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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I'm glad I read it. It wasn't the most scintillating book ever, but there were a lot of good parts and it picked up steam in the last few chapters.
informative
medium-paced
He talked too much abt hipster coffee shops I'm sorry to say :-/
Interesting and revealing in parts. Rather long winded and self-indulgent in others. Overall, it was eye-opening to me, even if I had to push through to finish the audiobook at 2.5x speed.
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Chayka shows us the tech companies that lurk behind the curtain of the algorithms that have wiggled into every aspect of our lives. He shows us the cost of the convenience that we have become accustomed to while using these apps/websites to interact with each other, art, food, and the physical world itself.
informative
medium-paced
informative
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
8/10.
Another remake of a movie that already exists? Another re-release of that album/song from years ago? Another sequel or spinoff to a franchise that should have ended years ago? Another cafe covered in white tiles and reclaimed wood? Another hotel or restaurant with a plant wall? Another vapid Instagram quote/poem/graphic? Another book cover that looks exactly like that other one? Another memeable streaming show you forget about a few days later? Another person using the exact same vocabulary to describe their political beliefs and artistic preferences? Another minimalist Airbnb? Another post of someone standing in front of that same Instagrammable wall?
If the flatness internet culture has fostered feels dystopian to you, you're not crazy. And you are not alone.
Kyle Chayka's book touches so many of the different industries that have been dominated (infected?) by the unrelenting wave of content by algorithm over the past decade or so. Generic coffee shops, Airbnb, Marvel movies, Taylor Swift, the Iceland tourism industry, the book publishing industry, Emily in Paris. None are spared a well-earned spotlight in Chakya's deep dive into just how much culture has been sanded down and flattened out in our time. Crucially, none of the examples listed above are treated in a mean-spirited way (with the possible exception of Emily in Paris, which above all others deserves it), and in some cases, the coffee shop owners, bestselling authors, and beneficiaries of a thriving tourism economy are themselves exasperated and exhausted by the cultural playing board to which they owe their success.
Chayka's harshest criticism is reserved for those entities that deserve it: the platforms themselves (Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc.) who birthed and mutated algorithms into culture-crushing forces that have yet to be reigned in by meaningful regulation or user backlash.
There isn't a ton of factual research or data in this book that will be particularly revelatory for anyone who has had an even half-critical eye on the entertainment and media world over the past decade, but if you've been looking for someone to clearly articulate the angst and disappointment you've felt at the depersonalization of the internet, the hollowing out of original storytelling, the repackaging of old products, or the constant bombardment of "personalized" recommendations that feel deeply impersonal, this book is pure catharsis.
While the regulatory solutions seem underwhelming and unlikely to meaningfully change things in the short term, Chayka makes a really good case for the importance of each of us taking back control of our identities as creators, curators, and consumers of culture. Take a chance on a restaurant that isn't pushed to the top of the Google results. Listen to an album the whole way through. Check out the behind the scenes story of a movie you enjoyed recently. And crucially, instead of just taking recommendations from algorithms, ask your friends and trusted sources for recommendations. Give them some in return. Meaningfully discuss the movie or the book or the song instead of just saying you're "obsessed," sharing a meme about it, and then moving on. By all means, like popular things, but every once in a while, check in with yourself and make sure your tastes are actually your own, and not the algorithm's.
Another remake of a movie that already exists? Another re-release of that album/song from years ago? Another sequel or spinoff to a franchise that should have ended years ago? Another cafe covered in white tiles and reclaimed wood? Another hotel or restaurant with a plant wall? Another vapid Instagram quote/poem/graphic? Another book cover that looks exactly like that other one? Another memeable streaming show you forget about a few days later? Another person using the exact same vocabulary to describe their political beliefs and artistic preferences? Another minimalist Airbnb? Another post of someone standing in front of that same Instagrammable wall?
If the flatness internet culture has fostered feels dystopian to you, you're not crazy. And you are not alone.
Kyle Chayka's book touches so many of the different industries that have been dominated (infected?) by the unrelenting wave of content by algorithm over the past decade or so. Generic coffee shops, Airbnb, Marvel movies, Taylor Swift, the Iceland tourism industry, the book publishing industry, Emily in Paris. None are spared a well-earned spotlight in Chakya's deep dive into just how much culture has been sanded down and flattened out in our time. Crucially, none of the examples listed above are treated in a mean-spirited way (with the possible exception of Emily in Paris, which above all others deserves it), and in some cases, the coffee shop owners, bestselling authors, and beneficiaries of a thriving tourism economy are themselves exasperated and exhausted by the cultural playing board to which they owe their success.
Chayka's harshest criticism is reserved for those entities that deserve it: the platforms themselves (Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc.) who birthed and mutated algorithms into culture-crushing forces that have yet to be reigned in by meaningful regulation or user backlash.
There isn't a ton of factual research or data in this book that will be particularly revelatory for anyone who has had an even half-critical eye on the entertainment and media world over the past decade, but if you've been looking for someone to clearly articulate the angst and disappointment you've felt at the depersonalization of the internet, the hollowing out of original storytelling, the repackaging of old products, or the constant bombardment of "personalized" recommendations that feel deeply impersonal, this book is pure catharsis.
While the regulatory solutions seem underwhelming and unlikely to meaningfully change things in the short term, Chayka makes a really good case for the importance of each of us taking back control of our identities as creators, curators, and consumers of culture. Take a chance on a restaurant that isn't pushed to the top of the Google results. Listen to an album the whole way through. Check out the behind the scenes story of a movie you enjoyed recently. And crucially, instead of just taking recommendations from algorithms, ask your friends and trusted sources for recommendations. Give them some in return. Meaningfully discuss the movie or the book or the song instead of just saying you're "obsessed," sharing a meme about it, and then moving on. By all means, like popular things, but every once in a while, check in with yourself and make sure your tastes are actually your own, and not the algorithm's.
challenging
slow-paced