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Bezig met laden... The Tangled Web We Weave: Inside The Shadow System That Shapes the Internetdoor James Ball
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Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. This is an extremely readable, compelling, and valuable book that looks beyond the usual focus on social media companies, the bad behavior of trolls, and the costs of the attention economy to explore what the internet is actually made of, how it came to be what it is today, and who controls a piece of the infrastructure. This would be a valuable assigned reading for any course that focuses on the internet and society - or for anyone who simply wants to get a better grasp of what we're talking about when we talk about the internet. I think this may be one of the most useful, informative, and entertaining books on the subject. geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
"The internet was supposed to be a thing of revolutions. As that dream curdles, there is no shortage of villains to blame--from tech giants to Russian bot farms. But what if the problem is not an issue of bad actors ruining a good thing? What if the hazards of the internet are built into the system itself? That's what journalist James Ball argues as he takes us to the root of the problem, from the very establishment of the internet's earliest protocols to the cables that wire it together. He shows us how the seemingly abstract and pervasive phenomenon is built on a very real set of materials and rules that are owned, financed, designed and regulated by very real people. In this urgent and necessary book, Ball reveals that the internet is not a neutral force but a massive infrastructure that reflects the society that created it. And making it work for--and not against--us must be an endeavor of the people as well"-- Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)302.231Social sciences Social Sciences; Sociology and anthropology Social Interaction Communication Media (Means of communication) Digital mediaLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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I mention this because Ball’s main audience in this work seems to be the general public and not me. A journalist by trade, he seeks to educate us on how the “network of networks” works and how businesses reap profits from it. Since I received a quality technical education, this exposé is not news to me. I wish more people would pay attention to how technology works. There is a need for the public (especially people of societal influence) to take heed of mobile, desktop, and Internet technologies. In our age, every educated citizen should be at least literate in how these impactful devices work. Therefore, I appreciate Bell’s contribution to the discussion and sincerely hope that a few social leaders would increase their literacy by reading this work.
At times, Bell seems to fall into an anti-capitalist bias by contending that business veers to the bad. I personally trust Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” to correct unhealthy situations more than Ball does. Nonetheless, I know enough to know that the threats the author alerts us to are real. The question is not whether governmental regulation is needed but is, what sort of regulation is needed. I am grateful for the economic investment the big Internet companies have made (a topic Ball remains relatively silent on) and do not begrudge them as they seek to reap a profit from this investment. That said, monopolies and oligopolies help no one in the long run. As you can see, this complex issue deserves an entire book, if not more, to address.
I write this two days before the US elections in 2020. I believe that at present, the American government lacks the seriousness and workableness to tackle this issue. (I hope to be proven wrong.) Nonetheless, Ball’s work, out one month before this election, will leave such a discussion in a better place. It is balanced in the main and identifies the key issues. One does not have to buy into all of his advised remedies fully in order to appreciate his analysis.
All our lives these days are touched by technology; thus, any decision-maker could benefit from this work. Many groups stand to benefit from this work: academics, policymakers, lawyers, business-folk, or software developers (like me). Further, this book has global reach – extending from the West to the East, from the US and Europe to China and Japan. The African continent, whose Internet capabilities I know to be rapidly expanding, is even addressed. Ball’s work stands to advance the conversation about technology and our lives; the presumed next question becomes, Are we willing to engage in the dialogue? ( )