The technology scene ascribes high value to wealth, risk-taking, entrepreneurship, visibility, access to others, technical know-how, and intelligence. The conflicts between some of these status symbols and practices reveal the inherent tension in Web 2.0 culture. For instance, it’s cool to be rich, but not in a flashy way, only in a way appropriate to a smart, idealistic rich person. The idealism of Web 2.0’s countercultural roots, the belief in meritocracy embedded in engineering culture, and the neoliberal ethic of work-life integration and relentless self-marketing have created a strange mishmash of wealth and privilege framed as pious self-improvement, all taking place in public.

Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, loc. 179