From a cutting-edge cultural commentator, a bold and brilliant challenge to cherished notions of the internet as the great leveler of our age. The internet has been hailed as an unprecedented democratising force, a place where everyone can participate. But how true is this? Dismantling the techno-utopian vision, 'The People's Platform' argues that for all our tweeting and sharing, the internet in fact reflects and amplifies real-world inequalities as much as it reduces them. Online, just as off-line, attention accrues to those who already have plenty of it. What we have seen so far, Astra Taylor argues, has been not a revolution but a rearrangement. A handful of giants like Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook are our gatekeepers. And the worst habits of the old media model the pressure to seek easy celebrity have proliferated. When culture is free, creative work has diminishing value and advertising fuels the system. We can do better, Taylor insists. The online world does offer a unique opportunity, but a democratic culture that supports the diverse and lasting will not spring up from technology alone. If we want the internet to be a people's platform, we will have to make it so.
Dimensions:153 x 234
Author: Astra Taylor
ISBN: 9780007525591
Format:
Pages 300