A review by ericfheiman
You Are Not a Gadget by Jaron Lanier

3.0

A very compelling critique of the entire "Web 2.0/Social Networking" phenomenon that might not hold as much weight if Lanier wasn't a leading tech innovator for the last 30 years. I found myself constantly encountering, firsthand, the issues he raises in Gadget throughout my everyday existence, making them very hard to ignore. Even his argument that the internet has hampered innovation in music is well-argued and hard to counter. It's unfortunate that the last part of the book goes off the rails as Lanier's proposed solutions to the dilemmas he raises are wildly abstract and obtuse. But it's a provocative read that should spark some great conversation. And we certainly need more long view, humanist takes on web technology, an industry that has all but been consumed by the cult of innovation and progress at the cost of any sort of meaningful reflection on how it might be affecting us adversely.