A quick read but deeply thought provoking book about the reality of social media and the career of 'influencer.'

Brown has done extensive research on his subject and his thoughtful, well balanced approach makes for a book which is an easy read yet has much food for thought.

A must read for anyone who aspires to make it on social media - or parents of those who want to. I find myself being very grateful that despite a viral video, my child has absolute no interest in internet fame and deleted the video once they realised how popular it was becoming.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC with no obligation.

Get Rich or Lie Trying is an interesting exploration into social media and the ways it exploits its users and consumers; and whether or not the those being exploited even realise this.

As someone who works in the social media industry, nothing Brown covers in this novel comes as much of a shock. The worst elements of online culture are reflected on the pages, showing how easily so many vulnerable people are being taken advantage of. Whether that be through self-image or pyramid schemes, I think this would be a really eye opening exposé for those less familiar with online culture and the negative cycles that can be built without proper education.

However, for me as a reader, the case studies were most interesting. It's different to say you know these things happen compared to actually reading about very specific cases. The chapters on unsafe body enhancing procedures and the perpetuation of racism on streaming services have particularly stuck with me as both deeply unsettling stories and the way these online platforms have yet to find a way to stop users taking advantage of other consumers.

Stylistically this book reads very much like a documentary and flows from topic to topic seamlessly. The chapters are just long enough to feel concise and it's easy to read in quick sections. I can see this book being easily referenced as a counter argument to the positives of social media and as a good warning to the easy mistakes anyone could make.

However, I really would have liked to have seen a touch more of the flip side to the cases Brown covers; are there any ways that people have succeeded or overcome the difficulties faced in these situations? I feel the more rounded overview would have balanced out the book to pose more questions to the reader to make their own judgements.

A really fascinating and deep insight into the realities of “influencers”. The author being a bona tide journalist, this book is like watching a really well made documentary. If you are interested in pop culture, curious about the influencer phenomenon or just want to understand the kind of world your kids are growing up in, then you should definitely read it! The writing is so engaging and the chapter structure so well thought out that instead of reading a study/report on social media, I felt I was reading short stories and was really gripped by each one. I really learnt a lot and will definitely recommend it to my friends , influencers included 😉

A fascinating book, which should be very widely read. It opened up a whole new (and very worrying) world to me and I will certainly be recommending this book as a real eye-opener. It is well written and easy to read, and the author clearly feels very strongly about the issues arising in the online world, but the book never feels "preachy".

This book covers so much ground about the nature of online hustle culture and how capitalism and individualism permeate so much of online society across the board. To list a fair number of things it covers: dropshipping, dodgy cosmetic surgery, Vidcon, streamers, MLMs, so many pyramid schemes(!), influencers flouting advertising standards, big tech companies, hyper-consumerism, fast fashion, cryptocurrency, dodgy financial products, activism as branding, Theranos, WeWork and Nigerian internet scammers. The structure of the book flows really well, the segues between chapters are great, and overall it's just really enjoyable to read whether you know anything about the above or not. The book also ties together all these themes, stories and scams into overarching analysis about the decay of capitalism as millennials age into it, and how a culture of individualism and a lack of accountability feed a culture of deceit and corruption, evident perhaps most clearly at the highest levels of government in the UK. Highly recommend.

A compulsive read about the rise of influencer culture and the scams and lies involved in selling an image. Brown looks at the way individuals have risen to online fame and used their platform, with many grasping for the elusive dream of success and wealth that social media makes look deceptively easy. He reports on the exploitative nature of capitalises preying on vulnerable people to sell their product, get rich quick scams that have lost people thousands, individuals who have had extreme and botched surgery so as to appeal to the Instagram algorithm. We all know that social media distorts reality but this book really examines the frightening depths of its dark side and does so in a fascinating way.

This is a compulsive read, probing the tangled web of internet hustles in the digital economy. Beyond the voyeuristic satisfaction (and schadenfreude?) that we usually get from a well-told scammer story, this is a pertinent examination of where we are at the cross section of late capitalism, rampant individualism, sickening inequality and the dominance of Big Tech. Engaging, insightful and at times challenging read. Definitely making me think twice about the ways that I engage with the attention economy.