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michelleofatime's review against another edition
4.0
The main thesis statement seems to be that Lanier is really into cephalopods, and group-think is mostly scary, but not always. Don't get me wrong ---- I found this book continuously fascinating, but it seemed that he could have done without the apologetics. I can't tell you how many times he spent an entire chapter explaining why he thought "_____" was bad, only to say, at the very end of the chapter, that he alllways think "_____" is bad, and it's not like he hates the internet or anything, etc. However, it remains a relatively jargon-free, in-depth examination of the "cloud"'s often unquestioned power.
marisbest2's review against another edition
4.0
There’s a lot of interesting analysis in this book. Some things, ten years later, feel very true. Some things definitely do not. There’s a lot of philosophizing against a very specific subcultures approach to a very specific set of questions and not really enough about the human toll of move fast and break everything.
dunguyen's review against another edition
1.0
Jaron Lanier's You are not a gadget is his take on technology and web 2.0. Several themes go through the book among these are: loss of humanity through the rise of computing, loss of creativity through lock-in - the effect of a bad design that has become too ingrained, the economic imbalance in the tech world and some other minor themes.
You cannot get past that Lanier has some interesting thoughts. Some I do agree with and some I think Lanier exaggerates and never really argues for completely. The book started really well though and was very well formulated but it did not take long before the red thread was lost and Lanier shifting between themes. At one point in chapter 2 he refers to chapter 14! As I got along in the book it seemed to be less about the humanistic point of view and instead just a random collection of thoughts.
Lanier's use of language is often too formulaic as well and the language is more complicated than it has to be. The format of the book is really confusing as well and on a single page I counted 3 different fonts in 5 different font sizes!
I really wanted to like this book as the premise is interesting but apart from maybe the first 4 chapters it is really not worth reading.
You cannot get past that Lanier has some interesting thoughts. Some I do agree with and some I think Lanier exaggerates and never really argues for completely. The book started really well though and was very well formulated but it did not take long before the red thread was lost and Lanier shifting between themes. At one point in chapter 2 he refers to chapter 14! As I got along in the book it seemed to be less about the humanistic point of view and instead just a random collection of thoughts.
Lanier's use of language is often too formulaic as well and the language is more complicated than it has to be. The format of the book is really confusing as well and on a single page I counted 3 different fonts in 5 different font sizes!
I really wanted to like this book as the premise is interesting but apart from maybe the first 4 chapters it is really not worth reading.
amcloughlin's review against another edition
3.0
I am a sucker for internet and media theory, and Lanier's classic was quoted by enough people I admire that I thought I'd give it a go. A lot of these ideas are incredibly important, but the text can be challenging to get through. Find a really good precis and do some thinking.
thomcat's review against another edition
4.0
Very thought-provoking read. The author has some very creative ideas about the music industry and points out some definite flaws in the current model (in both music and software). The later chapters are a different subject, and are likely expanded articles, but are perhaps the most fascinating part. The ideas on language, metaphor and communication call for further study - this latter section would be better as the start of a larger book.
Overall, interesting material presented in a scattered fashion.
Overall, interesting material presented in a scattered fashion.
beautydoing's review against another edition
2.0
sem glasbenik in bi bil rad placan, zdej me bo pa internet zjebal. boohoo.
miacaven's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Insightful and true but I think slightly outdated and nothing we haven’t heard before
thirdcoast's review against another edition
4.0
Jaron Lanier's profile reads more like a character from Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake or The Year of the Flood, than someone who followed a more traditional path to becoming an influential technologist. In You Are Not a Gadget, Lanier laments how the internet, and specifically web 2.0, has developed, and what impact those developments may have in how people interact with one another and with technology.
In case the reader is not getting a point, Lanier seems to return again and again to the same issues. The discussion is thoughtful, but redundant. While it's led me to being more critical about technology and design, Lanier's message could have been more succinctly communicated.
A few areas on which Lanier focuses include:
While reading this book, I found myself thinking, why am I using a specific technology (Facebook)? What does it mean to enter information according to someone's database design of social interaction? How has that changed my relationships with people?
On a broader level, I thought of the use of Google Analytics for this website. Why am I writing a blog post? Am I writing it as an expression of myself, or am I trying to generate page hits? Imagine being at a party and having an engaging conversation with someone. Now, imagine analyzing that conversation based on someone else's, in this case Google's, statistics. My friend only spent 35 seconds making eye contact. That person followed the conversation up to this point, and then walked away.
Why do I care how long someone spends on a blog post? I don't use ads on my website. I care, because I've interpreted it as a sign of how interesting a post may be. A better measure may be blog posts that have created worthwhile comments. An alternative I prefer is to not care, to not be caught up in worthless measures, but to enjoy the process.
Largely pessimistic You Are Not a Gadget is a loud voice in the debate over technology. Lanier is not anti-technology, but pro-humanity. He has a vision of technology that is unbound creativity. More than anything, You Are Not a Gadget is a call for users and creators to be more aware, to not be dictated to, but to have a voice in the shape and power of the Internet and technology in general.
In case the reader is not getting a point, Lanier seems to return again and again to the same issues. The discussion is thoughtful, but redundant. While it's led me to being more critical about technology and design, Lanier's message could have been more succinctly communicated.
A few areas on which Lanier focuses include:
- Social media, specifically Facebook
- The hivemind (Wikipedia, wisdom of the crowds)
- Singularity fanatics
- Anonymity
- Devaluation of people and creative expression
While reading this book, I found myself thinking, why am I using a specific technology (Facebook)? What does it mean to enter information according to someone's database design of social interaction? How has that changed my relationships with people?
On a broader level, I thought of the use of Google Analytics for this website. Why am I writing a blog post? Am I writing it as an expression of myself, or am I trying to generate page hits? Imagine being at a party and having an engaging conversation with someone. Now, imagine analyzing that conversation based on someone else's, in this case Google's, statistics. My friend only spent 35 seconds making eye contact. That person followed the conversation up to this point, and then walked away.
Why do I care how long someone spends on a blog post? I don't use ads on my website. I care, because I've interpreted it as a sign of how interesting a post may be. A better measure may be blog posts that have created worthwhile comments. An alternative I prefer is to not care, to not be caught up in worthless measures, but to enjoy the process.
Largely pessimistic You Are Not a Gadget is a loud voice in the debate over technology. Lanier is not anti-technology, but pro-humanity. He has a vision of technology that is unbound creativity. More than anything, You Are Not a Gadget is a call for users and creators to be more aware, to not be dictated to, but to have a voice in the shape and power of the Internet and technology in general.