by Jim Gilliam of Brave New Media, NationBuilder harnesses the power of technology and the Internet to help leaders (usually politicians)

Two years after leaving Napster Inc., company co-founder Sean Parker is reemerging as the head of a Silicon Valley consumer software firm that he hopes will provoke a lot less excitement. Mountain View, Calif.-based start-up Plaxo Inc. today will begin distributing a free system that sends e-mail messages to a user's correspondents, asking for updated contact information. Once received, the system automatically changes the user's Microsoft Outlook contact list to reflect the new data.

How did Justin Timberlake — who in last year's movie "The Social Network" portrayed a pivotal figure in the history of Facebook's phenomenal growth — wind up owning part of rival social network Myspace? It's all about connections. Nicole Winnaman, president and founder of entertainment branding firm Winnaman & Associates, learned a little more than two weeks ago that Irvine-based advertising network Specific Media was in talks to acquire Myspace from News Corp. The executive, who has paired musicians like Justin Bieber, Britney Spears and Pink with well-known consumer brands, approached Timberlake's manager with a proposal to take a stake in the struggling Myspace as part of the new owner's attempt to bring sexy back to the once-dominant social network.

Two years after leaving Napster Inc., company co-founder Sean Parker is reemerging as the head of a Silicon Valley consumer software firm that he hopes will provoke a lot less excitement. Mountain View, Calif.-based start-up Plaxo Inc. today will begin distributing a free system that sends e-mail messages to a user's correspondents, asking for updated contact information. Once received, the system automatically changes the user's Microsoft Outlook contact list to reflect the new data.