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katiescho741's review against another edition
5.0
I love learning about scams, and I am fascinated by the culture of influencers. So this book was perfect for me!
Brown talks through many aspects of life and tech that have been affected (and influenced) by the world of influencers. Everything from Fast Fashion, plastic surgery, stock trading, the rise of MLMs, and hashtags like #BLM.
Some of the things going on behind the scenes of the insta-famous is shocking and twisted, and some of it is just pathetic. The circle jerks or comments and likes that groups of wannabes post for each other, so they look like they have interactions, was one of the many sad aspects. But, then you have people portraying themselves as activists who are just out to monetise hot topics. Or the young women who are suffering from infection post-Brazilian Butt Lift while posting links to other young women telling them how confident they are now.
I enjoyed Brown's tone also. It has an edge of sass, and his feelings on things clear. I know that's not what people always enjoy in non-fiction books, but I like when the author comes through in their writing. As it came out this year, the pandemic is mentioned and women into parts of the story.
One of the most interesting books I've read. Loved it!
Brown talks through many aspects of life and tech that have been affected (and influenced) by the world of influencers. Everything from Fast Fashion, plastic surgery, stock trading, the rise of MLMs, and hashtags like #BLM.
Some of the things going on behind the scenes of the insta-famous is shocking and twisted, and some of it is just pathetic. The circle jerks or comments and likes that groups of wannabes post for each other, so they look like they have interactions, was one of the many sad aspects. But, then you have people portraying themselves as activists who are just out to monetise hot topics. Or the young women who are suffering from infection post-Brazilian Butt Lift while posting links to other young women telling them how confident they are now.
I enjoyed Brown's tone also. It has an edge of sass, and his feelings on things clear. I know that's not what people always enjoy in non-fiction books, but I like when the author comes through in their writing. As it came out this year, the pandemic is mentioned and women into parts of the story.
One of the most interesting books I've read. Loved it!
lifepluspreston's review against another edition
3.0
Get Rich Or Lie Trying by Symeon Brown--This book is fairly surface level in getting into influencer culture and the associated scams that go with it. From work-from-home fake jobs to rugpull crypto "assets" to dropshipping collectives, all are mentioned. I think I'd have liked a little more substance, but it's a perfectly fine primer. Sideways thumb.
bookofcinz's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
Engaging and informative
I am always so interested in the influencer economy which is why I picked up this book. Having read So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed where the author went an interviewed people who were shamed online for us to get an update on where they are now. In Symeon Brown’s Get Rich Or Lie Trying he explores the influencer economy. Those who made it big, those who are lying to get there and those who basically are still figuring it out.
This book is an expose on the life of some social media influencers who will go through any lengths to look successful online. Brown speaks to influencers who are faking it for their audience, lying to them and some outright scamming them. I particularly loved how honest his insights were, it is a reminder that social media is not real.
I am always so interested in the influencer economy which is why I picked up this book. Having read So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed where the author went an interviewed people who were shamed online for us to get an update on where they are now. In Symeon Brown’s Get Rich Or Lie Trying he explores the influencer economy. Those who made it big, those who are lying to get there and those who basically are still figuring it out.
This book is an expose on the life of some social media influencers who will go through any lengths to look successful online. Brown speaks to influencers who are faking it for their audience, lying to them and some outright scamming them. I particularly loved how honest his insights were, it is a reminder that social media is not real.
njohnson2018's review against another edition
informative
3.0
I was excited by the premise of this book, but it just wasn’t analytical enough to be engaging. It ends up being a series of somewhat interesting anecdotes about a handful of people in each realm of scams, but I found it really lacking any historical context or connective tissue. A lot of the “analysis” was fairly general and basic (a lot of “this could have been a tweet” vibes.) The prose is fine but nothing special, and didn’t really pull me in.
Nothing terrible, but not as engaging as I would have hoped. I’m glad it’s over.
Nothing terrible, but not as engaging as I would have hoped. I’m glad it’s over.
thursdd4y's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Hate crime, Police brutality, Medical content, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
madeleinegeorge's review against another edition
3.0
As someone who is ~not~ very online, I found Brown's searing exposure of the dark underbelly of influencer culture both captivating and repulsive. After being cited in a few notable video essays about social transformation via the unprecedented conduit of digital microcelebrity, I decided to pick it up.
While he focuses primarily on the desperation behind the idea of influence and social mobility-- moreso than its reality-- he also dives into the widely varied scams and empty valuation systems that seem to be plaguing our particular age. These include young, white men who sell ideas before they become realities, often to devastating financial ends, the evolution of pyramid schemes with the emersion of social media marketing, the exploitation and defraudation of society's historically most vulnerable sectors, and the cognitive dissonance that 'hustlers' and 'self-made moguls' engage with in order to continually deny the financial and social securities they have sacrificed in the name of money, influence, and power-- however fickle or imagined.
I'll be honest-- it's kind of a bummer to read. But fascinating nonetheless (not unlike a train wreck).
While he focuses primarily on the desperation behind the idea of influence and social mobility-- moreso than its reality-- he also dives into the widely varied scams and empty valuation systems that seem to be plaguing our particular age. These include young, white men who sell ideas before they become realities, often to devastating financial ends, the evolution of pyramid schemes with the emersion of social media marketing, the exploitation and defraudation of society's historically most vulnerable sectors, and the cognitive dissonance that 'hustlers' and 'self-made moguls' engage with in order to continually deny the financial and social securities they have sacrificed in the name of money, influence, and power-- however fickle or imagined.
I'll be honest-- it's kind of a bummer to read. But fascinating nonetheless (not unlike a train wreck).
alaraor's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 starts
Wow! The lengths people go to for money, fame or followers. Scary read but much needed in the current ecosystem.
Wow! The lengths people go to for money, fame or followers. Scary read but much needed in the current ecosystem.