I just looked again at longer piece I wrote for Medium that was inspired by Dan Lyons’ Disrupted. It’s my own “tech memoir” of my years in various software, hardware, and noware companies. Reading it again, I’m convinced that there’s nothing new in most startup and tech culture: it’s just a clever rebranding of 1950’s era corporate conformity. See William Whytes’s The Organization Man for more insights.
The enormous difference is that our grandparents at least had a sense of financial security and were entitled to a pension, whereas a new generation of entrepreneurs and bankers managed to convince artsy 20-somethings that they have creative freedom, and their stock options will allow them to retire early. And in return, they’re expected to put in the hours of a 19th century cotton mill worker, but monitored with 21st century Minority Report technology. Just remember, they’re all having fun.