

'You are not a gadget': new Jaron Lanier book on web 2.0 - anigbrowl
http://www.jaronlanier.com/gadgetcurrency.html

======
anigbrowl
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0307269647/metafilter...](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0307269647/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/)
Blurb: "For the most part, Web 2.0--Internet technologies that encourage
interactivity, customization, and participation--is hailed as an emerging
Golden Age of information sharing and collaborative achievement, the strength
of democratized wisdom. Jaron Lanier isn't buying it. In You Are Not a Gadget,
the longtime tech guru/visionary/dreadlocked genius (and progenitor of virtual
reality) argues the opposite: that unfettered--and anonymous--ability to
comment results in cynical mob behavior, the shouting-down of reasoned
argument, and the devaluation of individual accomplishment. Lanier traces the
roots of today's Web 2.0 philosophies and architectures (e.g. he posits that
Web anonymity is the result of '60s paranoia), persuasively documents their
shortcomings, and provides alternate paths to "locked-in" paradigms. Though
its strongly-stated opinions run against the bias of popular assumptions, You
Are Not a Gadget is a manifesto, not a screed; Lanier seeks a useful,
respectful dialogue about how we can shape technology to fit culture's needs,
rather than the way technology currently shapes us."

More stuff at the amazon page, eg an interview. I have no affiliation with
Amazon but find myself liking the premise of the book.

