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The Internet Con
How to Seize the Means of Computation
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Check link for latest rating. ( 1,066 ratings, 146 reviews)
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Format: Hardback
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This isn't a book for people who want to fix Big Tech. It's a detailed disassembly manual for people who want to dismantle it.
This isn't a book for people who want to fix Big Tech. It's a detailed disassembly manual for people who want to dismantle it.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
When the tech platforms promised a future of "connection," they were lying. They said their "walled gardens" would keep us safe, but those were prison walls.
The platforms locked us into their systems and made us easy pickings, ripe for extraction. Twitter, Facebook, and other Big Tech platforms are hard to leave by design. They hold hostage the people we love, the communities that matter to us, the audiences and customers we rely on. The impossibility of staying connected to these people after you delete your account has nothing to do with technological limitations: it's a business strategy in service to commodifying your personal life and relationships.
We can — we must — dismantle the tech platforms. In The Internet Con, Cory Doctorow explains how to seize the means of computation by forcing Silicon Valley to do the thing it fears most: interoperate. Interoperability will tear down the walls between technologies, allowing users to leave platforms, remix their media, and reconfigure their devices without corporate permission.
Interoperability is the only route to the rapid and enduring annihilation of the platforms. The Internet Con is the disassembly manual we need to take back our internet.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
The Internet Con by Cory Doctorow is lauded as an insightful and impassioned critique of Big Tech’s monopolistic practices. Reviews highlight its thorough explanation of how the internet's potential was compromised by corporate greed and suggest actionable strategies to reclaim digital autonomy. With sharp criticism and clear vision, Doctorow provides a compelling roadmap for enhancing digital interoperability and democracy.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781804291245
Publisher: Verso Books
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 05 September 2023
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Verso Books
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 17.0mm
Width: 140.0mm
Height: 210.0mm
Weight: 286g
Pages: 192
About the Author
Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of many books, most recently RADICALIZED and WALKAWAY, science fiction for adults; HOW TO DESTROY SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM, nonfiction about monopoly and conspiracy; IN REAL LIFE, a graphic novel; and the picture book POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER. His latest book is ATTACK SURFACE, a standalone adult sequel to LITTLE BROTHER. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. He works for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is a MIT Media Lab Research Affiliate, is a Visiting Professor of Computer Science at Open University, a Visiting Professor of Practice at the University of North Carolina's School of Library and Information Science and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group.
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