Customer Reviews

NetSlaves: True Tales of Working the Web

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

There will be people that write reviews... saying that this book is a whiner's book or that the writers are techie axe grinders. They may say 'name changing is not warranted'. They'll feel smug with these criticisms. But the reality is that the technical world is burning hot which truly proves that technical work is hell. There is a great push to 'become' more efficient. What this really means is 80 hour work weeks or more. This means exploiting the talent of your employees and reorging them often. When you are done with them, you toss them to the side. People become a commodity. Behind all the free soda, snacks, air conditioned rooms, there is a real abuse and exploitation. Sure leave your job for another one. That job will be the same thing. I remember when I liked using computers, now I feel they are a social black hole that slowly sucks the life out of you. If this was a book about artists creating work and them having it ripped from them by corporate goons there would be more sympathy to the writers, but most people don't see that technologists are in fact artists. They create. Welcome to commercialism. But if you can't beat them, join them... This book has finally convinced me to go get that MBA and strive to become one of the last 3 chapters of this book.

Netslaves without a doubt is X-treme, with the capital 'X'. The stories you read within are disturbing. The insiders view of some large hardware, software, and Internet companies makes you wanna run out and Sell, Sell, Sell any and all stock you may have in them.

In fact, some of the stories got so bizarre, that I started reacting negatively to the book. Sword-wielding censors? Company heads fleeing justice in Mexico? OJ's guilty?

Come on. That, coupled with the mangled corporate names (though anyone with a brain can guess who NetScathe et al really are) seemed to seriously impact the power of the book. My credibility was stretched, and I thought to myself, "Self, this is just another one of those sensationalism books out to shock you out of your money".

But I was wrong. By the the time I finished the book, I poked my nose around and found out it was true. All of its true. And then I re-read it, and the realism and bluntness of the writing sucked me in.

Netslaves is a great book, because it deals with real people honestly. Real people under enormous (and occasionally bizarre) stress do whacko things, and these guys are there to show you the damage. The world wide web is built on the broken remains of Netslaves, and Bill and Steve give you the view from the coroners office. I'd give it two thumbs up if it weren't for the damn carpal tunnel....

I don't think I've ever read a book like this before - it's sort of like "Pulp Fiction Meets The Net" with shades of "True Confessions" mixed in. This is a quick read, and I've already passed it on to a family member who still harbors the belief that working in the "dot.com" field is a good career choice. I don't know if I'd go quite so far as to say that most Net careers "nasty, brutish, and short", as the authors do, but I do think it's about time that people start looking beyond the hype toward what life in the info-trenches actually entails, and this book is an excellent alternative to all the dot-com glamorizing and boosterism that's out there. Very funny, too - it helps the bitter cautionary medicine go down.

I'm a media critic and writer, and have been drowning in hype about the gilded age of the Hyper-Net. Some of this is true, but much isn't. This is the other side, the story that's been waiting to be told, and it couldn't possibly be told any better, funnier, or more knowingly than in this book, which I'm proud to be reviewing for Slashdot.org as well.

Someone gave me this as a gift because I work in the Internet (web design). But the pessimistic descriptions don't mesh with my experience or that of people I know. I'm sure there are many awful jobs out there, but the authors portray all Internet companies/departments as being terrible. Also, I agree with another reviewer that the cutesy name replacements got annoying very quickly and were so obvious that I don't know why they bothered. It's not like they were protecting the innocent or something--it's obvious that "Netscathe" is supposed to be Netscape, for instance. Finally, I thought their metaphors (priests, cops, gurus, garbagemen, whatever) were very confusing and didn't make much sense to me, even though I work in the industry. The whole thing seemed to be more in the spirit of "Let's interview our friends and tell some anecdotes" than a seriously researched portrayal of the Internet industry. If you're in the industry, it's too simplistic; if you're not, it's just misleading.

NetSlaves was excellent! Truly one of the most honest and well-written books I have read in a long time. As a director of online marketing, I found the book to be dead on target. Never before were the realities of working in the Internet industry presented in such a way.

In NetSlaves, we are shown the sometimes-callous reality of what it really means to work in the Internet industry. The authors keep us enthralled by recounting tales of those working in the trenches, doing what it takes to get the job done, where the best reward is often staying employed. These harsh, yet frequently amusing stories show us how fluid the industry really is, giving us the dirt never published in the Wall Street Journal.

Many of the books I have read concerning the Internet industry revolve around the latest buzzwords and the dream of a successful IPO. Most read like a dissertation on the new economy from a far-removed position. Netslaves is written in such a way that anyone can find enjoyment, whether you work in the industry or not. But be careful, once you start reading, it's hard to put it down.

If you work in the Internet industry, Netslaves is a combat manual you need to read. Bill and Steve have obviously been burned in their quest for cyber-success, and they're not afraid to show the scars.

This book is the Dilbert and Mad Magazine of Internet careers. The headline of this review refers to the ending of NetSlaves, where the authors promise to keep exposing robber barons and robber barons in training who have done the authors and other wrong. The title quote captures the emotional tone of this expose on the poor management and exploitive practices in the Internet industry. Here's their assessment of the reasons behind the problem: ". . . people are people. More often than not, they're miserable, nasty, selfish creatures, driven by vanity and greed, doing whatever they can to get ahead, even if it means stepping on the person next to them, crushing the weak, and destroying themselves in the process." Clearly, these men have been through a lot, and seen and heard even worse.

Bill Lessard opens the book with "I'm a living testament to the fact tht most Internet careers are nasty, brutish, and short, and I'm not alone." He goes on to point out that "for every barely postadolescent CEO who hits the jackpot with the company he started in his dorm room, there are thousands more who fail miserably." The authors hope to dissuade some who don't know better from starting to work for exploitive Internet CEOs. Anyone who reads this book would certainly be a lot more cautious, whether as an employee, a customer, supplier, or investor.

This book categorizes and describes all those who work on the Internet into 11 work types. An example is provided for each one. You start at the bottom of employed people (the garbagemen) and work up to the top (robber barons), and then down to the mole people (who have disappeared into the Internet). Each one turns out to be undesirable, but for a different reason. The common element is the pressure to perform given tasks rapidly, perfectly, and to make a big score. This could just as easily be a book about compulsive gamblers.

My only complaint about the expose aspects of this book is that it is hard to know how widespread these problems are. There is no poll or objective way to measure what is being described. All of the examples are anonymous, and some are admittedly composites. As to the exposition, I found the constant reference to nonInternet terms (garbagemen, fry cooks, gigolos, etc.) confusing. I had to keep referring back to the book to keep them straight, because they didn't really capture the jobs in my mind.

At another level, this book is a brilliant satire on many of the leading companies and people in the industry. Pseudonyms are used, but more for humor (and presumably to avoid libel suits) than for disguise. Bill Gates is the most frequently lampooned person in the book (which is appropriate for a Harvard dropout). You'll also find lots of humorous references to Microsoft, Intel, Apple, Netscape, IBM, AOL, Yahoo! and many other familiar technology companies.

With all of the energy of a rebel Web site, this book will keep you fascinated. You'll also have a lot more sympathy for those people who answer your e-mails, fix the software bugs, help you reinstall your browser, and provide you with the next cool Web site. You'll also understand why you don't always get your e-mails answered (people with big backlogs to reduce are inevitably drawn to the delete button).

Overcome your misconception that this industry really has it all figured out. There's a lot to learn!

I like the internet just fine - but I'm so sick of the hype! This book, while not really scholarly, nonetheless helps tell the complete story of Networld. And that world sounds like hell to me! I found it an enjoyable read and would recommend it to anyone and everyone tempted to make the net ( and Bill Gates and all the rest of it ) into a false idol. The "e-revolution" is not really something new at all, only another gold rush that gets the greedy and ambitious hot and bothered. As for me, I use it now and then and thank its inventors and maintenance people for keeping it running. But worship at its feet? No thank you!

Thirty years ago, a financial journalist set out to capture some of the anthropology of Wall Street. He used real stories, but he covered the identities with colorful fictional names, such as "Irwin the Professor," "Odd-lot Robert," and "Poor Grenville." The author himself adopted the nom de plume "Adam Smith" and his book, "The Money Game" became a best seller and in my opinion a 5-star book.

NetSlaves has all of the ingredients of The Money Game:

--real stories, with names changed

--anthropological insights into a culture that to many people is strange and unknown. The descriptions of different subcultures are accurate down to their style of dress, natural rivalries, etc.

--humor, such as the "fun with the Huns" episode in which some Food and Wine forum participants find that "their erudite conversational thread about Brie cheese and merlot wine was cut to shreds by some Hun shouting about the virtues of Velveeta and Pabst."

The reason I can only give this book 3-1/2 stars is their outlook on humanity. On p.245, they summarize by saying "people are people. More often than not, they're miserable, nasty, selfish creatures..."

They describe skilled computer programmers as "a bunch of overhyped, overpaid nobodies who are screwing the rest of us." In my experience, this is totally wrong. The programmers who have worked for me have wanted to do high-quality, professional work, and where they have not succeeded, it is because I have not done enough to protect the sanity of their environment.

"The Money Game" was a classic in part because the message was to not take its subject too seriously. "Smith's" description of his experience of taking a beating in the cocoa futures market owed more to Baba Ram Dass than to Ralph Nader.

I wonder what would have happened had the editor been able to persuade the authors of NetSlaves to adopt a similar point of view.

Being an unemployed techie myself, I cannot begin to describe what a godsend this book is. NETSLAVES finally reveals the truth about what it is to be part of what is likely the most under-appreciated sect of the working class. The stale stories of "dorm-room success" have been supplanted by the pathetically sad/darkly humorous accounts of those who have been saddled with with million-dollar job titles, bleeding ulcers, and ramen noodle grocery budgets. NETSLAVES is an entertaining and enligtening read, written by two men who have actually been passengers in every sewer pipe that is The new-media industry. This book is a must for every modern library, as it can be considered a "warning shot" for those with IT aspirations, or as a source of vindication for those of us who have been dismissed and trampled on. Bravo!