Each week a global thinker from the worlds of philosophy, science, psychology or the arts is given a minute to put forward a radical, inspiring or controversial idea – no matter how improbable – that they believe would change the world. This week science fiction writer Elizabeth Moon argues that everyone should be given a barcode at birth.“If I were empress of the Universe I would insist on every individual having a unique ID permanently attached - a barcode if you will; an implanted chip to provide an easy, fast inexpensive way to identify individuals.It would be imprinted on everyone at birth. Point the scanner at someone and there it is.Having such a unique barcode would have many advantages. In war soldiers could easily differentiate ... Continue reading →
Silicon Valley isn't completely without its critics, but to the outsider's eye, it seems to be a fairly insular environment with its own rules and codes of conduct. Increasingly, however, Silicon Valley makes products which are pivotal to many of our lives, and the characters — the investors and the CEOs — determine how our online lives are managed, stored, and even displayed. Enter Andrew Keen, the author of The Cult of the Amateur and host of an interview show, Keen On, for TechCrunch, and as of today, the author of a new book, Digital Vertigo. Keen is something of a shit-stirrer, and where he took aim at the “amateur hour” of bloggers, MySpace and YouTube in his last work, he's got his sights set ... Continue reading →
Silicon Valley isn't completely without its critics, but to the outsider's eye, it seems to be a fairly insular environment with its own rules and codes of conduct. Increasingly, however, Silicon Valley makes products which are pivotal to many of our lives, and the characters — the investors and the CEOs — determine how our online lives are managed, stored, and even displayed. Enter Andrew Keen, the author of The Cult of the Amateur and host of an interview show, Keen On, for TechCrunch, and as of today, the author of a new book, Digital Vertigo. Keen is something of a shit-stirrer, and where he took aim at the “amateur hour” of bloggers, MySpace and YouTube in his last work, he's got his sights set ... Continue reading →
Silicon Valley isn't completely without its critics, but to the outsider's eye, it seems to be a fairly insular environment with its own rules and codes of conduct. Increasingly, however, Silicon Valley makes products which are pivotal to many of our lives, and the characters — the investors and the CEOs — determine how our online lives are managed, stored, and even displayed. Enter Andrew Keen, the author of The Cult of the Amateur and host of an interview show, Keen On, for TechCrunch, and as of today, the author of a new book, Digital Vertigo. Keen is something of a shit-stirrer, and where he took aim at the “amateur hour” of bloggers, MySpace and YouTube in his last work, he's got his sights set ... Continue reading →
Silicon Valley isn't completely without its critics, but to the outsider's eye, it seems to be a fairly insular environment with its own rules and codes of conduct. Increasingly, however, Silicon Valley makes products which are pivotal to many of our lives, and the characters — the investors and the CEOs — determine how our online lives are managed, stored, and even displayed. Enter Andrew Keen, the author of The Cult of the Amateur and host of an interview show, Keen On, for TechCrunch, and as of today, the author of a new book, Digital Vertigo. Keen is something of a shit-stirrer, and where he took aim at the “amateur hour” of bloggers, MySpace and YouTube in his last work, he's got his sights set ... Continue reading →
“Unlike most commentators, Andrew Keen observes the internet as if from a distance. Digital Vertigo may be one of the few books on the subject that, twenty years from now, will be seen to have got it right. Neither blinkered advocate nor hardened cynic, he identifies the good and the bad with a rare human and historical perspective. “--Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO, WPP “Andrew Keen has found the off switch for Silicon Valley's reality distortion field. With a cold eye and a cutting wit, he reveals the grandiose claims of our new digital plutocrats to be little more than self-serving cant. Digital Vertigo provides a timely and welcome reminder that having substance is more important than being transparent.”--Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows: What the ... Continue reading →
Andrew Keen‘s new book, “Digital Vertigo: How Today’s Online Social Revolution Is Dividing, Diminishing, and Disorienting Us,” warns that social networking could have adverse affects that have not have been properly considered by society. The following is an edited version of my discussion with Mr. Keen:The cover of “Digital Vertigo,” Andrew Keen’s latest book.Q. Do you have a Twitter account? A. Yes, it’s @AJKeen.But aren’t you against Twitter and Facebook? Twitter, and my dependance on it, is part of the narrative of my new book. Twitter is a dependency, not a narcotic.What about Facebook, do you have an account? I gave up Facebook. I was embarrassed by some of the things people put up so I decided to close my account and I don’t miss ... Continue reading →
