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LIFESTYLE BOOK REVIEWS
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et’s imagine a scenario where all your contacts are wiped from your phone, and the only way to recover them is to identify each person using your chat history. Most of us would do well; your brother always types ‘u’ instead of ‘you,’ your best friend always ends each message with an ‘xx,’ and your colleague never capitalizes, ever. The way we write on the Internet is as varied as the individuals behind the messages, and Gretchen McCulloch sets out to explain why its analysis is significant in Because Internet. Known for her blog All Things Linguistic, ‘Resident Linguist’ column in WIRED, and podcast Lingthusiasm, McCulloch sets out to uncover how the Internet has shaped language, and what the insights say about the times in which we live. She begins by detailing the methodology, explaining that Internet language helps us understand traditional language because it’s “unfiltered” and “beautifully mundane.” It’s also much less resource-intensive to analyze compared to speech, which requires audio recordings and transcription. Chapter Three explores the nuances of Internet language used by the first, second, and third wave of what McCulloch dubs “Internet people.” They can broadly be categorized into those who used the Internet before, during, and after it became mainstream. It goes without saying that the way the three groups communicate varies drastically, where the more ‘literate’ third-wave Internet people are more sensitive to the subtle linguistic connotations associated with certain typographical choices. A compelling example is how the use of ‘lol’ has transformed over the years. While it began as an acronym for laughter, it is now more often used to express “amusement, irony, and even passive aggression.” McColloch writes that the youngest Internet people “flat-out rejected the idea of capitalizing ‘lol’ or using it to indicate real laughter, even when expanded to ‘LOLOLOL.’” She dedicates the entire ‘Typographical Tone of Voice’ chapter to such examples, examining linebreaks to emojis, key smashes to wave dashes. I found this chapter to be the most fascinating; the “mIxEd cAPiTaLiZaTiOn” section transported me back to my teenage bedroom, filling in the ‘About Me’ page on AIM profile. Because Internet strikes an excellent balance between catering to those who are interested in linguistics and those who, well, use the Internet. All in all, McColloch’s approachable writing style and passion for the subject matter makes for an enjoyable read.–MC gretchenmcculloch.com Cover art courtesy of Penguin (U.S.) and Random House (U.K.). 90
Jumpstart Magazine
Fall 2020
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rofessional speaker and consultant, Steve Anderson, has possibly provided the best look at the inner workings and philosophies of Amazon from the outside. Anderson analyzed each of Bezos’ annual letters to shareholders and extracted 14 principles of growth exercised at Amazon. Split into 4 “Growth Cycles”—Test, Build, Accelerate, and Scale—Anderson explains in The Bezos Letters how these 14 distinct principles can help businesses, startups to Fortune 500 alike, achieve significant growth. Anderson uses the 14 principles to turn orthodox business philosophies on their head. The careful unpacking of Bezos’s letters unveils how to set your company up for success, as demonstrated by the ecommerce behemoth, which recently surpassed Apple and Google with its US$315.5 billion valuation (CNBC). Immediately, it is clear that innovation is fundamentally built into Amazon’s identity, which explains its mind-boggling growth over its lifetime. Anderson’s principle of ‘Understanding Your Flywheel’ breaks down how the company is driven by customer experience, traffic, low prices, and so on. The ‘flywheel’ concept is the idea that momentum is gained imperceptibly and with much effort until the point of a breakthrough. Another principle highlighted by Anderson is Bezos’ relentless ‘Obsess[ion] Over Customers.’ It’s evident that Amazon doesn’t bother itself with its competitors because it’s the happiness of Amazon’s customers that lead to retention and growth. Amazon’s ability to fearlessly innovate and “Make Complexity Simple” for its customers remains a defining trait. In one of the most interesting sections of the book, Anderson underlines Amazon’s take on risk. Bezos is frequently labeled as a “master of risk, as demonstrated by how he boldly, perhaps recklessly, left his job to open an online book store, back when an online business was “a crap shoot, at best.” He stresses that risk is an investment, and growth doesn’t come if risks aren’t taken. Even if risks don’t pay off, Anderson emphasizes that failure is a good learning opportunity and is never the end of the world. As Bezos wrote in one of the letters: “so what if you’re wrong?” Anderson harks back to Apollo 13 (it is revealed that Bezos has a deep fascination with space), reminding readers of the value of mistakes; failure only counts when nothing is learned. Anderson ultimately highlights the beauty in failing and “glass-half-full” mentality in his thought-provoking, inspiring, and easy read.–AM thebezosletters.com Cover art courtesy of Morgan James.
