Interesting essay about online madness
927541
In this essay, man-of-letters Douglas Preston uses skirmishes on the topic of Amanda Knox as a case study in online behavior.  Amanda Knox is a hot-button issue for many people, as demonstrated by some of the comments on this very page.  Since Preston early on concluded (IMO correctly) that Knox had nothing to do with the murder of Meredith Kercher and voiced his views in public arenas, he experienced directly the online wrath of people convinced that Knox is guilty.

In his essay, Preston provides examples of over-the-top comments and personal attacks by members of the virtual anti-Knox crowd and tells of his own experience in trying to deal with insults and threats directed at himself and his family.  He also recounts briefly the battle at Wikipedia over how Knox and the Kercher murder would be treated.

Preston then delves into recent research in evolutionary biology to attempt to find an explanation for online insanity.  He provides factual support for the proposition that not all (or even most) virtual attack dogs fit the stereotype of socially stunted men living in their parents' basements.  Thus, in his view, they cannot be dismissed simply as "trolls" taking advantage of online anonymity to get back at the world.  The evolutionary explanation he provides is plausible--I'd be interested in reading about further research into it.
3383899
The book explains at general reader level the digital world of today. Replacing the academic treaty style with short essays on various subjects, the author spreads the idea that the digital future has to be met with "no fear".
However, sometimes topics are presented in a way that raises concerns about the ordinary citizen's strengths confronted with privacy, hacking, dark Internet or big data.
4823069
This e-book provides insight on the grotesque ideologies of our society: consumerism, capitalism, and narcissism.  Although the writing is dense, Bayard reminds us to look closely at the world we live in, asking us to reevaluate what we value.  Critics of commercialism, corruption, and, of course, war will appreciate this e-book.
2500925
Very interesting read, broad but not overly ambitious, covers most of the main questions surrounding the "moral panic" of Internet usage by teens.
4727558
This book is a very nicely-written overview of the many ways in which social proof can fail. Humans, as fundamentally social beings, rely extensively on social networks to inform their choices, learn useful habits, form opinions, and coordinate actions. However, our social mechanisms for acquiring information are also susceptible to all kinds of problems, from herding of opinions, to polarization of groups, to pluralistic ignorance. A corollary of this is that social media, which is widely credited for improving the speed and reach of communication for the better, can also amplify the scale of these damaging phenomena.

If you liked the Evgeny Morozov's "The Net Delusion", you would appreciate this book. It is more abstract than Morozov's in the sense that it tries to get to the essence of how social information acquisition can go wrong. So I think it's a great complement to the reading list of anyone interested in the limits of social media.
2903972
I found this text to be filled with countless generalizations about online and unground learners. This text was a requirement. Part of me wonders if it was chosen to teach us how to contradict.
2635104
The main thesis of the book is that many internet activities as well as video games are as addictive as cocaine. The book presents psychological researches (and many stories about people) that allegedly explain this addiction. But if the recipe for designing addictive and commercially successful applications is so well understood, as the author implies, how comes only very few succeed in designing such applications.
1595205
It's an excellent compliment to the [...] website.  The book compiles (and in some cases expands or summarizes) many of the best online articles.

There are a few brand new articles containing subject matter not already published on the website (see below for a list).

Another thing I like about the book is that it has some articles that combine and summarize multiple similar web articles (like Cognitive Glitches).

Many of the article titles in the book are different than titles on the website.

I was going to buy this book even if the authors decided to only use the existing online content.  It was an added bonus to see new material.  Here are articles that I found to be exclusive to the book (at the time of this writing) :

*Animal Weaponry
*Cognitive Glitches
*Deep Water Mysteries
*Kowloon: The Walled City of Darkness
*The McCollum Memo
*Peculiar Parasites
*The Revelations of Restored Sight
*Sylbaris The Survivor
*Unanticipated Side Effects
*Walking Corpse Syndrome
*Weird Weaponry

Again, some of the above "new" articles contain pieces and summaries of existing online articles, but the writers added a fair amount of interesting fresh content.

Highly recommended!
1612347
Internationally-known writer Douglas Preston has experienced the uncontrolled savagery of the Internet first-hand. Because of his efforts to publicize injustices in the Amanda Knox case, he has been the victim of terrifying internet-centered threats and attacks.  He wrote this piece to explore why the unregulated world of the internet has become a "community" for those who want to punish others, regardless of the facts.  It finishes with a fascinating glimpse into the research on the behavior involved and how it has helped man survive in situations when this anger could be regulated by a population at large.  Then he speculates about the threat that this innate inclination has become by being unleashed in a virtual world that defies the assigning of personal responsibility for accusations.  (Note that Preston is the co-author of The Monster of Florence, the story of his own terrifying experiences of mishandled evidence and twisted intentions in investigations of a brutal series of sex killings in Florence, Italy.  He writes best-selling novels and documentary pieces for magazines such as The New Yorker.)
1589967
Turkle does a magnificant job in illustrating the human persona while online. As our culture becomes more and more internet dependent, and it becomes easier to be a "globalized" person, psychological changes  are sure to take effect. "Life On the Screen" is illustrated with  some wry humor, as well as vivid examples.
Sometimes doing someonething  online makes it seem less "real." For instance, carding  something-aka using a fake credit card number-is less 'real' if you do it  online, to order something, than it is to waltz into say, BestBuy and using  a fake credit card there. Just because you do it in a non-physical area  (what is Cyberspace made up of, anyway?) does not mean that it is still not  a crime, and that it is still not capable of having  reprecussions.
Shirley Turkle captures precisely what someone, as a user  and interacter with the internet, thinks, and does while online. She  acknowledges the existance of the internet being a place where people are  able to forge "cyber-identities"...or get more comfortable being  who they are. She also outlines something that is perhaps one of the most  secure things about the internet in this day and age-that on the internet,  you are anonymous. Therefore, you can do what you wish (good or bad) and  you can interact with others via MUDs or the like...or you can decide  exactly how people will think of you as.
The internet is a secure medium  for an insecure person. It is where many people who feel unaccepted in life  go as refuge, to seek friends and partners who are like them, and who  understand. This is also recognized in this book.
I highly recommend  anyone, either the hacker, or the suit, or the working mother, or the  teenager, to pick up this book and just to start reading. It is disturbing,  almost, to find that there are so many people who interact with the  internet, and so many different things that they do. The globalization that  comes along with the net provokes you to start rethinking many things, and  questioning many others....The internet, as portrayed in this book, also  helps the reader to truly examine themselves as a whole.
3014740
This book presents both the good and bad side of the internet.  We had a good discussion about it at my book club.
632125
Larry Kilhams The Digital Rabbit Hole is an exploration in to a future of potential loss of self-hood and humanity in a world of digital noise.  Warning of the dangers of internet addiction and slavery to meaningless information, Kilham explains to great extent what he views as a serious threat to our creativity and interconnectivity.  The book primarily draws on articles published in newspapers, more so than research, though some psychological research is touched on.

While Kilhams critique is in-depth and supported by many opinion pieces, I found the argument to be too broad and harsh to be actively supported by what studies it drew upon.  Additionally, certain portions of the text seemed to be driven by a more personal distaste or fear of the radical changes smart technology is bringing.  This impression was strengthened for me by the use of cartoons poking fun at the use of smartphones and other devices.  Furthermore, the text seems quite harsh and negative about the coming generations, even going so far as to, seemingly sarcastically, remark that the use of the feel-good drug soma from Adlous Huxleys Brave New World could be the solution to the future woes of unemployed millennials.

While Kilham certainly expressed his opinion in a respectably thorough manner, I cant help but feel The Digital Rabbit Hole is a little too harsh for my tastes.  The book is well-informed on the latest tech, and the author clearly has a passion for keeping up to date with the latest and the greatest on the web; however, too many times I feel modern products were interpreted in the most negative and dangerous light possible.
4255368
I don't consider myself very Internet savvy. Nor am I a big time Internet user/abuser. But I do use the Internet so I did feel the need to read this book particularly since its subtitle is something that I have thought about for a long time. Also, Ive read a number of this authors books and therefore knew that, at the very least, the book would be quite enjoyable. I was not disappointed.

Overall, I found that much of the information contained here is really beyond my need-to-know, at least for the present. However, some information was truly astonishing and useful to me  particularly the chapter on Wikipedia. I think that this alone was worth the read. Something else that I did not expect to find here is information on various aspects of psychology and human behaviour - which, in retrospect, makes a lot of sense. Facebook, LinkedIn, Match.com and several other social media were also discussed to varying degrees.

As usual, the authors writing style is clear, friendly, lively and quite captivating. As far as the books audience is concerned, I think that anyone who uses the Internet in some capacity will likely benefit, to varying degrees, from reading this book and heeding its warnings.
4737395
Compared to the likes of literature or film, video games are a relatively young medium, but they have nonetheless come in for a good deal of academic scrutiny. "The State of Play" is a collection of essays on the subject, edited by Daniel Goldberg and Linus Larsson, and is an ideal read for people with an interest in academic concerns about gaming but without a deep theoretical background.

The essays are by a number of established commentators and creators, including the likes of Anita Sarkeesian and Zoe Quinn. The subjects are varied, but many deal with ways in which games interact (or fail to interact, or could interact) with issues of race, gender, and sexuality. For example, Hussein Ibrahim, who is of Arabic descent, discusses the widespread use of quasi-Arab enemies in games, while Merritt Kopas considers how sex and relationships might be handled in a manner that doesnt emphasize winning, and Sarkeesian and Katherine Cross examine the forms misogyny can take in the gaming community.

A few of the essays slip into jargon or heavy-handedness, but only a few; for the most part these are remarkably accessible explorations of complex topics. That means all gamers can read and benefit from them. As the title suggests, the essays as a whole paint something of a picture of where we are, with a few hints of where we could go from here. Its not exhaustive, but it is telling, and for gamers who are curious about the bigger issues games can and do point to, its a good place to start.

~
4363962
Vox Day was an unknown quantity to me other than being referenced by comments by various people associated with the Sad Puppies campaign against the SJW infested and Tor controlled Hugo Awards. The success of the Sad Puppies (and their now apparent allies, the Rabid Puppies from Day's camp) at forcing the SJW and Tor contingent into publicly displaying their bias and intolerance and the whole bought-and-paid incest party.

So, when I saw this title, I decided to pick it up and get some insight into one of the personalities involved.

What I got for my investment is a better understanding of one of the main internal enemies of my country (the so called Social Justice Warriors) and some clues as to how they exist. Better, though, is the understanding that they are, at heart, cowardly and easily coerced into rage and public display of their madness.

One of the little tidbits I found interesting is Day's take on Rhetorical thinking versus Dialectic thinking. The assertion that SJW's are slaves to the emotional side of Rhetoric and completely incapable of facing the lies of their own narrative from a Dialectic standpoint is greatly enlightening.

Mind you, true debate and public discourse among reasonable minds should blend the two together to form logical arguments cogently and appealingly debated and moving toward a synthesis of Truth as Aristotle intended. That, however, assumes rationality among both parties which is impossible when dealing with SJW's and their ilk, who are pure Sophos and "da feels:",

In any event, the clearly delineated steps of both the SJW attack strategy and a format for thwarting such mindless mob assaults is very helpful.

There's a point that has to be considered. Day and his Rabid Puppy/GamerGate comrades embrace picking up the weapons of their enemies and beating them to death with them. I actually emotionally agree with that approach, but the old saw of becoming your enemy by behaving like your enemy comes to the fore.

There's a thread of truth in what he says. An organization must protect itself from being infiltrated and subverted by its enemies. That's exactly what the SJW's have done with our schools, our governments, and their associated bureaucracies. The problem, of course, is that in attempting to make sure that your organization remains SJW free, you stand the chance (and a very good one) of becoming as intolerant and evil as the enemy.

Reading a bit of Day's Vox Popoli blog, it's easy to see that human pack attack tendency that mirrors that of the SJW cabal. Just because an attack dog is on your side or attacks people you don't like doesn't make it any less vicious. And that is a very dangerous sort of thing to play casually with.

This is the conundrum the pointing-shrieking control-mania hypocrisy of the SJW's has forced upon us. So long as the fight starts from truth and then uses their own sort of tools to shove that truth down their throat in an emotional manner they can't deal with, that's fine. When the lies begin stacking on each other to try and out do them, though, everyone loses.

Style wise, this is more of a blog-type pamphlet rather than any sort of serious treatise, and it's better for that. The material presented is not scholarly. It's a quick and dirty how-to about identifying the enemy and using their weaknesses against them. For that, readability is a must.

A unsupportable broad-brush approach is used to make the points (the title is an excellent example), but that's part and parcel of establishing the boundaries for a significant conflict. Day addresses this directly in later chapters and explains the necessity from his point of view.

Overall, I'm taking this as an interesting and insightful piece of chronological data that is very helpful in understanding the who's who of the conflict between SJW's and people who prefer to deal with reality. While not perfect, I certainly consider it relevant and a worthwhile addition to my Kindle library.
4802545
This book had some very interesting ideas regarding online etiquette. While I found most points intriguing, there were a few that I felt were obvious to younger generations.
1967053
The current cultural landscape is a wasteland littered with superheroes, fast cars, and enough visceral responses to elicit bar-fight-style brawls out in public.

It is refreshing then to read the essays in Feel Free as they feel like a cerebral rollercoaster, full of inverted perceptions on our current state of affairs as well as an in-depth look at things people take for granted.

Take for example her essay on Facebook titled Generation Why.

Smith compliments Zuckerberg for the achievement of developing one of the largest online communities, but she also points out some negative sides to Facebook. How some people use the social media platform in a solipsistic manner to confirm their own views of the world.

But the essays are not limited to commentary on our social interactions. One focuses on an interview with Jay-Z, and how Smith compares the rap superstar to Paradise Lost author John Milton. How both employ the power of boasting to further their artistic forms to reach the apex of their respective forms.

The one section which I could do without is her most lengthy set of essays in the collection, all under the header the Harpers Columns. This is not to say these pieces are written poorly by any means. They are stylistically quite good, as is to be expected from Smith. No, they just feel out of place in the larger context of the collection.

While the other essays are concerned with social issues, cultural pieces, and experiences strolling through a garden, this small collection feels like a friend talking to you about a book you haven't read or significant points in a movie you haven't seen. There are no spoilers per se, just a bit of confusion if you haven't read the books she is reviewing.

The essays are thoughtful and fun though. Readers will laugh from time-to-time, and they will also stop to ponder art, politics, and everything in between.