Sarah Wynn-Williams Character Analysis

We’re in the middle of an archeological ruin somewhere on the Panamanian coast. It’s me, two guys I work with, clusters of people who are basically naked, and Mark Zuckerberg. Mark is not happy. This is the 2015 Summit of the Americas, an international meeting of world leaders. This particular event is a state dinner that—other than Mark—is supposed to be exclusively heads of state of various countries[…]. I wrangled Mark an invitation because I’ve been trying to convince him that he needs to have relationships with these people.

But somehow we are the only ones at this party.

It was idealism that originally led me to Facebook. Looking back, I’m a little ashamed to admit that. This was in 2009, back when it still was possible to be optimistic about Facebook, in those innocent days when it still was possible to be hopeful about the internet.

“Okay—if you want to give me your laptop, I can get you set up before everyone else gets in.”

“My laptop?” I stare at Meredith, confused.

Like Chairman Mao’s original, Facebook’s Little Red Book is filled with quotes, images, and core principles from its supreme leader, although in this case of course that’s Mark rather than Mao. Another MZ channeling his own peculiar form of Maoist zeal. The first page reads, “Facebook was built to accomplish a social mission—to make the world more open and connected.”

“I am overruling you.”

But for top management, one billion users is a crisis.

People don’t lie about narrowly missing plane crashes, do they? Why would she? It’s not like she needs attention.

I never see Sheryl the same way after that.

Lots of moms have issues combining breastfeeding and working. My issue is the expectation from my bosses that breasts can be turned on and off like a faucet and I can breastfeed anywhere, anytime. And I really mean anywhere

Everyone’s really into it despite the blatant nerdiness of it all, building their little empires and strategically negotiating. But as the night wears on, it becomes more and more obvious that people are letting Mark win.

People are overcome. Bowing, clapping, weeping, outbursts of violent emotion as if this moment in this shopping mall in Jakarta is the second coming, but it’s not for Mark. They’re only interested in the president-elect.

Joel outlines what he sees as Mark’s new approach. When governments ask us to take down content that we believe should not come down, he says, it will only be taken down if one of two criteria is met:

1. There is a credible threat to block Facebook.

2. There is a risk to employees.

He copies me on an email to other staff titled FYI that simply states, “SWW lost my sweet boots,” so I understand the extent of his displeasure. Despite the fact I had nothing to do with him losing his boots. And this is how I find myself—when I want to be cuddled up in bed with my sick birthday baby—crawling on my hands and knees through the various coatracks at the congress center in Davos to find the boots—which he accidentally left at a coat check.

I’m really optimistic that we’ll achieve our goals, and you work [sic] is a really important part of connecting the world.

Mark

Every fiber of my being wants to stay in New York with the life we’ve built there, but when I read this I know we have to move to California.

Mark opens the meeting by talking admiringly about what he calls “street fighter tactics” that Uber is employing against politicians around the world and how successful they’ve been. I’d thought there was a general agreement that Facebook didn’t use these underhand tactics and we certainly didn’t admire them.

“Sarah, come to bed.”

“Like in all the Internet.org stuff, you know. You show up, you understand all the complexity, and you’ve got this amazing poker face and you’ll just sit there taking it all in, and when the moment’s right you drop in the perfect advice or the reality check or whatever it is that we need at that time. It’s amazing. And then sometimes it’s just the complete opposite and you have absolutely no poker face.”

“I have a heartwarming story to share.”

“Explain breastfeeding to me.” He looks expectantly at me.

“What?”

“Explain breastfeeding to me.”

Ugh. This, again.

There’s a hastily called meeting for the policy and communications teams to discuss how everyone feels about the outcome. I’m surprised that Joel and Elliot have thought to do that. It shows a sensitivity to people’s emotions that is normally notable by its absence. Joel later confides that they set it up because there was an ugly situation in the London office after the Brexit vote a few months before.

Each stop is carefully scouted by an advance team. And then beautifully documented by one of Mark’s photographers, including Charles Ommanney, whose job for nine years was photographing George W. Bush and Barack Obama. The results of these efforts are posted to Mark’s Facebook page and then “optimized” to ensure his many millions of followers see them. Mark’s also started to optimize himself, eschewing the fatty fast foods for fresh cut fruit and putting time into working out every day.

It turns out I’m not the only one who noticed Sheryl’s silence on the Women’s March. Far from it. Nearly two hundred female employees who work under Sheryl have recently created a secret Facebook group, the Feminist Fight Club (FFC).

After the congressional hearing Facebook’s stock price rises.

The unthinkable happens. In late August, the military launches a campaign of atrocities against the Muslim population that the UN later describes as genocide and crimes against humanity. At least ten thousand people are murdered. The clinical language of the UN report on this somehow makes it all seem more horrible.

It really didn’t have to be this way. I can’t state that strongly enough. If I had to sum up what seven years of watching the people running this massive global enterprise taught me, it’s that something else was possible. They really could have chosen to do it all differently and fix so much of what’s been destructive about Facebook.

If we don’t address what has been covered up, we’ll repeat Facebook’s mistakes.

This time the stakes are too high.