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The Filter Bubble: What The Internet Is Hiding From You Paperback – International Edition, 1 Mar. 2012

by Eli Pariser (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 336 ratings
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Imagine a world where all the news you see is defined by your salary, where you live, and who your friends are. Imagine a world where you never discover new ideas. And where you can't have secrets.

Welcome to 2011.

Google and Facebook are already feeding you what they think you want to see. Advertisers are following your every click. Your computer monitor is becoming a one-way mirror, reflecting your interests and reinforcing your prejudices.

The internet is no longer a free, independent space. It is commercially controlled and ever more personalised. The Filter Bubble reveals how this hidden web is starting to control our lives - and shows what we can do about it.

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  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin
  4. Publication date
    1 Mar. 2012
  5. Dimensions
    13 x 1.8 x 19.7 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    0241954525
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0241954522
  8. See all details
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Review

An illuminating flash-forward of what might be -- Colin Fraser ― Scotland on Sunday

Highlights an important and easily overlooked aspect of the internet's evolution that affects everyone who uses it ― The Economist

Pariser is an excellent debunker of internet clichés... [he] comes as close as anyone has to explaining the misgivings that a lot of internet users feel -- Christopher Caldwell ― The Financial Times

A book designed to agitate us into awareness, because this may be the only way we can first discover and then burst the bubble... a polemic and warning -- Brian Appleyard ― The Sunday Times

Explains how insidious customization of the web is limiting our access to information, and narrowing rather than expanding our horizons ― Observer

Well-written, thoroughly researched and informative . . . the possibilities become truly amazing - or, if you prefer, scary ― Scotsman

Astonishing ― Andrew Marr

Explosive ― Chris Anderson

About the Author

Eli Pariser is a pioneer in online campaigning. He helped start Avaaz.org, one of the world's largest citizen organizations, and is now President of the five-million member MoveOn.org. He's a Senior Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute. He has written for the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin; Standard Edition (1 Mar. 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0241954525
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0241954522
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13 x 1.8 x 19.7 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 336 ratings

About the author

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Eli Pariser

Eli Pariser

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Eli Pariser is the board president and former executive director of MoveOn.org, which at five million members is one of the largest citizens' organizations in American politics. During his time leading MoveOn, he sent 937,510,800 e-mails to members in his name. He has written op-eds for The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal and has appeared on The Colbert Report, Good Morning America, Fresh Air, and World News Tonight.

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4.3 out of 5 stars
336 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book interesting and a good read. They describe it as an excellent guide to what data internet companies collect. However, opinions differ on the content - some find it informative and chilling, while others feel it gets repetitive at times.

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ReadabilityContent
8 customers mention ‘Readability’8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book interesting and well-written. They say it provides a good overview of the main topics and is an excellent guide for internet companies.

"The book is not too long and is well written for the broad population that are interested in the Internet...." Read more

"...Pariser still acts as an excellent guide to what data internet companies gather about users, why they gather it and the marketing uses it gets put..." Read more

"...A chilling and informative book, that is a delight to read." Read more

"...Worth a read, as it is fascinating and well evidenced- but could have done with some refining!" Read more

7 customers mention ‘Content’4 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's content. Some find it informative and relevant, providing a good overview of the main issues. Others feel it gets repetitive at times and lacks new insights.

"...The Filter Bubble does act an excellent textbook - a good overview of the main issues and points to consider." Read more

"Some interesting arguments. At points the book gets a bit repetitive- giving the feeling that Pariser's views could have been written in an article,..." Read more

"...A chilling and informative book, that is a delight to read." Read more

"...It is not necessarily a new argument but is a persuasive one. Parser has an easy style of writing and his passion shines through...." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • RAM
    5.0 out of 5 stars Taking control of personalisation
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 January 2012
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    The book is not too long and is well written for the broad population that are interested in the Internet. It describes how over time we come to see an increasingly personalised view that is less obviously a more constrained view. I noticed this several years ago with Google Search, results were skewed to my home country. For personal searches this is probably beneficial but for professional purposes this is not what I want to see. Amazon also takes note of what I have looked at and what I have purchased and uses this information to suggest products that I may be interested in. Once again this is mostly OK but I do get a rather strange set of suggestion since I also order for my wife and bought books for my daughter when she was a medical student. The book extrapolates from the situation today and explores what may happen. There are certainly more aspects to this topic than I had noticed myself but I largely agree with the views expressed in the book. We, the users, need to be sure that the benefits of personalisation accrue to us and not just enable targeted advertising by vendors. I have no hesitation in recommending this book.
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  • Mark Pack
    4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent if rather US-centric guide to the main issues
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 April 2017
    Verified Purchase
    It is a tribute to the excellence of Eli Pariser's book, The Filter Bubble, that even now, six years on from its publication, a volume about the latest technology trends still reads as up-to-date and relevant.

    Pariser still acts as an excellent guide to what data internet companies gather about users, why they gather it and the marketing uses it gets put to - not to mention how the way information is presented to us online involves all sorts of filtering and selection decisions, many of which are obscured from us.

    The book is written very much from an American perspective, for an American audience and with very little mention of the rest of the world until right near the end. That's a shame because it is possible for internet services to rely on user data for their core business model, to make profits from this and yet to give the public much more knowledge and control than is currently the case in America. That's not just an optimistic statement; it's the reality from other countries. The very different approach to data in, say, Germany from the US, only gets a brief look-in near the end after many chapters which present the current American situation as being one fostered by technology rather than, more accurately, one fostered by the political decisions that Americans have taken but which others show do not have to be taken.

    The other factor to consider is that, as is common with people making predictions about the future in pretty much any field, Pariser falls prey at times to the myopic prediction of spotting something bad which is happening and predicting the future will be more of the same, without any countervailing reactions from anyone taking place.

    So whilst Pariser is right to highlight the risks of loss of creativity, culture and functioning societies if all people are fed is information which matches what they already believe and like, there is no consideration in The Filter Bubble of how others might react to protect it.Yes, creativity might be

    Yes, creativity might be stifled if you have a monoculture of news and entertainment. But the very costs of that does and will encourage people to take counter-steps to preserve the value that Pariser is worried about being lost. The greater your fear of its loss, the greater the value you put on it - and so the greater the flaw in your picture of the future if that very picture is based on no-one taking any counter-measures.

    That all said, although written in a much more lively way than a textbook, The Filter Bubble does act an excellent textbook - a good overview of the main issues and points to consider.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Yay!!
    5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read and enjoyable
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 July 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Net neutrality is being undermined by the profiling and tracking of users. You don't get "neutral" information anymore. Google are undermining what was great about the internet - but they do it in secret. It's censorship by the back door.

    How they've gone from a company that didn't want to be corrupted by advertisers (as vested interests would affect them) to who they are today.

    Google has definitely shifted it's views - it's gone to the dark side. They're selling you.

    They have a Mossad Contract.
    As well as a one million square foot facility next to the NSA.

    A chilling and informative book, that is a delight to read.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Anna Selway
    3.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating points, should have been an article not a book.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 August 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Some interesting arguments. At points the book gets a bit repetitive- giving the feeling that Pariser's views could have been written in an article, not requiring a whole book to justify his point of view. Worth a read, as it is fascinating and well evidenced- but could have done with some refining!
    One person found this helpful
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  • John
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 October 2017
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    Very imformative
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  • Ads
    4.0 out of 5 stars good read - very interesting content / claims
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 August 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Arrived quickly , new and untouched and frankly is a real eye opener of a read.

    particularly interesting about the drug Aderall and the data companies I had never heard of that are clearly big players.

    One negative would be that there are some technical "techy' words used that need some explaining.
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  • Bobski
    5.0 out of 5 stars Internet
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 May 2019
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    Stuff in this book that's well worth knowing
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  • GrahamH
    5.0 out of 5 stars thought provoking
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 July 2014
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    A must-read book on personal privacy in the era of data science. This book exposes some important concepts that affect us all.
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  • Patrick Joseph Cassidy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Beware!
    Reviewed in Spain on 22 March 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Watched the presentation by Eli Pariser, them decided to buy the book, it's an eye opener and every one should be more aware and informed as to just how internet works.
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  • Metatron
    5.0 out of 5 stars Why the internet isn't the world wide web anymore
    Reviewed in Germany on 4 May 2012
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    Intelligent, Insightful, Important... drei Worte die "The Filter Bubble" akkurat beschreiben. Wir lernen u.A. , wie die Personalisierung des Internets mehr und mehr dazu führt, daß wir nur noch Informationen erhalten die unseer Weltsicht entsprechen, wie Suchmaschinen Suchergebnisse für uns vorselektieren, so daß wir nur noch (angeblich) für uns relevante Ergebnisse erhalten, uvm. Ganz allgemein geraten wir dabei in ein Internet, das jedem einzelnen von uns vorgaukelt daß seine Meinungen, Vorurteile, ... die vorherrschende Meinung sind und kritische Quellen werden ausgeblendet. Ein für Demokratien eher beänstigender Vorgang.

    Im Weiteren beschäftigt sich das Buch natürlich auch noch mit der Thematik des Userprofilings und was die Internetfirmen alles über uns wissen. Tatsächlich ist das Thema Privatsphäre im Kontext dieses Buches, obwohl extrem wichtig, für mich fast zweitranging. Das Filtern von Suchergebnisse, was dazu führt, daß unsere vorgefassten Meinungen sich selbst verstärken ist viel beängstigender.

    Für mich ein Buch, das man lesen muss.
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  • Pavan Arora
    5.0 out of 5 stars Now I know why the 'Shoe' I saw & clicked on 'Amazon' follows me around the 'internet'! ;-)
    Reviewed in India on 26 June 2015
    Verified Purchase
    A very insightful book, written in a matter-of-fact and interesting manner
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  • Client d'Amazon
    5.0 out of 5 stars Très intéressant
    Reviewed in France on 5 February 2020
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    Sujet toujours actuel. Ce livre datant déjà de quelques années, il semble aujourd'hui encore plus juste - ce qui est rare pour les ouvrages de ce type. Agréable à lire - bon pour les neurones en restant détendu.
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  • Clint Schnekloth
    5.0 out of 5 stars Popping the Bubble
    Reviewed in the United States on 15 July 2011
    Verified Purchase
    Imagine this scenario,

    "A personalization device in the sanctuary will read your data from your cell phone as you walk into worship, and will select individualized music for you for worship so you can sing your own song, while others around you sing the songs selected for them that match their preferences, all based on an algorithm developed by, but not understood by, technicians at Google."

    This is not a scenario Eli Pariser describes in his book The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You, but it is a scenario I as a pastor imagined as a possibility after reading his book.

    Eli Pariser's central thesis is that the development of personalization algorithms on search engines and social networks (his primary, but not exclusive, targets here are Google and Facebook), means that each of us is increasingly (and often unwittingly) experiencing a personalized and filtered bubble of information. And inasmuch as we are doing so, we aren't experiencing the free range of connections and ideas that a true democracy or open system would expose us to.

    The book itself is a rather breathless and inspiring tour of the landscape of contemporary media and the digital age. You can read it profitably just on that level, as brief explorations into the development of some of the major institutions and networks that now shape our days. If you've read a bit of history of Google or Facebook, some of it won't be that new, but the stories are well told.

    Much of it is new, at least to me. I had no idea that perhaps the largest database of personal information in the world is located in Conway, Arkansas! Acxiom was utilized after 9/11 to find information about the terrorists who flew the planes. They know pretty much everything about you. Seriously.

    My two take-aways. First, it's worth knowing that the web is now personalized to you, personally. When you do a Google search for "Lutheran Confessions" from your computer, you will get a different set of results than, say, a person sitting at a desktop computer in a small town across the country who holds different political views than yourself. Each search is personalized based on 59 or so pieces of data about your geographical and social location, including what kind of browser you use, what your past search history was like, and so on.

    Second, one of Eli Parisers most intriguing suggestions is that web designers need to build more "drift" and serendipity into the system, and each of us needs to find our own ways to drift as well. What this means in practice is that, instead of getting your news and information from the four or five web sites you visit each day, you may want to venture out into uncharted territory--international newspapers, new blogs written by people who think very differently from yourself, etc. And those who write algorithms shaping where we go on the web should build some of that serendipity into the programs they write as well.

    Somewhat inexplicably, Eli Pariser doesn't point out in his book that you can turn these personalization features off on Google and Facebook. But he is collecting ideas and insights at his web site for the book, so we can all post responses and insights there. In fact, reading the web site, I see he's added information like what I've just mentioned in order to expand on and improve his book. Here's the link: [ ... ] Eli Pariser has written a GREAT book. I recommend it highly.
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