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Extremely Online
Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet
https://www.amazon.com/Extremely-Online-Untold-Influence-Internet-ebook/dp/B0BV189RYP/
For over a decade, Taylor Lorenz has been the authority on internet culture, documenting its far-reaching effects on all corners of our lives. Her reporting is serious yet entertaining and illuminates deep truths about ourselves and the lives we create online. In her debut book, Extremely Online, she reveals how online influence came to upend the world, demolishing traditional barriers and creating whole new sectors of the economy.
I read this over the weekend, and it's a lot of fun. It's also somewhat strange, for four reasons:
(1) Lorenz acts like America is the only country in the world and pretends that only white people are influencers. It's a bit surreal tbh. I feel like she lives in an alternate reality.
(2) Aside from PewDiePie, I've never heard of any of these people. I think Lorenz might be not-so-secretly obsessed with teen idols who were big on Vine ten years ago.
(3) Lorenz is telling the overarching story mainly from the perspective of corporations, whom she treats like sports teams in an endless game of making as much money as possible. There's no acknowledgement of the effect of social media on culture or society.
(4) When the smaller stories of individuals come up, they have no nuance. To give a previously mentioned example, Lorenz basically says "PewDiePie is a Nazi" and leaves it at that. I'm not particularly a fan of PewDiePie (or Nazis, obviously), but that's not even remotely close to what actually happened. Again, it's like Lorenz is talking about an alternate reality. Her discussion of Gamergate is especially surreal.
I kind of want to write my own secret history of social media; but also, I dislike being perceived.
https://www.amazon.com/Extremely-Online-Untold-Influence-Internet-ebook/dp/B0BV189RYP/
For over a decade, Taylor Lorenz has been the authority on internet culture, documenting its far-reaching effects on all corners of our lives. Her reporting is serious yet entertaining and illuminates deep truths about ourselves and the lives we create online. In her debut book, Extremely Online, she reveals how online influence came to upend the world, demolishing traditional barriers and creating whole new sectors of the economy.
I read this over the weekend, and it's a lot of fun. It's also somewhat strange, for four reasons:
(1) Lorenz acts like America is the only country in the world and pretends that only white people are influencers. It's a bit surreal tbh. I feel like she lives in an alternate reality.
(2) Aside from PewDiePie, I've never heard of any of these people. I think Lorenz might be not-so-secretly obsessed with teen idols who were big on Vine ten years ago.
(3) Lorenz is telling the overarching story mainly from the perspective of corporations, whom she treats like sports teams in an endless game of making as much money as possible. There's no acknowledgement of the effect of social media on culture or society.
(4) When the smaller stories of individuals come up, they have no nuance. To give a previously mentioned example, Lorenz basically says "PewDiePie is a Nazi" and leaves it at that. I'm not particularly a fan of PewDiePie (or Nazis, obviously), but that's not even remotely close to what actually happened. Again, it's like Lorenz is talking about an alternate reality. Her discussion of Gamergate is especially surreal.
I kind of want to write my own secret history of social media; but also, I dislike being perceived.