The world of tech is ever-expanding, and therefore more and more knowledge and insight is being made available every single day. With this influx of information, obviously, books will follow.
The following are some of the best to read, and possibly on their way to being some of the all time best tech books, if you want insight into the world of tech, the people and companies involved, as well as being able to read about what happens behind closed doors at some of the biggest tech companies in the world.
Uncanny Valley
Uncanny Valley is the first-hand account of a life and career in Silicon Valley. New Yorker tech correspondent Anna Wiener takes you on a journey through her life as a millennial starting her tech career in some Silicon Valley start-ups.
This book isn’t just about success, or lack thereof, but more about what it is really like being a young and passionate employee making her way through the shining lights of Silicon Valley, and being exposed to the dark side that not many people get to see.
Eventually settling at GitHub as a customer service representative, Wiener details the world of data collection, how it is manipulated by companies in the Valley, as well as the massive amounts of favoritism, sexism, and downright shady business practices. A must read for anyone wanting a peak behind the tech curtain.
How To Make The World Add Up
How to make the world up: 10 rules for thinking differently about numbers, is the work of economist and BBC presenter Tim Harford. The book is designed to help everyday people decipher the vast number of statistics that we are presented with every day.
We have large numbers, percentages and everything in between thrown at us every day, that we might struggle to understand what it all means, or if these statistics are relevant, or believable.
Harford gives you 10 rules that will allow you to soak in these statistics, analyse them, and utilize them to improve your world and the world around you. Not only are statistics incredibly helpful, they can be life and world-changing if used correctly.
Facebook: The Inside Story
In 2004, Mark Zuckerbeg created Facebook, fast forward over 15 years, and the Facebook Zuckerberg created no longer exists, and in its place, a gargantuan tech giant stands in its place.
Considering the enormous growth of the company, and its reach, it is no surprise that Facebook has seen its fair share of controversy. Whether it be the selling of user data, its seemingly nonchalant attitude towards fake news, and its general manipulation of the internet, Facebook is never really out of the news.
The Inside Story is a compilation of hundreds of interviews from people inside and outside of the Facebook monolith, providing information that has been pushed aside for many years, and laying the company bare for the world to see.
#HashtagActivism
#HashtagActivism dives into the world of how the simple hashtag has helped start worldwide movements for change. Considering so many people have a Facebook, Twitter or Instagram account, hashtags have become the way to start movements, and to spread their messages.
This book details how simple hashtags such as #AllWomen and #MeToo went from a random, barely used hashtag, and turned into a hashtag that strived and achieved change, helping hundreds of thousands of people along the way.
The book shows the power of a simple hashtag, its reach, as well as how it initiates change. The point being that hashtags aren’t bound to one country or language, but rather a universal language that can help any and everyone.
No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram
Instagram became what can only be described as an overnight sensation. The platform went from being a place artists showcase their work, to a giant that has influenced how we consume media, how we dress, how we shop and how we eat.
No Filter goes into the history of the platform, with interviews with the developers, some of the biggest influencers on the platform, as well as employees. There is also a ton about how Instagram rejected an incredibly lucrative offer from Twitter, and instead were sold to Facebook.
The Power of Experiments
The Power Experiments: Decision Making in a Data-Driven World is an in-depth look into how tech companies use randomized controlled trials to test the impact on online experiences, whether that be what you search, what you watch or what you read online.
This book discusses the role these experiments work in shaping how tech companies approach their users. These experiments have also helped companies in incredible ways, such as how eBay was able to save $50 million in advertising simply by adjusting their approach using these experiments.
If you are wanting to expand your understanding of the tech world, or simply read an intriguing story about the ins and outs of the tech world, one of these books will most definitely be for you.
These aren’t the only ones either obviously, there are hundreds of books that detail how the biggest tech companies came to be, their business practices, as well as books that help you understand the massive technology based world around you.
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