Is Facebook Forever?

Is Facebook Forever?

Facebook started in 2004 as a simple network for connecting students at Harvard University. At the time, nobody could have predicted that it would grow to become the largest social network in the world, with 2.5 billion monthly active users, or that it would wield such tremendous influence over our lives, our politics, and our concept of free speech on the web.

The progression of events between the Facebook of then and the Facebook of today is cataloged with great detail in Steven Levy’s new book, Facebook: The Inside Story. It’s the product of four years of reporting, including a series of exclusive interviews with Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg. Levy, an editor-at-large at WIRED, joins the show this week to talk about Facebook’s past, present, and future.

Show Notes:

Read an excerpt from Steven Levy’s book here.

Recommendations:

Steven recommends Scrivener. Lauren recommends Peloton. Mike recommends the NYT Cooking app, which is now available on Android.

Steven Levy is on Twitter @StevenLevy Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our consulting executive producer is Alex Kapelman (@alexkapelman). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jaksot(425)

BIG INTV: Why Nicholas Thompson Made a Custom GPT to Run Faster

BIG INTV: Why Nicholas Thompson Made a Custom GPT to Run Faster

The Atlantic CEO’s new book, The Running Ground, examines his complicated relationship with the sport. Nicholas Thompson, former WIRED editor, talks to Katie about the ways tech is helping him become ...

28 Loka 202550min

WIRED Roundup: Protest Frogs, Google Bedbugs, AI Psychosis

WIRED Roundup: Protest Frogs, Google Bedbugs, AI Psychosis

In today’s episode, Zoë is joined by WIRED’s Louise Matsakis to run through five stories that you need to know about this week — from how SEO is changing in the era of AI, to how frogs became a protes...

24 Loka 202522min

How Data Centers Actually Work

How Data Centers Actually Work

Tech giants have been investing hundreds of billions of dollars into AI data centers just this year alone. But as the deals pile up, so have the concerns around their viability and sustainability. Mik...

23 Loka 202528min

BIG INTV: Zohran Mamdani, the Internet’s Mayor

BIG INTV: Zohran Mamdani, the Internet’s Mayor

Mere months ago, New York's mayoral frontrunner was polling at the same level as literally "someone else." Zohran Mamdani talks to Katie about building a social media juggernaut, Big Tech capitulation...

20 Loka 202532min

WIRED Roundup: Satellites Data Leak, Cybertrucks, Politicized Federal Workers

WIRED Roundup: Satellites Data Leak, Cybertrucks, Politicized Federal Workers

In today’s episode, Zoë is joined by WIRED’s Jake Lahut to run through five stories that you need to know about this week — from how satellites are leaking sensitive data to what Zoë learned after int...

17 Loka 202521min

The New Power of Far-Right Influencers

The New Power of Far-Right Influencers

History professor Mark Bray is no stranger to death threats. As the author of the book Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, published in 2017, he has received backlash and harassment from far-right circ...

16 Loka 202532min

BIG INTV: Mark Cuban Would Still Have Dinner With Donald Trump

BIG INTV: Mark Cuban Would Still Have Dinner With Donald Trump

Billionaire Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and co-founder of Cost Plus Drugs, talks to Katie about the state of entrepreneurship, American healthcare, and tech under Trump. The investor cam...

14 Loka 202544min

WIRED Roundup: Are We In An AI Bubble?

WIRED Roundup: Are We In An AI Bubble?

In today’s episode, Zoë is joined by WIRED’s Leah Feiger to run through five stories that you need to know about this week — from the Antifa professor who’s fleeing to Europe for safety, to how some c...

10 Loka 202521min