The Players Ball: A Genius, A Con Man, And The Secret History Of The Internet's Rise

  • Author: David Kushner
  • Narrator: George Newbern
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster
  • Duration: 7:09:03
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Synopsis

“An engrossing microcosm of the internet's Wild West years” (Kirkus Reviews), award-winning journalist David Kushner tells the incredible battle between the founder of Match.com and the con man who swindled him out of the website Sex.com, resulting in an all-out war for control for what still powers the internet today: love and sex.

In 1994, visionary entrepreneur Gary Kremen used a $2,500 loan to create the first online dating service, Match.com. Only five percent of Americans were using the internet at the time, and even fewer were looking online for love. He quickly bought the Sex.com domain too, betting the combination of love and sex would help propel the internet into the mainstream.

Imagine Kremen’s surprise when he learned that someone named Stephen Michael Cohen had stolen the rights to Sex.com and was already making millions that Kremen would never see. Thus follows the wild true story of Kremen’s and Cohen’s decade-long battle for control. In The Players Ball, author and journalist David Kushner provides a front seat to these must-read Wild West years online, when innovators and outlaws battled for power and money.

This cat-and-mouse game between a genius and a con man changed the way people connect forever, and is key to understanding the rise and future of the online world.

“Kushner delivers a fast-paced, raunchy tale of sex, drugs, and dial-up.” —Publishers Weekly

Chapters

  • 001 PlayersBall Open

    Duration: 35s
  • 002 PlayersBall Epigraph

    Duration: 24s
  • 003 PlayersBall Ch1

    Duration: 11min
  • 004 PlayersBall Ch2

    Duration: 31min
  • 005 PlayersBall Ch3

    Duration: 34min
  • 006 PlayersBall Ch4

    Duration: 35min
  • 007 PlayersBall Ch5

    Duration: 37min
  • 008 PlayersBall Ch6

    Duration: 32min
  • 009 PlayersBall Ch7

    Duration: 37min
  • 010 PlayersBall Ch8

    Duration: 28min
  • 011 PlayersBall Ch9

    Duration: 21min
  • 012 PlayersBall Ch10

    Duration: 26min
  • 013 PlayersBall Ch11

    Duration: 22min
  • 014 PlayersBall Ch12

    Duration: 19min
  • 015 PlayersBall Ch13

    Duration: 25min
  • 016 PlayersBall Ch14

    Duration: 15min
  • 017 PlayersBall Ch15

    Duration: 25min
  • 018 PlayersBall Ch16

    Duration: 22min
  • 019 PlayersBall Credits

    Duration: 01min