Inside The Cult Of Kibu: And Other Tales Of The Millennial Gold Rush [Hardcover]

Lori Gottlieb (Author), Jesse Jacobs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 23, 2002

Yes, it really happened. Thousands of bright and creative people were lured by the promise of incredible freedom--and even more incredible wealth--into an alternative universe of "all hands" pep rallies, afternoon sushi runs, and Foosball tournaments cum strategy sessions. From the open-floor offices (complete with scooter stations) to the mysterious lairs of the all-powerful venture capitalists to the lavish launch parties, Inside the Cult of Kibu offers a backstage pass to America's capitalist culture at its wackiest. Drawing from dozens of interviews culled from the front lines, Lori Gottlieb and Jesse Jacobs present a rich tapestry of anecdotes and insights, revealing a world of extremes, from euphoria to disillusionment. Framed by a narrative structure that mimics the typical rise and fall of a dot.com, Inside the Cult of Kibu showcases the stories of the programmers and receptionists, Hollywood moguls, twenty-something CEO's, and everyone in between who experienced the virtual-reality show firsthand. Industry veterans themselves, Gottlieb and Jacobs present an irreverent and penetrating account of a business and cultural phenomenon that is now imprinted--for better or worse--on our collective psyche.From Inside the Cult of Kibu:We had moved into our industrial space in West 26th Street in New York, and there were lots of technology and internet companies suddenly crowded into this wonderfully exciting, multicultural building filled with all kinds of people--old little businesses and new dotcoms. One day, there was a banker from one of the big six Wall Street entities, literally walking the hallway, cold-calling, knocking on doors, and, basically offering funding. At that moment, I said to myself, "Man, oh man, this is crazy." That was the moment that I noted in mind as "OK, this is some high watermark of gold-rush madness."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Scads of disgruntled ex-employees have written thousands of pages on what it was like to work for a fly-by-night dot-com and how quickly it all ended. Despite the barrage of Internet reminiscences, Lori Gottlieb and Jesse Jacobs have penned their own version of life at the now-defunct online community Kibu.com, Inside the Cult of Kibu: And Other Tales of the Millennial Gold Rush. Dividing their book into 10 chapters entitled, "The Idea," "The Money," "The Culture," "The Parties," "The Lingo," "The Spin," "The Mismanagement," "The IPO," "The Layoffs," and "The Hereafter," Gottlieb and Jacobs intersperse their own experiences at Kibu with comments from nearly 100 players in the dot-com game. Kurt Andersen talks about the friction between the "New Media People" and the "Old Media People," Andrew Anker tells of Wired's dress code and Josh Keller explains how he handled laying off employees at the software company Ububu. Altogether, it makes for an amusing, if familiar, snapshot of a bygone era.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"...oral history of that time when Old Media people were lured away from stable jobs by the promise of massages." -- People, 11/4/02

"A fascinating look at the quirky [dotcom] culture told in a variety of voices." -- NationalJournal.com, 9/26/02

"Altogether, it makes for an amusing, if familiar, snapshot of a bygone era." -- Publishers Weekly, September 2, 2002

"An eclectic collection of tales of companies and individuals swept along in the new Economy boom and subsequent bust." -- Dallas Morning News, 9/8/02

"Hailarious...good and gossipy...[a] classic of digital bubble-popping." -- Wired News 8/1/02

"Unlike the typical web gripe-site...illuminates a wild and wacky scene." -- Knowledge@Wharton, September, 2002

"[Gottlieb and Jacobs] have the right Alice-in-Wonderland perspective, the naive good sense that frames the irrationalities around them...Entertaining stuff." -- Washington Monthly, September, 2002

"[Gottlieb's] writing style manages to show both the dark humor and pathos of her situation at Kibu.com." -- Variety, 10/13/02

"[Gottlieb's] wry commentary is engaging." -- Boston Globe, 10/13/02

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 1st edition (July 23, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738206911
• ISBN-13: 978-0738206912
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,082,980 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lori Gottlieb is the New York Times bestselling author whose first book, STICK FIGURE: A DIARY OF MY FORMER SELF, was an American Library Association "Best Books 2001" selection. She has also co-written I LOVE YOU, NICE TO MEET YOU and INSIDE THE CULT OF KIBU. Her radio commentaries can be heard on National Public Radio and her journalism has been published in The New York Times, the Atlantic, Time, People, Elle, Self, Slate and Glamour. Her newest book, MARRY HIM: THE CASE FOR SETTLING FOR MR. GOOD ENOUGH, is a surprising and in-depth look at modern dating, marriage, and what really makes for a happy long-term romantic partnership. Visit her website at www.lorigottlieb.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A piffle, a whiny embarassment, August 6, 2002

By 

John Cierra (Palo Alto, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inside The Cult Of Kibu: And Other Tales Of The Millennial Gold Rush (Hardcover)

Just finished this ridiculous faux kiss-and-tell, more from vanity than curiousity. Myself a survivor of the dot-com era and ex-employee of Kibu, I was curious to see a historical review of the times in general and my former employer in particular.

The dot-com era was absurd. I knew it, and so did my friends at other companies. Not many actually believed the dreams being sold to investors, but like the merchants who sold shovels to the miners of the California Gold Rush, we were happy to play along. This "Inside the Cult" is a grating and inaccurate retelling of some of the excesses of the time. It has several humorous anecdotes.

My own experience with dot-coms was limited to Kibu, my tenure beginning just before Ms Gottlieb's and ending just after her departure. As one of the few men in the organization, it is interesting to compare our experiences; for me it was a pecular workplace for which I was dispassionate, for Ms. Gottlieb, a social trauma. As with her previous writings of the matter, the section on Kibu is written from the point of view of the caustic and unpopular seventh-grade girl that the nice kids ignored. Imagine the balance and accuracy of an expose written by that girl and you will understand the telling of Kibu in this tale.

Not having first-hand knowledge of the rest of the telling, I cannot adequately judge the stories not directly about Kibu. But if the recounting of the rest of the dot-com stories is as accurate as this, I cannot consider it anything but fiction.

The delicious irony of this book is that it exists. While its telling indirectly condemns the times for excess, wastefulness and lack of meaningful contribution, Ms. Gottlieb's book is a second-order effect: it continues in that same dot-com tradition, riding on the digital coattails of a well-recognized flop, this book a product of even less meaning.

If you are looking for historical accuracy, try Michael Lewis' interesting read, "The New New Thing". If you are looking for humor, try David Sedaris' "Me Talk Pretty" (his tales are probably closer to accuracy). If you are looking for a spiteful whine by someone with bruised ego, you'll love this book.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Collection of Anecdotes, Little Else, August 28, 2002

By 

J. Straub (Cleveland Heights, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Inside The Cult Of Kibu: And Other Tales Of The Millennial Gold Rush (Hardcover)

For a book classified as "business" this book spends a remarkably small amount of time discussing business. Instead, Inside the Cult of Kibu is a collection of anecdotes from Gottlieb's experiences at Kibu and others' experiences working at dot-coms and in the dot-com world.

The book's greatest strength is clearly its organization: each of the ten chapters contains anecdotes regarding only one topic, ranging from hiring to IPOs to layoffs and the post-dot-com. The book is an enjoyable read composed of brief stories held together by Gottlieb's and Jabobs' commentary. Each chapter starts with Gottlieb's experience at Kibu which gives what would otherwise have been a very scattered book a consistent flow and feeling.

As enjoyable as it is to read; however, at the end the book leaves the reader with little else than a sense of the absurdity of the whole dot-com bubble. There is no discussion of why dot-coms failed, or even why some gathered the "cult" following that they did. Instead, the book might be best described as the transcription of a bar conversation: every few minutes you will laugh, but at the end of the night you really haven't gotten a whole lot out of it.

If you were part of the dot-com euphoria, than you probably will enjoy the book as a memoir. If however, you are trying to learn about, understand or analyze, you will be left severely disappointed by Inside the Cult of Kibu.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining but pretentious, August 24, 2003

By 

Zizzed (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inside The Cult Of Kibu: And Other Tales Of The Millennial Gold Rush (Hardcover)

... The book is mostly just a collection of anecdotes from dot.com dweebs. Some are very funny and insightful.

However, most of the book is basically the same pretentious self-important name-dropping and glad-handing that that defined the whole dot.com era. Many of the anecdotes are pretentious "remember whens" from people with weapons-grade arrogance. Its funny to listen to self-important 30-somethings bash self-important 20-somethings, as if the 30-somethings, because they worked at Wendy's after college, somehow have this deep well of wisdom the 20-somethings don't. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man will be king.

I also became a bit tired of reading sob stories from individuals who obviously live lives of extreme privilege bemoan the burden of managing morons and chaos. When I hear these well-to-do ex-dot.commers whine about mismanagement and stupidity its hard to have any sympathy for them. They never had to really suffer or work; they just rode the wave and didn't win.

Okay, I am being a bit harsh. And my reaction is really why I gave this book 3 starts. As pretentious, preening, and self-important as this book is - it does a pretty good job of capturing exactly why the dot.com era was such a joke.

This isn't a bad book, or a great book. It's interesting, its a quick read, and its got some good points. Just be prepared to wade through the pretentious BS.