Hardcover, 400 pages
English language
Published Jan. 1, 2025 by Flatiron Books.
An explosive memoir charting one woman’s career at the heart of one of the most influential companies on the planet, Careless People gives you a front-row seat to Facebook, the decisions that have shaped world events in recent decades, and the people who made them.
From trips on private jets and encounters with world leaders to shocking accounts of misogyny and double standards behind the scenes, this searing memoir exposes both the personal and the political fallout when unfettered power and a rotten company culture take hold. In a gripping and often absurd narrative where a few people carelessly hold the world in their hands, this eye-opening memoir reveals what really goes on among the global elite.
Sarah Wynn-Williams tells the wrenching but fun story of Facebook, mapping its rise from stumbling encounters with juntas to Mark Zuckerberg’s reaction when he learned of Facebook’s role in Trump’s election. She experiences …
An explosive memoir charting one woman’s career at the heart of one of the most influential companies on the planet, Careless People gives you a front-row seat to Facebook, the decisions that have shaped world events in recent decades, and the people who made them.
From trips on private jets and encounters with world leaders to shocking accounts of misogyny and double standards behind the scenes, this searing memoir exposes both the personal and the political fallout when unfettered power and a rotten company culture take hold. In a gripping and often absurd narrative where a few people carelessly hold the world in their hands, this eye-opening memoir reveals what really goes on among the global elite.
Sarah Wynn-Williams tells the wrenching but fun story of Facebook, mapping its rise from stumbling encounters with juntas to Mark Zuckerberg’s reaction when he learned of Facebook’s role in Trump’s election. She experiences the challenges and humiliations of working motherhood within a pressure cooker of a workplace, all while Sheryl Sandberg urges her and others to “lean in.”
Careless People is a deeply personal account of why and how things have gone so horribly wrong in the past decade—told in a sharp, candid, and utterly disarming voice. A deep, unflinching look at the role that social media has assumed in our lives, Careless People reveals the truth about the leaders of Facebook: how the more power they grasp, the less responsible they become and the consequences this has for all of us.
Yes. Yes it could. And Meta could also have more influence than you imagine. Horrifying.
Will the next round of attention-seeking AI apps be any better? Why would they?
I'm not sure how I feel about the author in the end, but I'm glad she wrote her story.
1st-hand insights into Facebook/Meta that will hopefully keep you far away from using their products (i.e. being their product). Be aware that all Big Techs operate the same way and take your conclusions: chokepoint capitalism and enshittification to the max.
Is this a well-written book and is Sarah beyond questions? Not at all, it is the insight that is worth 4 stars.
There are no big reveals in this book for anyone who is well informed and critical of big tech, but I guess it's good that someone documented details about how hypocritical Sheryl Sandberg is with her white feminism and what an absolutely soulless, self-centered creep Mark Zuckerberg is? Also, more power to anyone publicly exposing their sexual harassers.
On the other hand, this book reminded me of people with those ridiculous "I bought this Tesla before Elon went crazy" bumper stickers. Sarah Wynn-Williams comes across as, at BEST, horribly naive about the most basic facts of capitalism, and she actually seems to see herself as some kind of soft power hero. She admits that when she first started working at Facebook she was stunned by the idea that corporations have no other interest than growth. And her unshakeable, uncritical faith in liberal internationalism is just cringey.
The worst parts to …
There are no big reveals in this book for anyone who is well informed and critical of big tech, but I guess it's good that someone documented details about how hypocritical Sheryl Sandberg is with her white feminism and what an absolutely soulless, self-centered creep Mark Zuckerberg is? Also, more power to anyone publicly exposing their sexual harassers.
On the other hand, this book reminded me of people with those ridiculous "I bought this Tesla before Elon went crazy" bumper stickers. Sarah Wynn-Williams comes across as, at BEST, horribly naive about the most basic facts of capitalism, and she actually seems to see herself as some kind of soft power hero. She admits that when she first started working at Facebook she was stunned by the idea that corporations have no other interest than growth. And her unshakeable, uncritical faith in liberal internationalism is just cringey.
The worst parts to me weren't anything about Facebook, but when Wynn-Williams herself offers the exact kind of clueless, self-centered white Euro-American commentary that she criticizes FB execs for. She brings up the Zika virus only to make it all about herself and refers to "traveling to all these weird places" (cool, tell us how you really feel).
Finally, there's no takeaway. There's no critique of big tech other than how awful the people running it are and how they're accountable to no one. Wynn-Williams leaves open the possibility that these companies could somehow be good if only the right people ran them. The book is interesting as a workplace memoir about working close to top management at a FAANG company, but it's very weak as a supposed "cautionary tale."
Well-written for the most part. Some minor issues in use of tense but I blame the editor. It’s a good inside look at the culture within one of the worlds most influential companies and says a lot about how we measure success as a society. I think the perspective of an outsider from the corporate standpoint (UN background) and cultural standpoint (NZ citizen) is really important for seeing and understanding the harm that Facebook and other growth-at-all-costs enterprises have done to both their employees and customers. I laughed throughout the whole book at the absurdity of it all, then I took away a star because I remembered this is nonfiction and I have to actually do some mental and emotional labor in how I respond to the information within.
A harrowing tale about a spoiled kid emperor and his cadre of monsters, told by a New Zealand diplomat. Do not ever touch Facebook even with a 10-foot pole
Quick read, well written narrative. Stressful story. Everything inside Facebook was worse than you thought.
Really enjoyed this. Thinking critically, I have to assume that this may be a bit lopsided in it's views and takes.
However, the wealth of experiences the author brings are just overwhelming. The fact that due to legal action, the author was not permitted to promote the book says something for how the Facebook legal team sees the stories.
In many cases, just simple in-actions have grave consequences. Philosophers have struggled about the importance of doing the right thing and action as part of leadership, and it's well written over time. History is covered in inaction examples.
This should be on the reading list for any company leader or manager.
Ein interessanter Einblick in die inneren Strukturen von einem der schlimmsten Konzerne der Welt. Auch spannend, wie Zuckerberg beschrieben wird. Klare Leseempfehlung für alle, die konkrete Beispiele suchen, warum Facebook und Meta so problematisch sind!
Mixed feelings about the author and her portrayal of her involvement in this whole mess. I'm not sure a grown adult could be so fucking naive on purpose if they tried, which is why I really don't know what to think about her. I think I know what I'd do in the same situation but maybe I don't. She comes across well in the beginning but by the middle and end I was really getting irritated with her aw shucks I just wanted to get Facebook better prepared for public policy! Yet she is completely unaware that it is she who went to them and pitched them a job. That job she pitched them didn't exist and once it did, you have a bunch of psychopathic billionaires who were already evil people now awash in political power and even more money.
I put it down a couple times because …
Mixed feelings about the author and her portrayal of her involvement in this whole mess. I'm not sure a grown adult could be so fucking naive on purpose if they tried, which is why I really don't know what to think about her. I think I know what I'd do in the same situation but maybe I don't. She comes across well in the beginning but by the middle and end I was really getting irritated with her aw shucks I just wanted to get Facebook better prepared for public policy! Yet she is completely unaware that it is she who went to them and pitched them a job. That job she pitched them didn't exist and once it did, you have a bunch of psychopathic billionaires who were already evil people now awash in political power and even more money.
I put it down a couple times because I felt myself hyperventilating from the cascades of anxiety that this whole book filled me with. Good read, with the caveat the author is pretending to be a shrinking violet that shirks her responsibility in opening this Pandora's Box.
I was a at best a reluctant user of FB, and my scepticism of tech had probably kicked in before the time frame of this book, but I definitely held that kind of naïve optimism about tech's power for good at some point in time - a thing that in 2025 is already proving really difficult to rationalise in hindsight.
It's not a huge surprise to learn that the big personalities in this book are all dicks, and that working culture in a Silicon Valley tech company is dysfunctional and toxic. It was also good to be reminded just how implicated FB is in genocides and shitty election outcomes. On top of the diss to tech company culture (which I am always here for), Wynn-Williams' personal story is actually pretty killer (almost literally a couple of times) on its own!
Sarah Wynn-Williams is a very effective writer, with a kinetic and quick style that is personable and to the point.
And the things she describes...
Look, I am not going to mince words. The author effectively describes the way Facebook's narcissistic executives and toxic corporate culture propel the company into committing and abetting crimes against humanity.
It's no wonder they are desperate to shut this book down. If half of what she says is true, the entire leadership team should go to jail and the entire company should be burned to the ground.
