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branch_c's review
3.0
Since this book was published in 2014, I have to give Taylor credit for being ahead of the crowd in raising concerns about the attention economy, the advertising model of the internet, and the general direction that things are heading as far as online content and interaction. These are matters that I only became aware of more recently, due to commentary from Tristan Harris and others, so it’s clear that this book was an early voice on the topic.
Taylor is an impassioned and insightful writer, clearly describing the problems in ways that should concern us all. She also comes across as angry and disgusted with the current state of affairs, which is certainly understandable, although I’m not sure it’s the best way to capture the interest of readers. More importantly, although the message is that society can do better, concrete ideas for exactly how to do better are lacking here.
There’s plenty of discussion of the difficulties we face, including that “Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution” (p. 46), the dilemma between overly strict copyright laws and the problem of piracy (p. 170) and the obnoxious requirement to create a “personal brand” in order to succeed (p. 207).
I’m with her on pretty much all of these issues, but there’s not much in the way of proposed solutions until the concluding chapter. There, she gestures at the fact that “there are many areas we strive to at least partially shield from capitalism’s excesses, such as scientific research, health, and education.” (p. 219), implying that the government should play a role in more areas of the online world. More explicitly, she points out that “a growing chorus of technologists and critics argues that both the service providers and the most popular platforms should be regulated as public utilities.” (p. 224). She also suggests that tech firms could pay higher taxes, and that a “portion of these funds could be earmarked to underwrite and promote art, culture, and journalism.” (p. 229)
These are promising ideas, but there are too few of them in the book, much of which is devoted instead to trying to provoke the readers’ outrage at the problems. A valiant cause, and maybe in 2014 no one else was doing this. Now, however, we’ve recognized the problems and we need to get to work on finding and implementing the solutions.
Taylor is an impassioned and insightful writer, clearly describing the problems in ways that should concern us all. She also comes across as angry and disgusted with the current state of affairs, which is certainly understandable, although I’m not sure it’s the best way to capture the interest of readers. More importantly, although the message is that society can do better, concrete ideas for exactly how to do better are lacking here.
There’s plenty of discussion of the difficulties we face, including that “Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution” (p. 46), the dilemma between overly strict copyright laws and the problem of piracy (p. 170) and the obnoxious requirement to create a “personal brand” in order to succeed (p. 207).
I’m with her on pretty much all of these issues, but there’s not much in the way of proposed solutions until the concluding chapter. There, she gestures at the fact that “there are many areas we strive to at least partially shield from capitalism’s excesses, such as scientific research, health, and education.” (p. 219), implying that the government should play a role in more areas of the online world. More explicitly, she points out that “a growing chorus of technologists and critics argues that both the service providers and the most popular platforms should be regulated as public utilities.” (p. 224). She also suggests that tech firms could pay higher taxes, and that a “portion of these funds could be earmarked to underwrite and promote art, culture, and journalism.” (p. 229)
These are promising ideas, but there are too few of them in the book, much of which is devoted instead to trying to provoke the readers’ outrage at the problems. A valiant cause, and maybe in 2014 no one else was doing this. Now, however, we’ve recognized the problems and we need to get to work on finding and implementing the solutions.
banandrew's review
4.0
Astra Taylor dives into how the Internet has affected how we experience culture (art, advertising, social relations), how the economics of culture creation and consumption have changed, what the public rhetoric is about these changes and how that rhetoric lines up with reality. It's a well-cited book that clearly reflects how well-read the author herself is, drawing from academic research to pop articles to personal experience as an activist and organizer.
Much of the book is underlined by the struggle between corporate interests and citizens, focused on the modern scramble for people's attention through advertising. Taylor starts by discussing the usual issues everyone sees: lessened personal privacy, widespread collection of personal data, shortened attention spans driving more "byte-sized" content. But then she dives into more complex topics stemming from this root: the sudden drop-off in funding for long-form journalism, since "cross-subsidies" for newspapers no longer exist (every post must now be self-profitable); the dichotomy between big-company copyright-enforcement for original artistic content vs. encouraging artists to create, then remix and reuse "sponsored" content.
Taylor discusses how to reconcile the proclaimed values of online communities---cultural diversity, egalitarian access---with the actualities of homogeneity in participation and inequality in both access and production. Taylor pushes rhetoric up against reality and not only finds the rhetoric falling short, but acknowledges that issues are much more complex than usually discussed. A particularly thoughtful statement stands out:
"The question of how we encourage, or even enforce, diversity in so-called open networks is not easy to answer, and must combine engineering and public policy. Openness is a philosophy that can easily rationalize its own failure, chalking people's ability up to choice and, keeping with the myth of the meritocracy, blaming any disparities in audience on a lack of aptitude or will."
The one downside of this book: Taylor's often ad-hominem attacks of other thinkers in the field. She belittles Jeff Jarvis for commending a future with more "free-agent"-like employment while he is personally employed by traditional institutions; she stretches to criticize documentaries for "leaving out" the sources of their funding. Subtler issues include misplaced criticisms, such as knocking Google's Fiber Internet offering for not allowing home servers---a policy which all other major ISPs have for customers, and which was reversed very shortly afterwards.
On the whole, the issues barely detract from the overall thoughtfulness and cohesiveness of the book. Highly recommended.
Much of the book is underlined by the struggle between corporate interests and citizens, focused on the modern scramble for people's attention through advertising. Taylor starts by discussing the usual issues everyone sees: lessened personal privacy, widespread collection of personal data, shortened attention spans driving more "byte-sized" content. But then she dives into more complex topics stemming from this root: the sudden drop-off in funding for long-form journalism, since "cross-subsidies" for newspapers no longer exist (every post must now be self-profitable); the dichotomy between big-company copyright-enforcement for original artistic content vs. encouraging artists to create, then remix and reuse "sponsored" content.
Taylor discusses how to reconcile the proclaimed values of online communities---cultural diversity, egalitarian access---with the actualities of homogeneity in participation and inequality in both access and production. Taylor pushes rhetoric up against reality and not only finds the rhetoric falling short, but acknowledges that issues are much more complex than usually discussed. A particularly thoughtful statement stands out:
"The question of how we encourage, or even enforce, diversity in so-called open networks is not easy to answer, and must combine engineering and public policy. Openness is a philosophy that can easily rationalize its own failure, chalking people's ability up to choice and, keeping with the myth of the meritocracy, blaming any disparities in audience on a lack of aptitude or will."
The one downside of this book: Taylor's often ad-hominem attacks of other thinkers in the field. She belittles Jeff Jarvis for commending a future with more "free-agent"-like employment while he is personally employed by traditional institutions; she stretches to criticize documentaries for "leaving out" the sources of their funding. Subtler issues include misplaced criticisms, such as knocking Google's Fiber Internet offering for not allowing home servers---a policy which all other major ISPs have for customers, and which was reversed very shortly afterwards.
On the whole, the issues barely detract from the overall thoughtfulness and cohesiveness of the book. Highly recommended.
mcasey364's review
3.0
More of a critique and analysis of what’s wrong as opposed to a way forward, despite the title’s “taking back power” claim. Still, has an insightfulness than somewhat transcends its age despite the technological subject matter.
libkatem's review
5.0
This book is SO EXCELLENT. It's not an "Internet is Bad For Us" book, it's a book about how the powerful already have their hooks in the internet, and how we are struggling against some pretty insidious and ubiquitous corporate control on the supposedly "free" spaces we occupy online.
andrewadamsz's review against another edition
4.0
The People's Platform criticizes the myths perpetuated by the tech industry that the internet is some open utopia, reveals it for the privatized, inegalitarian thing it actually is, and provides a vision for making it better. Approachable, nuanced, insightful, convincing. I feel a bit powerless in changing the many deep structural problems, but awareness is a good start. Well worth reading if only to encourage a more critical and thoughtful participation in the platforms and systems I use online.
kserra's review
3.0
I liked the focus of this book, and thought that many of the points it made about capitalism and the Internet are well taken. However, I worry that occasionally Taylor misrepresents the viewpoints of other scholars, or simplifies complex concepts or potential solutions, making it harder to take the conclusions seriously.
naum's review
4.0
A downer, but an essential read for the 21C, nevertheless.
Documentary filmmaker Taylor skewers the romanticism of utopian new net heralds. That the promise of an open, democratic internet has been subverted by corporate overlords, monopolistic titans, public relations shills, and destructive wasteful advertising interests. In the process, shredding journalism (to which Taylor repeatedly refers to now as "churnalism") and transforming the media realm into hamster wheel (my words here, not hers) where every click is measured and logged for the science of predictive marketing. Depressing, because she is correct here -- though I do believe it's not in complete entirety and that this state is due in large part to web users themselves, who are indeed attracted to this model. Saddening, because reading this confirmed my own evolving darkened view of the web, as once I had so much faith in the power of the networked web. Taylor chronicles the obscenity of pay-per-click, the wasted resources (in both money and carbon). Even noting the irony that it was government that created these modern marvels, only to witness now private corporate entities siphon all the goodness in erecting their media empires and their quest to swallow all. That this unethical conflict of interest and crass commercialism reigns in the online realm, where it be considered offensive anywhere else. In the meantime, she questions whether this is a good arrangement for creative workers, who now are relegated to compete in a winner-take-all lottery, with no security, and most not making even enough to live on. Here, it's personal for Taylor -- while she strives to adopt an objective mantle, her experiential background surfaces again and again.
Taylor, like a lot of creative professionals, feels like she can belong to neither side in the digital rights battles -- that both sides error egregiously, both the media company overlords and the "everything should be free" crowd.
Knocking off a star because the text is repetitive and redundant in driving home her points, even if she conducts her take in a lustered fashion. Also, while recognizing the government creation, I didn't see any mention that most of the tools used to create and publish web "creative" products are the result of those free software loving hippies. Yes, it's acknowledged that a good number of F/OSS (Free/Open Source Software) developers are in the employ of for-profit corporations, so that they can put bread on the table. Though it can't be stressed enough that most of the new media prophets wane eloquently on the greatness of the new age, but yet still draw their livelihood from traditional employers, a future that's growing increasingly impossible for many educated and talented young (and older too) creative workers, due to this "creative destruction" hailed by such luminaries.
Some other qualms I have with her arguments (and remedy proposals):
* **Failure to distinguish between *text* and *media* (audio or video).** Especially in the matter of digital rights. Yes, this meanders into "the power of plain text", technical details of encoding scheme ownership, etc. But it is an important distinction.
* **Failure to promote the power of existing state of internet publishing.** I don't discount the criticism proffered by Taylor in transforming the open net into a click farm and even believe the moniker of "digital sharecropper" is apropos. But, consider that it is so wondrous and such a marvel that in the 21C you have the power to publish a creative work that *anyone* across the *globe* (with an internet connection) can read (or listen or view). Because, in large part, due to Tim Berners-Lee great vision. And all of those F/OSS hippies who contributed tools such as Apache web server, the WordPress blogging platform, etc...
* **20C solutions to a 21C problem.** Really need to think outside of the box here, as 20C solutions (Taylor references past initiatives that created public broadcasting, FCC stipulations on serving "public interest", some copyright law fiddling with ponying up more money for longer copyright, software patent reform, etc.) Taylor cites European nation measures to deal with some of these issues, but still, we need to think bigger here.
But nevertheless, this is essential reading for anyone interested or concerned with where we are headed with the internet. It's a conversation that must be conducted.
Documentary filmmaker Taylor skewers the romanticism of utopian new net heralds. That the promise of an open, democratic internet has been subverted by corporate overlords, monopolistic titans, public relations shills, and destructive wasteful advertising interests. In the process, shredding journalism (to which Taylor repeatedly refers to now as "churnalism") and transforming the media realm into hamster wheel (my words here, not hers) where every click is measured and logged for the science of predictive marketing. Depressing, because she is correct here -- though I do believe it's not in complete entirety and that this state is due in large part to web users themselves, who are indeed attracted to this model. Saddening, because reading this confirmed my own evolving darkened view of the web, as once I had so much faith in the power of the networked web. Taylor chronicles the obscenity of pay-per-click, the wasted resources (in both money and carbon). Even noting the irony that it was government that created these modern marvels, only to witness now private corporate entities siphon all the goodness in erecting their media empires and their quest to swallow all. That this unethical conflict of interest and crass commercialism reigns in the online realm, where it be considered offensive anywhere else. In the meantime, she questions whether this is a good arrangement for creative workers, who now are relegated to compete in a winner-take-all lottery, with no security, and most not making even enough to live on. Here, it's personal for Taylor -- while she strives to adopt an objective mantle, her experiential background surfaces again and again.
Taylor, like a lot of creative professionals, feels like she can belong to neither side in the digital rights battles -- that both sides error egregiously, both the media company overlords and the "everything should be free" crowd.
Knocking off a star because the text is repetitive and redundant in driving home her points, even if she conducts her take in a lustered fashion. Also, while recognizing the government creation, I didn't see any mention that most of the tools used to create and publish web "creative" products are the result of those free software loving hippies. Yes, it's acknowledged that a good number of F/OSS (Free/Open Source Software) developers are in the employ of for-profit corporations, so that they can put bread on the table. Though it can't be stressed enough that most of the new media prophets wane eloquently on the greatness of the new age, but yet still draw their livelihood from traditional employers, a future that's growing increasingly impossible for many educated and talented young (and older too) creative workers, due to this "creative destruction" hailed by such luminaries.
Some other qualms I have with her arguments (and remedy proposals):
* **Failure to distinguish between *text* and *media* (audio or video).** Especially in the matter of digital rights. Yes, this meanders into "the power of plain text", technical details of encoding scheme ownership, etc. But it is an important distinction.
* **Failure to promote the power of existing state of internet publishing.** I don't discount the criticism proffered by Taylor in transforming the open net into a click farm and even believe the moniker of "digital sharecropper" is apropos. But, consider that it is so wondrous and such a marvel that in the 21C you have the power to publish a creative work that *anyone* across the *globe* (with an internet connection) can read (or listen or view). Because, in large part, due to Tim Berners-Lee great vision. And all of those F/OSS hippies who contributed tools such as Apache web server, the WordPress blogging platform, etc...
* **20C solutions to a 21C problem.** Really need to think outside of the box here, as 20C solutions (Taylor references past initiatives that created public broadcasting, FCC stipulations on serving "public interest", some copyright law fiddling with ponying up more money for longer copyright, software patent reform, etc.) Taylor cites European nation measures to deal with some of these issues, but still, we need to think bigger here.
But nevertheless, this is essential reading for anyone interested or concerned with where we are headed with the internet. It's a conversation that must be conducted.
jrt5166's review
5.0
I thought this was a very interesting book. I certainly found myself blogging about it and recording quotes while I read more than I normally do. For those of you unfamiliar with the text, Astra Taylor used each chapter of her book to start a conversation about potential concerns about the current media landscape. The work was incredibly well researched.
The aspect I appreciated the most was the way Taylor made me think about things I had not really thought about before. For instance, she points out the increased personalization of experience on the web leads to echo chambers. Sites learn what we like, and then they just give us that. For obvious reasons, this is not ideal.
This book was assigned reading for a class, which was interesting because Taylor directly criticizes many of the authors we have already read. In many ways, I value her perspective more because she is not a lawyer, academic, or consultant. She is an actual media creator (particularly documentary films) outside of just writing this book. Nevertheless, I would be incredibly interested to read rebuttals or reactions from figures like Shirky or Lessig.
The aspect I appreciated the most was the way Taylor made me think about things I had not really thought about before. For instance, she points out the increased personalization of experience on the web leads to echo chambers. Sites learn what we like, and then they just give us that. For obvious reasons, this is not ideal.
This book was assigned reading for a class, which was interesting because Taylor directly criticizes many of the authors we have already read. In many ways, I value her perspective more because she is not a lawyer, academic, or consultant. She is an actual media creator (particularly documentary films) outside of just writing this book. Nevertheless, I would be incredibly interested to read rebuttals or reactions from figures like Shirky or Lessig.
em_reads_books's review
4.0
Nothing super new to me, and I wish she'd gone onto more detail about some of the issues & potential solutions she brought up, but that's more about me as a reader than the book itself. Overall a great summary of the state of the internet today and how far it is from the egalitarian ideal it's sometimes described as.