Careless People

Wynn-Williams presents her experience at Facebook as one of gradually waning idealism. How do the early chapters foreshadow the problems that she would later face at the company?

How did Zuckerberg’s personality and behavior evolve during the course of Wynn-Williams’s tenure at Facebook? How does Wynn-Williams characterize him? In what ways, if any, did he change?

Analyze how Wynn-Williams depicts the nature of gender dynamics within the tech industry. How does she depict these gender dynamics? In what ways, if any, can this memoir be placed in dialogue with wider debates about sexism in tech?

Closely analyze Wynn-Williams’s rhetorical techniques and self-presentation in the text. What kind of rhetorical and literary techniques does she use, and what effect do these techniques have on the narrative and her self-presentation? What does her self-presentation suggest about how she wants to be seen by the readers?

Compare and contrast Careless People with another nonfiction account of Facebook, such as Broken Code: Inside Facebook and the Fight to Expose Its Harmful Secret (2023) by Jeff Horwitz. How are the two texts different or similar in their depiction of Facebook? What key themes and ideas do they share, and how does each text approach these themes?

Examine how Wynn-Williams charts the growing evolution of Facebook’s political influence. How did Facebook’s political role change over the course of the events described in the memoir? What ethical and legal issues has this role raised? Are there any potential problems or aspects that Wynn-Williams’s analysis overlooks?

Research the issue of hate speech and/or disinformation on social media. How does Careless People illuminate this issue? How do the problems that Wynn-Williams details at Facebook compare to how other social media platforms handle hate speech/disinformation?

Wynn-Williams often criticizes the leadership at Facebook, especially Zuckerberg’s and Sandberg’s behavior and priorities. What does Careless People suggest about the nature of leadership and power? What kind of qualities does the memoir suggest a good leader should have?