# Paulina Borsook's Career Crisis

> Paulina Borsook, a tech critic, lost her career after publishing a 2000 book criticizing Silicon Valley's culture.
- Title: Paulina Borsook's Career Crisis · WIRED | Shortify
- Summary: Paulina Borsook, a tech critic, lost her career after publishing a 2000 book criticizing Silicon Valley's culture. Paulina Borsook's 2000 book Cyberselfish…
- Keywords: paulina borsook, cyberselfish, silicon valley, wiired, tech criticism, career blacklisting, Paulina, Borsook's, Career, Crisis, WIRED
- Source: WIRED — https://wired.com/story/paulina-borsook-profile
- Author: Tommy Craggs
- Published: 2026-09-25T10:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: paulina borsook, cyberselfish, silicon valley, wiired, tech criticism, career blacklisting
## Paulina Borsook's Career Crisis
Paulina Borsook, 72, reflects on her career after publishing Cyberselfish in 2000.
## Cyberselfish Published in 2000
Borsook published Cyberselfish in 2000, critiquing Silicon Valley's 'Terribly Libertarian Culture of High-Tech'.
## Book Sales and Reception
Cyberselfish sold 5,000 hardcover copies and 2,000 paperback copies, receiving warm but occasional baffled reviews.
## Career Silence After Book
Editors stopped contacting Borsook, and she couldn't get work for years after Cyberselfish's release.
## Borsook's Background
Borsook grew up in Pasadena and was shot in the head at age 14, affecting her brain and communication.
## Borsook's Early Tech Experience
Borsook worked with early software systems like PICK, learning tech was 'infrastructure, not magic'.
## WIRED Contributions
Borsook was WIRED's earliest contributor, writing for the magazine in the 1990s.
## Cyberselfish's Critique
Cyberselfish identified Silicon Valley's 'terribly libertarian culture' and its social malevolence.
## Book's Impact
Cyberselfish became a minor phenomenon without Borsook's active involvement, despite its critical insights.
## 2020s Revival
In 2020s, social media revived interest in Cyberselfish, leading to new book editions and recognition.
## Career Blacklisting Theories
Borsook's career decline was likely due to her critical stance on Silicon Valley tech culture.
## No Blacklist Confirmed
Borsook denies a formal blacklist, attributing her career gap to changing media landscapes.
## 2020s Recognition
Borsook's book was reissued in 2025 with a foreword by Gil Durán, gaining renewed attention.
## Borsook's Current Status
Borsook now lives in Berkeley with support from friends and a GoFundMe, writing about tech's human impact.
## Why She Was Blacklisted
Borsook's critical perspective on Silicon Valley's culture made her unpopular with the media in the early 2000s.
## Career Rebirth
Borsook's career is reborn through renewed interest in her 2000 book Cyberselfish.
## Key takeaway

Paulina Borsook's 2000 book Cyberselfish critiqued Silicon Valley's tech utopianism, but she was blacklisted from media after its release.