What readers think of Careless People, plus links to write your own review.

When you can't stop thinking about a book, when it invades your dreams, when you ask everyone you know to read it ... you know it has had an impact. Even if Meta was not working so hard (and succeeding in part) to get this book and the author's voice quashed, I would be imploring everyone to read it. The book is fast paced, astonishing in its content, and clear minded in its view point. Kudos to Sarah Wynn-Williams for going where others dared not go.

Careless People is a tell-all behind the scenes look at Facebook as it grew from its beginning years to being “one of the most influential companies on the planet”. It’s a timely read, as last week, Mark Zuckerberg was called to testify in a social media addiction court case which alleges Facebook, along with other social media sites, knowingly targeted young users.

Careless People does nothing to dissuade the reader from believing the worst about Facebook. Wynn-Williams speaks of the double standard between what senior management puts out to the public and what they practice and believe, especially when it comes to children or helping dictatorships. What surprised and confused me was how long Wynn-Williams did stay with FB, especially given some of the situations she was placed in. Can you imagine feeling obligated to write a memo while in the stirrups about to deliver your child? Or being asked in front of others by a senior executive to sleep in their bed on a jet plane like it’s the most normal thing in the world? She later uses health insurance and the fact she was the main bread winner as a reason she had to stay. But the mere fact that she was still there at that point? It’s obvious she was putting money above sanity or her own morals.
Later, as things got even uglier, she made the argument that she was still trying to change things from the inside. I appreciated the book when she was discussing what the company actually did and felt I learned a lot. But part of me felt like there was a bit of hypocrisy as she put herself above those out to make “gobs of money”.

Zuckerberg is a total spoiled brat. That he’s a spoiled brat with the power to shift global dynamics is what’s truly scary. A large portion of the book details how Facebook ignores their own supposed moral standards concerning dealing with political entities, whether candidates or foreign governments. Wynn-Williams lifts the veil. “Facebook rewards outsider candidates who post inflammatory content that drives engagement. We charge less money for ads that are more incendiary and reach more people.”

It was also interesting to read this in light of the changes I’ve personally seen on Facebook. How my page is now overrun with fake news sites (no matter how many I permanently delete) and ads. I swear, I feel like I spend more time deleting things than seeing posts from family or friends. I guess this makes me somewhat of a hypocrite as well, since I continue to use it to interact with family and friends. I read this as a buddy-read with my granddaughter and can’t wait to discuss this with someone much younger.