The blurb:
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.
Like most people, I had a Facebook account for a fair while. A few years ago, I ditched it entirely, deleted the whole thing. I had to create a new account for work, but I don't use it unless work needs me to. I don't use Threads, I don't use Instagram and, as far as humanly possible, I don't use anything Meta-related. I think Facebook/Meta has too much control over its users' personal information, its tentacles go way too deep into the entire internet, and if it all suddenly imploded, I think that would be a net benefit for humanity.
I say all that upfront so you know where I'm coming from, and my general anti-Facebook bias. But even with that in place...holy shit, if even half of what this book details is true, yep, Facebook needs to be yeeted into the sun, as fast as technologically possible. The absolute moral vacuum Wynn-Williams details is incredible — senior managers at Facebook prepared to send more junior staffers into other countries to see if they get arrested or not (if they aren't arrested, it'll be safe for Mark or Sheryl to visit; if they are, Mark and Sheryl should stay home, and not much concern for the incarcerated staff member!), Sheryl Sandberg basically using staff members as teddy bears on international trips, Mark Zuckerberg sliding with increasing speed into autocratic decision-making...the book lays out Facebook's decline from its early days, basically lurching from crisis to crisis to its slide into... ::waves hand generally at all of it:: with dark humour that meets the absurdity of the whole thing. Well, it would be absurdity if one of theings Zuckerberg broke hadn't been humanity.
Recommended.
Started: 14 May 2025
Finished: 18 May 2025
Back home.
More books.