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We Like You So Much and Want to Know You Better

nytimes.com

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Re: We Like You So Much and Want to Know You Better

#22

There are some accusations that the plot of this adaptation are very similar to a real memoir published by Kate Losse: https://medium.com/p/bf1a7c77873b

I really like the story. I recognise it, partially.

Downvoting you because your link is to unrelated "Patriarchy 101" nonsense.

Re: We Like You So Much and Want to Know You Better

#23
post #3

Perfect. A much friendlier, much more social, much more corporate 1984. (Another heartbreaking work of staggering genius?) edit: Yes, it's pretty transparently a reference to Google. Zings sound more like tweets, though. And monitoring everything has turned out to be primarily the NSA's job, but I guess he finished the book before that scandal came to real light.

It seems to be a subtle critique of Google. I read it as Circle = Google, ad business where Mae works = AdWords, tablets = Android, zings = tweets / Google+ shares, new camera = Google Glass.

You don't even have to work for a social media company to see the "community building" pressure; any modern, web-friendly, "agile" firm is trying to get its employees to invest themselves into the company. If you are part of the community, its harder to switch jobs.

Re: We Like You So Much and Want to Know You Better

#24
post #9

Perfect. A much friendlier, much more social, much more corporate 1984. (Another heartbreaking work of staggering genius?) edit: Yes, it's pretty transparently a reference to Google. Zings sound more like tweets, though. And monitoring everything has turned out to be primarily the NSA's job, but I guess he finished the book before that scandal came to real light.

I wouldn't say genius - I found the moral to be about as unsubtle as a jackhammer, and the writing style irritating.

Maybe that's not such a bad thing. Most folks still haven't figured out the privacy and security implications of using social networks.

Re: We Like You So Much and Want to Know You Better

#25

Perfect. A much friendlier, much more social, much more corporate 1984. (Another heartbreaking work of staggering genius?) edit: Yes, it's pretty transparently a reference to Google. Zings sound more like tweets, though. And monitoring everything has turned out to be primarily the NSA's job, but I guess he finished the book before that scandal came to real light.

Or maybe A Brave New World.

Neil Postman compares them: http://www.prosebeforehos.com/image-of-the-day/08/24/huxley-...

Re: We Like You So Much and Want to Know You Better

#26

There are some accusations that the plot of this adaptation are very similar to a real memoir published by Kate Losse: https://medium.com/p/bf1a7c77873b

I fail to see the connection between ripping off work and societal privilege as a young, white male.

It's plausible, I admit. But much more likely, to me, is just artistic exploitation 101 (if it turns out he did borrow a lot from her story). She has a specific problem with Eggers getting away with it. She would too if her article was published in the NY Times. She seems to be playing identity politics in a situation that doesn't warrant it: Perhaps she was unlucky in her career? Perhaps Eggers has better agents? Perhaps Eggers is a better writer, or has more experience? Perhaps Eggers' brother works at the NY Times? I would posit that, in this case, it's unlikely that Eggers had his piece published and got away with ripping off her article because he is a white male.

I recognize that sexism and racism definitely exist in Silicon Valley, but the problem she's trying to point out is broader — it's the overzealous linguistic bullshit promoted throughout culture (and that includes other industries, mind you). It's the 'engineering perspective' applied to all situations without discretion. Solve every problem in all domains like its a physics problem. Silicon Valley has a penchant for hyperbole and thus is always "killing," "disrupting," and "breaking" things.

In a linked essay, she declares it to be myopic to promote Facebook's mantra of "move fast and break things" because it leads to unjustly enforced criminal activities like trespassing — and might be "rapey" ("rapey" is her language). Facebook's mantra started in the context of writing internet software. Minorities and women have little disadvantage in that specific context. The problem rose when the life advice language got so widespread (applied to every possible situation in Medium blog posts) as to become meaningless. Now she's pissed off because minorities and women can't get away with breaking things and asking for forgiveness in all areas of life, but young, white men can...and that's exemplified through the popular philosophy of Silicon Valley. First, that again is so broad as to be meaningless (e.g. I can think of plenty of examples where being a young woman let's you get away with things others' can't). Second, "act first and then ask for forgiveness" and related Ferrissisms are all tropes carried over from other industries and books (ever heard of 'sales'?). Third, it targets Silicon Valley as the epicenter of discrimination, which kind of makes it look like she's never worked or lived in any other industry or area of the world.

Re: We Like You So Much and Want to Know You Better

#27
post #22

There are some accusations that the plot of this adaptation are very similar to a real memoir published by Kate Losse: https://medium.com/p/bf1a7c77873b

I really like the story. I recognise it, partially. Downvoting you because your link is to unrelated "Patriarchy 101" nonsense.

This context isn't in her article. But it is related. Basically she wrote a book about her experience at Facebook, and is claiming that Egger plagiarized it for his book.

(From what I can tell anyway.)

Re: We Like You So Much and Want to Know You Better

#28
I don't recognize my workplace, or that of my friends, in this story. It is a great fictional story. But hopefully you guys are aware that this is not what working at Google (or, I assume, Facebook or Twitter) is like. And I say that as someone who is IRL married to a consumer experience specialist.

Re: We Like You So Much and Want to Know You Better

#29
I'm a employee of a large tech company that's being parodied here, and I found this really disconcerting. The scenes with the boss and HR are completely different to my experience. No one cares what I do at the weekend. No one cares about my social media presence. No one cares if I use the company's products or not.

A few clear examples: one of my grandparents passed away, and the company was as supportive as possible. I asked if I could work from my parents house to be with my grandmother, and I got back "You can work from another country for an open ended period. If you aren't getting anything done, let me know, and we'll call it compassionate leave". There are people who go out socializing, but I've never felt pressured to go along. There are people who work long hours or the weekend, but again, I've never felt pressured to do that either.

Edit: When the company was newer, the employees worked very long hours and weekends. They worked, mind you. Everyone I know from that era is remarkably well off. The vast majority of the early employees have retired to spend more time with their wealth. I'm much more concerned, as a person, about either the big companies that do massive crunches (see ea spouse) or the startups that fails despite everyone working really hard, the employees don't get the 100 million dollar payday.

Re: We Like You So Much and Want to Know You Better

#30
post #22

There are some accusations that the plot of this adaptation are very similar to a real memoir published by Kate Losse: https://medium.com/p/bf1a7c77873b

I really like the story. I recognise it, partially. Downvoting you because your link is to unrelated "Patriarchy 101" nonsense.

From the article:

So, when Dave Eggers decided to rewrite my book as his own novel about a young woman working her way up through Facebook...

It appears that Eggers’ recent pattern in his books is to take the story of the “other”— in one case a Sudanese child soldier,in the next a Katrina survivor, and now, the story of a woman in tech— and repackage them under his name. The difference is that in the first two cases he named the source of his material. In my case, because I am a woman, and therefore am subject to erasure by the media avant la lettre, that wasn’t necessary.

It is not the most concise piece of writing, I will give you that.

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