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Amazon.co.uk Review
Writing a book about the Internet and Society is a bit like taking on a subject like God and the Universe. Where do you start? Slevin opts for "the acceleration of manufactured uncertainty in our late modern world"--which is a pity, because this book has short pieces on all the important issues that arise from Internet use, only they're linked together by opaque academic argument.
The reader is given an introduction to the theories of Howard Rheingold, Anthony Giddens and John B Thompson and Slevin punctuates his thesis with their ideas. The academic theory tends to burden thought-provoking discussion of the practical, like how the BP Amoco Web site affects the world of work, an analysis of how the 10 Downing Street site might change politics, and questions such as, what does having your own homepage do to your personal sense of identity?
Regulation, globalization, new forms of human association: all the thorny issues are examined and illustrated by random vignettes about people who have had long distance e-mail relationships or governments anticipating political problems with the Web. (For example, having fought off the influence of the baleful English-speaking film industry, how are the French going to deal with the Internet?) Slevin has written a book which begins to define the academic terrain for discussion of the impact of the Internet, but cyber library dust may gather quickly on this particular tome.--Brian Jenner
Review
′By far the most sophisticated historical and theoretical treatment of the Internet to appear so far, yet a real pleasure to read. Enormously comprehensive and tough minded, The Internet and Society dramatically raises the level of discussion about a phenomenon that is radically changing the way we live.′ James Lull, Professor of Communication Studies, San Jose State University, California
′Slevin sets out to challenge traditional ways of looking at the internet and he achieves this. His book is challenging and thought–provoking, and a first step towards an understanding of the cultural impact of the internet. His work is well informed and well based in previous scholarship.′ Business History
′An insightful analysis into the interplay between communication and culture.′ Sunday Tribune (Dublin)
′This book deserves much praise. Slevin provides a well reasoned and systematic account that illuminates the social situatedness and significance of the internet within contemporary society.′ Lincoln Dahlberg, Convergence
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It is argued by many that the emergence of the internet signals the coming of a new era in the history of cultural transmission. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
It is argued by many that the emergence of the internet signals the coming of a new era in the history of cultural transmission. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Good books about the Internet are rare, but Slevin's book is certainly one of them. It approaches the Internet from a social point of view, and describes the Net as a completely new medium, which covers aspects of all other existing media, and which, being so varied, has some major advantages over single, separate media (like newspapers or television). As Slevin argues, the Internet differs from a single, separate medium in that it does not merely have a push role, but can give people so much information as to make a real difference and a huge impact on society. Slevin might, as such, have named his book 'Internet is Society' rather than 'Internet and Society'.
The book is a good introduction to the origins and definitions of the Internet. It describes how young people basically grow up with the medium and how other people are spending more and more time and money to explore the Net. The book also deals with the Internet's possibilities and, not unimportantly, with the risks that are involved. These risks being a hot issue in society at the moment (risk management in organizations), Slevin's book provides some new insights into handling the Internet, both online as well as offline. So the book is a kind of a SWOT analysis of the Net and I am very impressed by this book!
René Kalsbeek M.A.Communication Studies, University of Amsterdam
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a doctoral student in Mass Communcation at the University of Texas in Austin studying the social impact of the Internet, I was glad to find a text that discussed the Internet from a social and cultural perspective. It was so refreshing to find that someone recognizes that the impacts of technology are broader than just the "online culture."
I was also inspired by Dr. Slevin's active approach recommendation to technology, rather than the passive approach or wait-and-see approach, or the technozealot/technophobe approaches that are prevalent in current literature. I, too, feel that the impact will be the sum total of various pros, cons and indifferences of the medium and that only through a coherent study of technology and an analysis of communication and sociological theory will we be able to grasp its opportunities and consequences. I plan to refer to this book and the resources on the associated Web site as a key resource in my dissertation process.
The focus on the arguments of Giddens, Thompson and Baumann strengthened the position of the author and grounded the work in sociological theory. Slevin realizes that we must not assume that traditional theory will apply in this new medium, but that we must analyze existing theory and understand that the unique dynamics of the Internet might modify or even rewrite theory. This work is powerful and insightful in its ability to integrate and apply multiple perspectives. I only wish that I could have written this book myself!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
James Slevin shows tremendous scholarly accomplishment in this timely book. It is rich in detail which he connects up excellently to sophisticated social theory.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Net and Society's Nettles
To the first-time users of both the Arpanet and Milnet in the birthing days of the Internet, it was clear pretty early on that this new technological development could very well... Read more
Published on 9 Nov 2001
Good intensions are not enough
Starting on this book I realized with some excitement that here was an author who had a clear understanding of the state of this research field. Read more
Published on 19 Nov 2000
Certainly a good book about The Net !
Good books about the Internet are rare, but Slevin's book is certainly one of them. It approaches the Internet from a social point of view, and describes the Net as a completely... Read more
Published on 27 Mar 2000 by renekalsbeek@hotmail.com
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