"Bezos looked like an East Coast finance guy who was out of his element - kind of a dweeb, but a nice enough guy and super smart. MacKenzie seemed more down-to-earth and relaxed with everyone. They had been invited to join the camp at the last minute because its founder was also the founder of Alexa Internet, a web traffic measurement startup that Amazon had just bought."
"(Yes, the Alexa many of us now talk to had a very wonky start.) My campmates and I treated the two of them like anybody else. They had to do all the same chores and take their turn going to get ice in the central camp. I'm not sure what they did deep in the night. I bring up this anecdote to illustrate that I've been watching the tech world up close for decades now."
In 1999 Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie arrived at a Burning Man camp on the edge of the playa, dressed in matching khaki outfits unsuited to the desert's typical attire. Bezos appeared socially awkward but intelligent, while MacKenzie came across as relaxed and approachable. They joined camp life, taking turns on chores such as fetching ice and integrating as ordinary campers. Their presence followed Amazon's acquisition of Alexa Internet, the web traffic measurement startup founded by the camp founder. The anecdote situates long-term observation of Silicon Valley culture beginning in the mid-1990s around WIRED magazine, noting persistent misrepresentations of the tech world by mainstream East Coast and European media.
Read at Big Think
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