Careless People

A story of where I used to work

by

Paperback, 382 pages

English language

Published by Pan Macmillan.

ISBN:
9781035065936
5 stars (3 reviews)

Sarah Wynn-Williams, a young diplomat from New Zealand, pitched for her dream job. She saw Facebook’s potential and knew it could change the world for the better. But, when she got there and rose to its top ranks, things turned out a little different.

From wild schemes cooked up on private jets to risking prison abroad, Careless People exposes both the personal and political fallout when boundless power and a rotten culture take hold. In a gripping and often absurd narrative, Wynn-Williams rubs shoulders with Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg and world leaders, revealing what really goes on among the global elite – and the consequences this has for all of us.

Candid and entertaining, this is an intimate memoir set amid powerful forces. As all our lives are upended by technology and those who control it, Careless People will change how you see the world.

2 editions

reviewed Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams

Der Fisch fängt immer am Kopf zu stinken an.

4 stars

Ja, das Buch ist von einer enttäuschten Ex-Mitarbeiterin, und das wird auch nicht anders behauptet. Aber was auch immer man Facebook/Meta vorhalten will an negativem Einfluss: es ist schlimmer.

Egal ob die Wahl Trumps, gezielte Werbung an verletzliche Personen, chinesische Überwachung oder der Genozid in Myanmar, immer steht dahinter der Versuch intern etwas zu verbessern. Und immer werden diese Versuche von der Clique an weißen Harvard-Absolventen die das oberste Management darstellen abgeschmettert, alles zum Wohle des (finanziellen) Wachstums.

reviewed Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams

#deletefacebook

5 stars

Delete all your meta apps and burn your copies of Lean In (as much as I hate the idea of burning books... so recycle it maybe). That woman was a tad naive but these people went from careless to willingly evil. Even if you are well informed on this topic, you will learn stuff from this book. Oh, and who will make the documentary "in bed with Sheryl Sandberg"? Geezus.

reviewed Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams

These are the people to avoid

5 stars

A complicated book: the author is complicit in the activities she describes, which no amount of ironic detachment or claims of trying to change the system from the inside can hide.

But it’s engagingly-written, frequently hilarious, and jaw-dropping on almost every page. She’s done us a service by painting this insider’s picture of Facebook / Meta. It’s one that I hope every politician who hopes to touch tech policy will read.

I also hope everyone in the tech industry reads it. Not only because it’s a cautionary tale in itself, but because the personalities described here are rife in the industry. I’ve never spoken to Mark or Sheryl or Joel or most of the rest of them, but I’ve met people like them, with those same sensibilities, and they are every bit as shallow and driven by power as is laid out here. These are the people to avoid. These …