I Love My Computer Because My Friends Live in It: Stories from an Online Life

Description

I LOVE MY COMPUTER BECAUSE MY FRIENDS LIVE IN IT is tech analyst Jess Kimball Leslie's hilarious, frank homage to the technology that contributed so significantly to the person she is today. From accounts of the lawless chat rooms of early AOL to the perpetual high school reunions that are modern-day Facebook and Instagram, her essays paint a clear picture: That all of us have a much more twisted, meaningful, emotional relationship with the online world than we realise or let on. Coming of age in suburban Connecticut in the late '80s and early '90s, Jess looked to the nascent Internet to find the tribes she couldn't find IRL: fellow Bette Midler fans; women who seemed impossibly sure of their sexuality; people who worked with computers every day as part of their actual jobs without being ridiculed as nerds. It's in large part because of her embrace of an online life that Jess is where she is now: happily married, with a wife, son, and dog, and making a living of analysing Internet trends and forecasting the future of tech. She bets most people would credit technology for many of their successes, too, if they could only shed the notion that it's as a mind-numbing drug on which we're all overdosing.

Jess Kimball Leslie is a rising star in the tech journalism world who writes about technology and the Internet for publications such as Elle, The Hairpin, The Awl, TechCrunch, and others. Jess is an analyst whose work has been commissioned by companies such as American Express, Google, and Samsung; a frequent speaker at large tech conferences; and a regular guest on multiple cable news shows. She lives in Brooklyn with her wife and son.

Chatting up randos on AOL, writing feckless corporate tweets, stalking gone-to-seed high-school crushes on Facebook: Jess's life story is as hilarious and weird as the Internet she grew up with. This book is a warm, funny look at how our online and offline worlds became inextricably woven together.--Clive Thompson, WIRED columnist and author of Smarter Than You Think Get off your phone and read Jess Kimball Leslie's funny book!--Andy Cohen, host of Bravo's Watch What Happens Live In honor of all of us on The Internet, I will only read the title of this book and form an opinion: It's great! --Marc Shaiman, composer and lyricist for films and television Jess Kimball Leslie is funny and delightful. Read her book now! --Carol Leifer, writer for Seinfeld, Modern Family, and more; producer; and author of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Crying When I heard this tale in person, I was mesmerized. When I read it, I couldn't stop laughing. Life online with Jess is as electric as her computer and her stories.--Kathy Najimy, actress and comedian The first personal history of growing up with technology and the internet. The chapter on Twitter is priceless.--Steve Eisman, investor who was the inspiration for Mark Baum's character in the film The Big Short