NetSlaves: True Tales of Working the Web [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

The operating principle behind NetSlaves is neatly summed up when authors Bill Lessard and Steve Baldwin write, "People are nuts, no matter what profession they're in, but people forced to work like dogs with the carrot stick of stock options and 'untold' wealth dangling under their noses are especially nuts."

If all you know about the Internet business is what you've read in the financial press, then Net Slaves provides a cold slap of reality. For every headline-making company like Yahoo! or Amazon, there are hundreds or perhaps even thousands more like the ones Net vets Lessard and Baldwin have worked for. These are the start-ups that never finish up, companies that hire hundreds of programmers and Web site designers and techies of all stripes, then merge or downsize or go out of business before anyone can cash in. The authors take the reader on an anthropological expedition through what they call the New Media Caste System. At the bottom rung are the "garbagemen", the guys who have to get the server up and running when it crashes, who have to rush to help the digital morons who can't figure out how to open their e-mail. At the top, of course, are the "robber barons," the guys who really do get mind-blowing wealth and profiles in Wired magazine. For each level, the authors tell an instructive, cautionary tale of life in the new economy.

Although the authors clearly set out to create revenge journalism, enjoyed by all those who've lived on pizza and Mountain Dew for months on end only to end up with a pink slip, those outside the tech universe should enjoy it, too. Revenge may be best served cold but it's easy to warm up to Net Slaves. --Lou Schuler, Amazon.com

Authors Bill Lessard and Steve Baldwin neatly summarize the operating principle behind NetSlaves: "People are nuts, no matter what profession they're in, but people forced to work like dogs with the carrot stick of stock options and 'untold' wealth dangling under their noses are especially nuts."

If all you know about the Internet business is what you've read in the financial press, then NetSlaves provides a cold slap of reality. For every headline-making company like Yahoo! or Amazon.com, there are hundreds or perhaps even thousands more like the ones Net vets Lessard and Baldwin have worked for. These are the startups that never finish up, companies that hire hundreds of programmers and Web-site designers and techies of all stripes, then merge or downsize or go out of business before anyone can cash in. The authors take the reader on an anthropological expedition through what they call the New Media Caste System. At the bottom rung are the "garbagemen," the guys who have to get the server up and running when it crashes, who have to rush to help the digital morons who can't figure out how to open their e-mail. At the top, of course, are the "robber barons," the guys who really do get mind-blowing wealth and profiles in Wired magazine. For each level, the authors tell an instructive, cautionary tale of life in the new economy.

Although Lessard and Baldwin clearly set out to create revenge journalism, enjoyed by all those who've lived on pizza and Mountain Dew for months on end only to end up with pink slips, those outside the tech universe should enjoy it, too. Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but it's easy to warm up to NetSlaves. --Lou Schuler

Just in case you thought that Internet IPOs result in instant wealth and fame for everyone involved in the venture, you might want to read this sobering inside look at what really goes on behind the closed doors of cyberspace. Lessard and Baldwin, experienced technology writers (PC Magazine, The Industry Standard) and creators of the netslaves.com site, have written the Information Age equivalent of Studs Terkel's Working. They focus on the realities of the cyber-sweatshop culture of e-commerce, showing that most Internet careers are nasty, brutish, and short. They base their perspective on interviews they conducted in 1998 and 1999 with numerous techies at various levels of the electronic businessAitinerant web freelancers, support technicians, venture capitalists, web commerce speakers, and the CEOs of high-tech Internet companies. The real world of web involvement at these different "levels" is revealed in matter-of-fact discussions. Essential for anyone with eyes glazed over at the prospect of accumulating vast riches from the Internet, this is a good purchase for larger public libraries.ADale F. Farris, Groves, TX
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This volume offers eyewitness accounts of how self-destructive the Internet business can be is based upon net slaves.com, which Wired sited as "the only site where the 'web working poor' can air their feelings". This collection of horror stories, both amusing and not so amusing, documents the real-life stories of those who work the Web, in their own words.

This volume offers eyewitness accounts of how self-destructive the Internet business can be is based upon net slaves.com, which Wired sited as "the only site where the 'web working poor' can air their feelings". This collection of horror stories, both amusing and not so amusing, documents the real-life stories of those who work the Web, in their own words.