Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe


This is the dramatic story of how a noted tech venture capitalist, an early mentor to Mark Zuckerberg and investor in his company, woke up to the serious damage Facebook was doing to our society and set out to try to stop it.If you had told Roger McNamee three years ago that he would soon be devoting himself to stopping Facebook from destroying democracy, he would have howled with laughter. He had mentored many tech leaders in his illustrious career as an investor, but few things had made him prouder, or been better for his fund’s bottom line, than his early service to Mark Zuckerberg. Still a large shareholder in Facebook, he had every good reason to stay on the bright side. Until he simply couldn’t. Zucked is McNamee’s intimate reckoning with the catastrophic failure of the head of one of the world’s most powerful companies to face up to the damage he is doing. It’s a story that begins with a series of rude awakenings. First there is the author’s dawning realization that the platform is being manipulated by some very bad actors. Then there is the even more unsettling realization that Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg are unable or unwilling to share his concerns, polite as they may be to his face. And then comes Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, and the emergence of one horrific piece of news after another about the malign ends to which the Facebook platform has been put. To McNamee’s shock, Facebook’s leaders still duck and dissemble, viewing the matter as a public relations problem. Now thoroughly alienated, McNamee digs into the issue, and fortuitously meets up with some fellow travellers who share his concerns, and help him sharpen its focus. Soon he and a dream team of Silicon Valley technologists are charging into the fray, to raise consciousness about the existential threat of Facebook, and the persuasion architecture of the attention economy more broadly – to our public health and to our political order. Zucked is both an enthralling personal narrative and a masterful explication of the forces that have conspired to place us all on the horns of this dilemma. This is the story of a company and its leadership, but it’s also a larger tale of a business sector unmoored from normal constraints, at a moment of political and cultural crisis, the worst possible time to be given new tools for summoning the darker angels of our nature and whipping them into a frenzy. This is a wise, hard-hitting, and urgently necessary account that crystallizes the issue definitively for the rest of us.

Amazon.co.uk Price: £4.99 (as of 10/04/2023 11:07 PST- Details)

That is the dramatic story of how a famous tech enterprise capitalist, an early mentor to Mark Zuckerberg and investor in his firm, woke as much as the intense injury Fb was doing to our society and got down to attempt to cease it.Should you had advised Roger McNamee three years in the past that he would quickly be devoting himself to stopping Fb from destroying democracy, he would have howled with laughter. He had mentored many tech leaders in his illustrious profession as an investor, however few issues had made him prouder, or been higher for his fund’s backside line, than his early service to Mark Zuckerberg. Nonetheless a big shareholder in Fb, he had each good purpose to remain on the brilliant aspect. Till he merely could not. Zucked is McNamee’s intimate reckoning with the catastrophic failure of the top of one of many world’s strongest firms to withstand the injury he’s doing. It is a story that begins with a collection of impolite awakenings. First there’s the creator’s dawning realization that the platform is being manipulated by some very unhealthy actors. Then there’s the much more unsettling realization that Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg are unable or unwilling to share his considerations, well mannered as they could be to his face. After which comes Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, and the emergence of 1 horrific piece of stories after one other in regards to the malign ends to which the Fb platform has been put. To McNamee’s shock, Fb’s leaders nonetheless duck and dissemble, viewing the matter as a public relations drawback. Now completely alienated, McNamee digs into the problem, and fortuitously meets up with some fellow travellers who share his considerations, and assist him sharpen its focus. Quickly he and a dream staff of Silicon Valley technologists are charging into the fray, to boost consciousness in regards to the existential risk of Fb, and the persuasion structure of the eye economic system extra broadly – to our public well being and to our political order. Zucked is each an enthralling private narrative and a masterful explication of the forces which have conspired to position us all on the horns of this dilemma. That is the story of an organization and its management, however it’s additionally a bigger story of a enterprise sector unmoored from regular constraints, at a second of political and cultural disaster, the worst doable time to be given new instruments for summoning the darker angels of our nature and whipping them right into a frenzy. This can be a smart, hard-hitting, and urgently mandatory account that crystallizes the problem definitively for the remainder of us.

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