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madswhitaker's review against another edition
medium-paced
2.0
I was really excited to dive into this one and the first maybe 50 pages of this book were quite interesting, but it all just fizzles out and dies from there. I'm not exactly sure what Wiener wanted this book to be about, but there was no central plot, theme, message, or even a good conclusion to this time in her life. I felt that she really could've left the reader with something more to ponder on--some kind of moral message about these two jobs she held that were insignificant to the entire tech movement as a whole, but it didn't feel like she had any kind of stance. Even on actual events that happened in her life.
Besides that, the writing truly was not my cup of tea. It wasn't bad, it was just boring. So many lists trying to describe anything and everything in this book. From setting to characterization. It became exhausting to come across another long comma-separated, list of descriptors to say basically the same thing that was said before either about an office, the culture of a different tech company, or about another person in the industry.
The writing also felt incredibly unoriginal. Very bland sentences that could have come from a retail catalog and it wouldn't have felt out of place.
There was some intrigue in seeing behind the current of the tech boom in the early 2010's, and some incredibly relevant issues in the industry were brought up such as AI, app addiction, and algorithm ethics. This was a quick page though, and something that I felt would've been really interesting to dive into and linger on. Or even the fact that she worked at a data analytics company that was maybe sharing data unethically? I don't even think she had a stance on this!
I could go on for way too long. I didn't hate this book, I just don't think there was any reason for it to exist. Nothing to grasp onto, nothing to take away from it other than GitHub was a furry-friendly workplace I guess.
Two stars feels generous.
Besides that, the writing truly was not my cup of tea. It wasn't bad, it was just boring. So many lists trying to describe anything and everything in this book. From setting to characterization. It became exhausting to come across another long comma-separated, list of descriptors to say basically the same thing that was said before either about an office, the culture of a different tech company, or about another person in the industry.
The writing also felt incredibly unoriginal. Very bland sentences that could have come from a retail catalog and it wouldn't have felt out of place.
There was some intrigue in seeing behind the current of the tech boom in the early 2010's, and some incredibly relevant issues in the industry were brought up such as AI, app addiction, and algorithm ethics. This was a quick page though, and something that I felt would've been really interesting to dive into and linger on. Or even the fact that she worked at a data analytics company that was maybe sharing data unethically? I don't even think she had a stance on this!
I could go on for way too long. I didn't hate this book, I just don't think there was any reason for it to exist. Nothing to grasp onto, nothing to take away from it other than GitHub was a furry-friendly workplace I guess.
Two stars feels generous.
xxcharles's review against another edition
3.75
Lässt sich wahnsinnig gut lesen, angenehme, humorvolle Sprache und nie langweilig. Anfang war sehr engaging, gegen Ende wurde es ein wenig repititiv und man vermisst den roten Faden. Alles in allem ein sehr spannender Einblick in eine der wichtigsten Branchen der heutigen Zeit.
Konnte mich in vielen Charakterzügen sehr mit der Autorin identifizieren.
Und am Ende weckt das Buch sehr den Wunsch in einem, alles, was je von einem im Internet existiert hat, zu löschen (besonders währen der Anfänge im Analyse-Start-Up).
Konnte mich in vielen Charakterzügen sehr mit der Autorin identifizieren.
Und am Ende weckt das Buch sehr den Wunsch in einem, alles, was je von einem im Internet existiert hat, zu löschen (besonders währen der Anfänge im Analyse-Start-Up).
erinhly's review against another edition
4.0
This will likely be a very funny read for anyone who's ever lived in the San Francisco Bay Area and felt like a bit of an outsider. Wiener did a great job of analysing her research subjects with humour and compassion (whether or not this kind of psychological analysis is valid or important, or why she does it, she addresses later in the book).
While there's no groundbreaking analysis of Silicon Valley or its products in this book, it is an evocative depiction of what it looks and feels like from the inside (even if the 'outside' of the inside). The ennui, the boredom, the accelerationist utopianism. But, I would love to see her dig deeper into the assumptions and ideologies that underpin some of Silicon Valley's audacious social experiments (these parts of the book are where she shows potential but fails to build on it).
Wiener does a decent job of showing self-awareness of (and reigning back on) her east-coast literati snobbery (a kind of person not altogether uncommon in the Bay), and hinted at some structural/class analysis but failed to really build on that either.
While there's no groundbreaking analysis of Silicon Valley or its products in this book, it is an evocative depiction of what it looks and feels like from the inside (even if the 'outside' of the inside). The ennui, the boredom, the accelerationist utopianism. But, I would love to see her dig deeper into the assumptions and ideologies that underpin some of Silicon Valley's audacious social experiments (these parts of the book are where she shows potential but fails to build on it).
Wiener does a decent job of showing self-awareness of (and reigning back on) her east-coast literati snobbery (a kind of person not altogether uncommon in the Bay), and hinted at some structural/class analysis but failed to really build on that either.
gordonmacrae's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
Fair play to the author for parlaying an entry-level tech job into a $200k payout and a job at the New Yorker reporting on the tech industry. But I found this book really frustrating. The n+1 story it is expanded from was energetic, insightful, and full of life. This book is, to quote the author, “beautiful descriptions of little substance, arranged in elegant vignettes”.
It consistently skirts any real analysis of the negative parts of Silicon Valley (the sexism, exploitation, and questionable politics). And almost 300 pages of detached, ironic skepticism grows slightly tiring.
It consistently skirts any real analysis of the negative parts of Silicon Valley (the sexism, exploitation, and questionable politics). And almost 300 pages of detached, ironic skepticism grows slightly tiring.