Burn Book: A Tech Love Story

by Kara Swisher

Pointing out these failings has remained my calling card, and I’m aware that me telling smart people to think smarter comes off as rude at times. I am not someone who apologizes a lot, and I try to behave so I don’t have to. This has been perhaps one of the distinguishing characteristics of my success over the years. Other attributes: Obnoxiousness. Persnicketiness. A distaste for lies. A proclivity to call out nonsense, no matter the power of the person uttering it. In fact, especially if the person is very powerful. That is most commonly called “speaking truth to power,” and it’s much easier to do in a democratic country like the U.S. Many others do not have this unique privilege, so if you can, I highly recommend that you take advantage of it. While speaking out can be risky, the rewards are both psychic and, sometimes, financial. At least, that’s been true for me. I have basically made a career of stepping out of line and did so when I gave up my path to power on the political beat at the Washington Post to start covering a nascent industry very few believed in.