Synopsis
Andrew L. Shapiro, contributing editor at The Nation , cuts through the hype to explain how the Internet revolution has really affected our lives and identifies the pot holes in the road ahead.. Dissidents around the world use the Internet to evade censorship and get their message out. Cyber-gossips send dispatches to thousands via email. Musicians bypass record companies and put their songs on the world wide web for fans to download directly. Day traders roil the stock market, buying securities online with the click of a mouse and then selling minutes later when the price jumps. The Control Revolution argues that there is a common thread underlying such developments. It is not just a change in how we compute or communicate. Rather, it is a potentially radical shift in who is in controlof information, experience, and resources.
Shapiro explains how new technology is allowing individual s to take power from large institutions such as government, corporations, and the media; shows how powerful entities are trying to limit our new digitally enabled autonomy; warns that individual control can be pushed too far; and describes how we can reap the benefits of the new control without succumbing either to resistance or to excess. Along the way, Shapiro explores cyberporn and censorship, customized news delivery, electronic commerce, online democracy, Microsofts market power, encryption and law enforcement, copyright in the digital age, virtual communities, Matt Drudge, privacy, and the role of interactive technology in struggles against political tyranny.
From the Publisher
Reviews"With scrupulous documentation and a knowledgeable but unpatronizing tone, Shapiro delivers a penetrating analysis of both the promise and peril of the digital future." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Shapiro has this brilliantly nailed.... It's hard to imagine a more timely book about the real significance of the Internet." --Jon Katz, Slashdot
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