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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.
gnoelproduction's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
3.25
mollywetta's review against another edition
I couldn't put this down! I love all the details and the contradictions the author finds in herself and in the world of tech.
cindypepper's review against another edition
4.0
As somebody who worked in tech for several years in Silicon Valley, I was apprehensive about reading this. Wouldn't I be reading things I already knew -- and had lived? But I figured it might be interesting to read about Silicon Valley from a different lens, that of somebody who had never had a life in tech planned out for herself.
Uncanny Valley is riveting, almost in the way Gossip Girl can entice you by making you feel like you're part of an outer circle but not quite in the inner circle. I love the oblique references to various Silicon Valley companies and people; most are quite obvious in a mutually understood way ("A social network everyone said they hated", "A search-engine giant down in Mountain View") that makes for a nice puzzle. Others require a bit of sleuthing and Googling. Uncanny Valley is stylish, but it's still hawkishly observant and stripped of the rose-colored glasses.
Uncanny Valley is riveting, almost in the way Gossip Girl can entice you by making you feel like you're part of an outer circle but not quite in the inner circle. I love the oblique references to various Silicon Valley companies and people; most are quite obvious in a mutually understood way ("A social network everyone said they hated", "A search-engine giant down in Mountain View") that makes for a nice puzzle. Others require a bit of sleuthing and Googling. Uncanny Valley is stylish, but it's still hawkishly observant and stripped of the rose-colored glasses.