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From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg: What You Really Need to Know About the Internet by John Naughton
anetq's review
4.0
Excellent run-through of the 9 most important ideas about the internet:
1) Take the long view!
2) The Web is not the Net (super short chapter, points for keeping it short & simple!)
3) For the Net, disruption is a feature, not a bug
4) Think ecology, not just economics
5) Complexity is the new reality
6) The network is now the computer
7) The Web is evolving
8) Copyrights Vs. "copywrongs": or why our intellectual property regime no longer makes sense
9) Orwell Vs. Huxley: The bookends of our networked future
- So there, just memorize the list! No really: read the book, it's a great and easy read, explaining both the ideas, the underlying technologies, thoughts and the people who created them - never patronizing but enlightening - so even the tech-savvy will learn new stuff, I did.
1) Take the long view!
2) The Web is not the Net (super short chapter, points for keeping it short & simple!)
3) For the Net, disruption is a feature, not a bug
4) Think ecology, not just economics
5) Complexity is the new reality
6) The network is now the computer
7) The Web is evolving
8) Copyrights Vs. "copywrongs": or why our intellectual property regime no longer makes sense
9) Orwell Vs. Huxley: The bookends of our networked future
- So there, just memorize the list! No really: read the book, it's a great and easy read, explaining both the ideas, the underlying technologies, thoughts and the people who created them - never patronizing but enlightening - so even the tech-savvy will learn new stuff, I did.
nielsism's review against another edition
3.0
Tad disappointed about the premises, could be my own fault. Was rather looking for a simple explanation of how the internet works - technically - and the problems and consequences involved. What it rather is, is some short insights into network architecture (but not too much, as I would liked more info on fibre, exchange points etc), but most of it on the cultural significance of our transition into an Internet-era.
Having said and coming to terms with that, some chapters were at some points read with a kind of intrigue (compared to some dull expositions about Internet as a new type of media between all the rest and examples of how powerful a Net-based society can be, which were really too long and obvious). Especially the ones on the Orwell-Huxley divide and cloud computing got me thinking quite a bit. A society that loves technology, loves all the new apps and stuff and completes merges with it, has some obvious advantages to be connected to the world and every piece of information around, but as the Net grows more monopolistic (as one of his central points could be), our cultural freedom or accessibility is diminished and supplied by some big corporations and/or governments (which aren't per definition malevolent). The privacy and security issues this could produce are too neglected or ignored nowadays, which kindof gives the impression that we don't really care, and that we want to give up some degree of privacy (and don't mind being monitored) if this means still being able to use our beloved technology.
Having said and coming to terms with that, some chapters were at some points read with a kind of intrigue (compared to some dull expositions about Internet as a new type of media between all the rest and examples of how powerful a Net-based society can be, which were really too long and obvious). Especially the ones on the Orwell-Huxley divide and cloud computing got me thinking quite a bit. A society that loves technology, loves all the new apps and stuff and completes merges with it, has some obvious advantages to be connected to the world and every piece of information around, but as the Net grows more monopolistic (as one of his central points could be), our cultural freedom or accessibility is diminished and supplied by some big corporations and/or governments (which aren't per definition malevolent). The privacy and security issues this could produce are too neglected or ignored nowadays, which kindof gives the impression that we don't really care, and that we want to give up some degree of privacy (and don't mind being monitored) if this means still being able to use our beloved technology.
kmherkes's review against another edition
4.0
Preface: I am on a never-ending quest to keep my brain from turning to mush under the weight of the pop culture I bury it in. I attempt one non-fiction book a month in an effort to Always Be Learning. I do always learn. Sometimes it's a slog. Sometimes it's fun.
On my food-based analogy review scale, this book gets a solid "Potluck dinner with friends on a summer evening. With beers." It offers lots of different dishes from different origins, some of which don't go well with others, but the atmosphere is friendly and non-judgmental. There are laughs as well as serious moments, and best of all, you'll find yourself trying hard to remember all the insightful comments that were made during the long evening.
The premise --How the Internet Is Changing Everything-- could've been a drag, or pretentious, but John Naughton does a great job discussing prior disruptive technological innovations and drawing useful comparisons between them and the Internet. He also acknowledges that we won't really understand the changes happening now for decades or even centuries to come.
The writing style was chatty and refreshing, and he backed up his speculation with ample historical and sociological data. I never felt he was talking down to me, but he never tried to impress me with Academic Verbiage either. This is the kind of writing I was hoping to find in Gladwell's David & Goliath. Too bad it wasn't there.
I always check for an index and a solid bibliography, since I am inclined towards binge research, and this has a great examples of both.
I recommend this to anyone who makes a living in or around the tech world, to anyone who likes history, and anyone who likes pondering how our inventions change our lives.
On my food-based analogy review scale, this book gets a solid "Potluck dinner with friends on a summer evening. With beers." It offers lots of different dishes from different origins, some of which don't go well with others, but the atmosphere is friendly and non-judgmental. There are laughs as well as serious moments, and best of all, you'll find yourself trying hard to remember all the insightful comments that were made during the long evening.
The premise --How the Internet Is Changing Everything-- could've been a drag, or pretentious, but John Naughton does a great job discussing prior disruptive technological innovations and drawing useful comparisons between them and the Internet. He also acknowledges that we won't really understand the changes happening now for decades or even centuries to come.
The writing style was chatty and refreshing, and he backed up his speculation with ample historical and sociological data. I never felt he was talking down to me, but he never tried to impress me with Academic Verbiage either. This is the kind of writing I was hoping to find in Gladwell's David & Goliath. Too bad it wasn't there.
I always check for an index and a solid bibliography, since I am inclined towards binge research, and this has a great examples of both.
I recommend this to anyone who makes a living in or around the tech world, to anyone who likes history, and anyone who likes pondering how our inventions change our lives.
halfmanhalfbook's review against another edition
4.0
a part history of the internet and how we got to where we are, and part contemplation on the direction that the internet should go in
miroen's review against another edition
4.0
Preface: I am on a never-ending quest to keep my brain from turning to mush under the weight of the pop culture I bury it in. I attempt one non-fiction book a month in an effort to Always Be Learning. I do always learn. Sometimes it's a slog. Sometimes it's fun.
On my food-based analogy review scale, this book gets a solid "Potluck dinner with friends on a summer evening. With beers." It offers lots of different dishes from different origins, some of which don't go well with others, but the atmosphere is friendly and non-judgmental. There are laughs as well as serious moments, and best of all, you'll find yourself trying hard to remember all the insightful comments that were made during the long evening.
The premise --How the Internet Is Changing Everything-- could've been a drag, or pretentious, but John Naughton does a great job discussing prior disruptive technological innovations and drawing useful comparisons between them and the Internet. He also acknowledges that we won't really understand the changes happening now for decades or even centuries to come.
The writing style was chatty and refreshing, and he backed up his speculation with ample historical and sociological data. I never felt he was talking down to me, but he never tried to impress me with Academic Verbiage either. This is the kind of writing I was hoping to find in Gladwell's David & Goliath. Too bad it wasn't there.
I always check for an index and a solid bibliography, since I am inclined towards binge research, and this has a great examples of both.
I recommend this to anyone who makes a living in or around the tech world, to anyone who likes history, and anyone who likes pondering how our inventions change our lives.
On my food-based analogy review scale, this book gets a solid "Potluck dinner with friends on a summer evening. With beers." It offers lots of different dishes from different origins, some of which don't go well with others, but the atmosphere is friendly and non-judgmental. There are laughs as well as serious moments, and best of all, you'll find yourself trying hard to remember all the insightful comments that were made during the long evening.
The premise --How the Internet Is Changing Everything-- could've been a drag, or pretentious, but John Naughton does a great job discussing prior disruptive technological innovations and drawing useful comparisons between them and the Internet. He also acknowledges that we won't really understand the changes happening now for decades or even centuries to come.
The writing style was chatty and refreshing, and he backed up his speculation with ample historical and sociological data. I never felt he was talking down to me, but he never tried to impress me with Academic Verbiage either. This is the kind of writing I was hoping to find in Gladwell's David & Goliath. Too bad it wasn't there.
I always check for an index and a solid bibliography, since I am inclined towards binge research, and this has a great examples of both.
I recommend this to anyone who makes a living in or around the tech world, to anyone who likes history, and anyone who likes pondering how our inventions change our lives.