Margaret O’Mara
@margaretomara.bsky.social
Bullitt Prof of American History @UW. Teacher, speaker, historian of Silicon Valley and author of THE CODE. https://margaretomara.com
Reposted by Margaret O’Mara
Reposted by Margaret O’Mara
“What we have seen in the past 15 years is the supersizing of the tech sector, and certain companies like Microsoft have been at the forefront. The bottom line is, how many people do these companies really need?" @margaretomara.bsky.social told @alexhalverson.bsky.social.
Behind Microsoft’s layoffs: A new attitude shaped by AI
More tech workers feel the pain as Microsoft pivots. Suddenly, the world's most valuable company is going on without them.
www.seattletimes.com
July 11, 2025 at 4:00 PM
“What we have seen in the past 15 years is the supersizing of the tech sector, and certain companies like Microsoft have been at the forefront. The bottom line is, how many people do these companies really need?" @margaretomara.bsky.social told @alexhalverson.bsky.social.
Reposted by Margaret O’Mara
So excited for this! Margaret is one of my favorite historians — and there’s just so much trade and tech stuff to talk about.
Looking forward to welcoming @alexis-madrigal.bsky.social to @uofwa.bsky.social this coming Tuesday 4/8 for a chat about his new book THE PACIFIC CIRCUIT. 4PM in HUB 340 - free and open to the public. Join us! artsci.washington.edu/news/events?...
April 7, 2025 at 1:32 AM
So excited for this! Margaret is one of my favorite historians — and there’s just so much trade and tech stuff to talk about.
Looking forward to welcoming @alexis-madrigal.bsky.social to @uofwa.bsky.social this coming Tuesday 4/8 for a chat about his new book THE PACIFIC CIRCUIT. 4PM in HUB 340 - free and open to the public. Join us! artsci.washington.edu/news/events?...
April 6, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Looking forward to welcoming @alexis-madrigal.bsky.social to @uofwa.bsky.social this coming Tuesday 4/8 for a chat about his new book THE PACIFIC CIRCUIT. 4PM in HUB 340 - free and open to the public. Join us! artsci.washington.edu/news/events?...
In case anyone still is wondering why high tariffs usually don't end well, here's a quick history I wrote back in the olden days of Trump trade war 1.0. What's happening now is far bigger, and hitting big & small firms alike.
Who Will Survive the Trade War? www.nytimes.com/2019/06/06/o...
Who Will Survive the Trade War? www.nytimes.com/2019/06/06/o...
Opinion | Who Will Survive the Trade War? (Published 2019)
History shows that big businesses profit most when tariffs reign.
www.nytimes.com
April 4, 2025 at 9:01 PM
In case anyone still is wondering why high tariffs usually don't end well, here's a quick history I wrote back in the olden days of Trump trade war 1.0. What's happening now is far bigger, and hitting big & small firms alike.
Who Will Survive the Trade War? www.nytimes.com/2019/06/06/o...
Who Will Survive the Trade War? www.nytimes.com/2019/06/06/o...
Thanks @markzbarabak.bsky.social for this thoughtful conversation about my book and the high-tech hubris of DOGE
www.latimes.com/politics/sto...
www.latimes.com/politics/sto...
Commentary: Elon Musk brought a Silicon Valley mindset to Trump's Washington. It's been a disaster
The fancifully named Department of Government Efficiency is grounded in a fundamental misapprehension of how the federal government works. The recklessness and destruction is not a bug but a feature.
www.latimes.com
March 16, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Thanks @markzbarabak.bsky.social for this thoughtful conversation about my book and the high-tech hubris of DOGE
www.latimes.com/politics/sto...
www.latimes.com/politics/sto...
Reposted by Margaret O’Mara
One columnist, a professional pundit, is living in a paranoid delusion. The other, a sociologist, is living in America.
March 15, 2025 at 12:01 PM
One columnist, a professional pundit, is living in a paranoid delusion. The other, a sociologist, is living in America.
I talk billionaires (yes, one in particular) and politics in the latest issue of INC. Thanks @mikehofman.bsky.social for this conversation www.inc.com/mike-hofman/...
What Kind of World Do Silicon Valley Billionaires Want to Create?
The world's richest entrepreneur and its most powerful political leader have joined forces. What comes next is unknown.
www.inc.com
February 25, 2025 at 4:36 PM
I talk billionaires (yes, one in particular) and politics in the latest issue of INC. Thanks @mikehofman.bsky.social for this conversation www.inc.com/mike-hofman/...
Reposted by Margaret O’Mara
2 points. @margaretomara.bsky.social fantastic history of Silicon Valley, The Code, has the goods on how crucial hype is. Second, screenshot is a nice example of Balaji "Network State" Srinivasan and Marc "Current Thing" Andreessen in action pumping the hype-cycle. stanforddaily.com/2016/05/19/i...
February 19, 2025 at 6:26 PM
2 points. @margaretomara.bsky.social fantastic history of Silicon Valley, The Code, has the goods on how crucial hype is. Second, screenshot is a nice example of Balaji "Network State" Srinivasan and Marc "Current Thing" Andreessen in action pumping the hype-cycle. stanforddaily.com/2016/05/19/i...
Reposted by Margaret O’Mara
Just been relistening to this brilliant @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social podcast with @margaretomara.bsky.social: a timely reminder that the financial foundation of the "tech bros" was in massive US government funding during the Cold War
newbooksnetwork.com/margaret-oma...
newbooksnetwork.com/margaret-oma...
Margaret O’Mara, "The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America" (Penguin Press, 2019) - New Books Network
newbooksnetwork.com
February 23, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Just been relistening to this brilliant @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social podcast with @margaretomara.bsky.social: a timely reminder that the financial foundation of the "tech bros" was in massive US government funding during the Cold War
newbooksnetwork.com/margaret-oma...
newbooksnetwork.com/margaret-oma...
Great to join @hughesstephanie.bsky.social and @marketplace.org for this conversation on tech first movers past and present (RIP Friendster)
www.marketplace.org/shows/market...
www.marketplace.org/shows/market...
Will DeepSeek disrupt American AI's first-mover advantage? - Marketplace
Even famed tech companies like Netscape and Friendster that pioneer product categories can lose their dominance to new rivals. Historian Margaret O'Mara examines whether the Chinese upstart can dislod...
www.marketplace.org
February 14, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Great to join @hughesstephanie.bsky.social and @marketplace.org for this conversation on tech first movers past and present (RIP Friendster)
www.marketplace.org/shows/market...
www.marketplace.org/shows/market...
Reposted by Margaret O’Mara
I've long enjoyed @ryanhatesthis.bsky.social's "Garbage Day" newsletter for keeping abreast of overall internet scuttlebutt ..
... but in the last week he's also been really good about tracking Musk's coup and the 20something Musk kids doing it
subscribe
www.garbageday.email/p/musk-s-sup...
... but in the last week he's also been really good about tracking Musk's coup and the 20something Musk kids doing it
subscribe
www.garbageday.email/p/musk-s-sup...
Musk's superteam of former iPad babies
Read to the end for Plimbo
www.garbageday.email
February 3, 2025 at 8:37 PM
I've long enjoyed @ryanhatesthis.bsky.social's "Garbage Day" newsletter for keeping abreast of overall internet scuttlebutt ..
... but in the last week he's also been really good about tracking Musk's coup and the 20something Musk kids doing it
subscribe
www.garbageday.email/p/musk-s-sup...
... but in the last week he's also been really good about tracking Musk's coup and the 20something Musk kids doing it
subscribe
www.garbageday.email/p/musk-s-sup...
And so it begins: my thoughts on @bloombergtv.bsky.social this AM on tech in the era of Trump 2.0
Tech's History With the White House www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/...
Tech's History With the White House www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/...
Tech's History With the White House
As prominent US tech leaders show up for President Trump's inauguration, Margaret O'Mara, professor of American History at the University of Washington, breaks down the relationship between Silicon Va...
www.bloomberg.com
January 21, 2025 at 9:52 PM
And so it begins: my thoughts on @bloombergtv.bsky.social this AM on tech in the era of Trump 2.0
Tech's History With the White House www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/...
Tech's History With the White House www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/...
Lots to say these days about the intersection of politics and tech, and these folks are making news faster than I can write it. In the meantime, there’s podcasts! Listen for me starting at minute 15. Thanks @bbcradio4 for the thoughtful conversation. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
AntiSocial - "Masculine energy": Does the workplace need more of it? - BBC Sounds
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg sparks a row about gender in the workplace.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 17, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Lots to say these days about the intersection of politics and tech, and these folks are making news faster than I can write it. In the meantime, there’s podcasts! Listen for me starting at minute 15. Thanks @bbcradio4 for the thoughtful conversation. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Reposted by Margaret O’Mara
PM (PoliticoMagzine) article of 2017: www.politico.com/magazine/sto...
Can History Prepare Us for the Trump Presidency?
Twenty-one historians explain which moments in history are closest to this one—and what we can learn.
www.politico.com
January 12, 2025 at 7:20 PM
PM (PoliticoMagzine) article of 2017: www.politico.com/magazine/sto...
So great to be part of the inaugural ROADMAP summit today in DC! www.roadmapsummit.com
December 4, 2024 at 10:19 PM
So great to be part of the inaugural ROADMAP summit today in DC! www.roadmapsummit.com
Reposted by Margaret O’Mara
“Complicated politics rarely break down into easy stories of who to blame.” Great stuff from @himself.bsky.social on the long uneasy relationship between Silicon Valley and the Dems. Plus shout outs to @markblyth.bsky.social & @margaretomara.bsky.social!
Henry Farrell (@himself.bsky.social ) is always really smart. This post is very much worth reading: open.substack.com/pub/programm...
Why did Silicon Valley turn right?
The "pounded progressive ally" thesis has limits
open.substack.com
December 4, 2024 at 2:21 PM
“Complicated politics rarely break down into easy stories of who to blame.” Great stuff from @himself.bsky.social on the long uneasy relationship between Silicon Valley and the Dems. Plus shout outs to @markblyth.bsky.social & @margaretomara.bsky.social!
Reposted by Margaret O’Mara
There's this popular DC view that the original sin of the Biden administration was too much spending causing inflation because they listened too much to left-wing views on fiscal policy. Yet here is Goldman's top economist on Odd Lots yesterday saying inflation really was a a supply-side story.
December 3, 2024 at 3:22 PM
There's this popular DC view that the original sin of the Biden administration was too much spending causing inflation because they listened too much to left-wing views on fiscal policy. Yet here is Goldman's top economist on Odd Lots yesterday saying inflation really was a a supply-side story.
This by Diana Lind (+ comment by @ericklinenberg.bsky.social ) just nails it 🎯
It’s Time to Leave the House
There’s still time to save ourselves from the loneliness remote life ushered in five years ago.
slate.com
December 3, 2024 at 11:05 PM
This by Diana Lind (+ comment by @ericklinenberg.bsky.social ) just nails it 🎯
Reposted by Margaret O’Mara
2️⃣Sur la Silicon Valley, il faut lire l'ouvrage incontournable de l'historienne @margaretomara.bsky.social : www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/534709... (et pour l'aspect visuel, cette récente série sur @artefr.bsky.social : www.arte.tv/fr/videos/RC... ) 4/
The Code by Margaret O'Mara: 9780399562204 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
One of New York Magazine's best books on Silicon Valley! The true, behind-the-scenes history of the people who built Silicon Valley and shaped Big Tech in America Long before Margaret O'Mara became...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
November 22, 2024 at 5:53 PM
2️⃣Sur la Silicon Valley, il faut lire l'ouvrage incontournable de l'historienne @margaretomara.bsky.social : www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/534709... (et pour l'aspect visuel, cette récente série sur @artefr.bsky.social : www.arte.tv/fr/videos/RC... ) 4/
My newsletter is back, friends. Will be occasional, short, newsy, e.g. this : open.substack.com/pub/margaret...
Life moves pretty fast
The latest from me
open.substack.com
November 18, 2024 at 5:13 AM
My newsletter is back, friends. Will be occasional, short, newsy, e.g. this : open.substack.com/pub/margaret...
Reposted by Margaret O’Mara
I wrote this in 2016. One of the only things I've written that holds up well. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
November 11, 2024 at 7:21 PM
I wrote this in 2016. One of the only things I've written that holds up well. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
Think I have a busy four years ahead of me! Story today by @adamclarkestes in @voxdotcom, with my comment
www.vox.com/technology/3...
www.vox.com/technology/3...
Trump’s techno-libertarian dream team goes to Washington
Silicon Valley didn’t shift right. It just wants to be left alone.
www.vox.com
November 11, 2024 at 7:11 PM
Think I have a busy four years ahead of me! Story today by @adamclarkestes in @voxdotcom, with my comment
www.vox.com/technology/3...
www.vox.com/technology/3...
It was such a pleasure to have this conversation with @draftingthepast.bsky.social. Come for the coffee shops, stay for the club sandwiches!
Margaret O'Mara is one of the historians I most look up to, so I was thrilled that she agreed to join me on the new episode of Drafting the Past. She was just as smart, thoughtful, and full of practical writing advice as I'd hoped. Listen here: draftingthepast.com/podcast-epis... 🗃️ #writing #podcast
March 28, 2024 at 3:18 AM
It was such a pleasure to have this conversation with @draftingthepast.bsky.social. Come for the coffee shops, stay for the club sandwiches!
Going to @ahahistorians.bsky.social Annual Meeting in SF next week? Join me and this all-star panel as we discuss all things Silicon Valley -- Thursday Jan 4, 3:30-5:00 PST. It's going to be a good one! More details here: www.historians.org/annual-meeting
December 29, 2023 at 6:17 PM
Going to @ahahistorians.bsky.social Annual Meeting in SF next week? Join me and this all-star panel as we discuss all things Silicon Valley -- Thursday Jan 4, 3:30-5:00 PST. It's going to be a good one! More details here: www.historians.org/annual-meeting