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Author Kara Swisher has released a memoir titled "Burn Book: A Tech Love Story".
Check out an excerpt from the book below.
"Burn Book: A Tech Love Story" by Kara Swisher
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I've always despised the saying "speak truth to power," as it implies that all power is negative. It should really be "speak truth to power when the power is false or harmful— or even just plain bizarre."
Amidst the peculiar setting, I found myself gazing at an ice sculpture of a woman with White Russians oozing from her breast, a mix of Kahlua and cream. The occasion was a baby shower for Google founder Sergey Brin and his wife, Anne Wojcicki, who were anticipating their first child in 2008. The celebration took place in the factory district of San Francisco, where guests were greeted by a jungle of dangling baby photos of Sergey and Anne at the entrance. The door was attended by the type of exuberant and hyper-organized women commonly found around the wealthy of Silicon Valley.
"Would you like a diaper? Or a onesie?" inquired a young woman with lively blonde hair and a genuinely warm smile, as if the question was completely normal. However, we were in San Francisco, where such events seemed to be popular among its residents. I try not to judge, even though I was definitely judging.
Let's be clear: I was judging hard.
But this went beyond mere personal preferences. This young woman was inquiring about my choice of baby attire, as that was the "fun" aspect of the evening. Guests were given the option to wear a diaper with an oversized comical pin, a ruffled baby hat complete with a rattle, or adult-sized footy pajamas paired with a teddy bear and a lollipop. I promptly declined all options, causing the lively hair to cease swinging and the smile to turn into a frown. "Everyone has to wear one," she persisted. "Everyone is wearing one!"
Not me! I ran into the party before she could lay a talcum-powdered hand on me and found some of the most powerful people in tech and media— all decked out as newborns. Brin wore a onesie as he roller-skated around the room. Wendi Deng, then the wife of News Corp titan Rupert Murdoch (whom I had taken to referring to as "Uncle Satan"), had chosen a diaper and sucker combo. Deng quickly asked me how she looked, which was disturbing since she was wearing some kind of leather pants and stiletto boots under the giant Pampers, and that was a freaky disconnect I preferred not to be experiencing at that moment (or, frankly, ever). Thankfully, Uncle Satan was not in attendance, so
I got to miss that particular visual. And, just as thankfully, over in a corner, then Mayor Gavin Newsom, who had grown close to the Google founders, was wearing a normal suit.
Get the book here:
"Burn Book: A Tech Love Story" by Kara Swisher
Buy locally from Bookshop.org
For more info:
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"Burn Book: A Tech Love Story" by Kara Swisher (Simon & Schuster), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats
