Kam
Okay so. I can see why there were attempts by Meta to make sure this book was sunk before it even reached wider publication, because of what it reveals of the culture inside the company.
The title is incredibly apt, because the head honchos at Meta really just don’t give a fuck about anybody except themselves and their inner circle. This lack of care was entrenched in the company’s culture from the very beginning, as evidenced by the author’s story about how she got into Meta (then Facebook) in the first place.
What’s horrifying, though, is seeing how that lack of care and empathy grows as the company grows. The entire book is about just how little Meta’s leadership cares about anyone else; they lack anything resembling what Filipinos would call delicadeza in dealing with other people. What’s even more upsetting and tragic is that these people are responsible for putting ENTIRE COUNTRIES into dire political straits - mine included. They have destroyed, and are destroying, millions of lives all over the world and they just do not give a fuck.
And while I’m slightly sympathetic to the author’s situation, given her health problems and her children, as well as being a victim of horrendous sexual harassment, I still can’t muster more than that because her inaction directly led to Meta becoming what it is today. She saw what was going on, and not ONCE thought to become a whistleblower - actually, no: she DID think about becoming a whistleblower, but crucially, DID NOT ACTUALLY BECOME ONE. And partially because of her, dozens of innocents like Kian delos Santos are dead, thanks to the Facebook-fueled election of Rodrigo Duterte: an election that not only killed hundreds of people, but continues to leave the Philippines more deeply-entrenched in corruption, and has altered the political landscape so much that it’s gotten harder to dig the country out of its current nightmare spiral. Compared to that, it’s hard to muster up sympathy for a white woman from a First World country with a US dollar Facebook salary, despite what she’s been through.
Overall, this was an interesting, if rage-inducing, read. I don’t think anyone will be too surprised by what is going on with Meta/Facebook, given revelations across the news in recent years, but it’s still possible to be caught off-guard by how deeply the apathy, carelessness, greed, and sociopathy run in the company’s upper echelons. It may also be possible to spare some sympathy for the author, but given the enormity of the effects of her decisions (as well as her silence on some crucial elements to this story, such as the role of Cambridge Analytica in influencing elections through social media), that sympathy will be very thin indeed, if readers can manage to muster it.
Originally posted at kamreadsandrecs.tumblr.com.
Okay so. I can see why there were attempts by Meta to make sure this book was sunk before it even reached wider publication, because of what it reveals of the culture inside the company.
The title is incredibly apt, because the head honchos at Meta really just don’t give a fuck about anybody except themselves and their inner circle. This lack of care was entrenched in the company’s culture from the very beginning, as evidenced by the author’s story about how she got into Meta (then Facebook) in the first place.
What’s horrifying, though, is seeing how that lack of care and empathy grows as the company grows. The entire book is about just how little Meta’s leadership cares about anyone else; they lack anything resembling what Filipinos would call delicadeza in dealing with other people. What’s even more upsetting and tragic is that these people are responsible for putting ENTIRE COUNTRIES into dire political straits - mine included. They have destroyed, and are destroying, millions of lives all over the world and they just do not give a fuck.
And while I’m slightly sympathetic to the author’s situation, given her health problems and her children, as well as being a victim of horrendous sexual harassment, I still can’t muster more than that because her inaction directly led to Meta becoming what it is today. She saw what was going on, and not ONCE thought to become a whistleblower - actually, no: she DID think about becoming a whistleblower, but crucially, DID NOT ACTUALLY BECOME ONE. And partially because of her, dozens of innocents like Kian delos Santos are dead, thanks to the Facebook-fueled election of Rodrigo Duterte: an election that not only killed hundreds of people, but continues to leave the Philippines more deeply-entrenched in corruption, and has altered the political landscape so much that it’s gotten harder to dig the country out of its current nightmare spiral. Compared to that, it’s hard to muster up sympathy for a white woman from a First World country with a US dollar Facebook salary, despite what she’s been through.
Overall, this was an interesting, if rage-inducing, read. I don’t think anyone will be too surprised by what is going on with Meta/Facebook, given revelations across the news in recent years, but it’s still possible to be caught off-guard by how deeply the apathy, carelessness, greed, and sociopathy run in the company’s upper echelons. It may also be possible to spare some sympathy for the author, but given the enormity of the effects of her decisions (as well as her silence on some crucial elements to this story, such as the role of Cambridge Analytica in influencing elections through social media), that sympathy will be very thin indeed, if readers can manage to muster it.
Originally posted at kamreadsandrecs.tumblr.com.