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Charles Seife has written a thought-provoking book about information in the digital age, and it's a book that should scare you as well as educate you. Seife does more than just talk about Internet hoaxes and misinformation; he also discusses the history of past generations of hoaxes and scams, and how the Internet has dramatically altered the playing field. The book is extensively footnoted, as well, showing where his information comes from. With the Kindle edition, this was a bit of a problem, as I occasionally clicked a link when I was simply trying to turn the page.
Topics in the book include such things as:
- Stock manipulation
- Spam and the various money-making schemes that would have been impossible prior to the Digital Age
- Wikipedia and the dangers of relying on it.
- Plagiarism
- How the Digital Age has changed, and is continuing to change, the way that news is gathered and disseminated.
- Fake identities, fake profiles, and sock puppets.
- How search engines have changed not just the way that information is shared but also how it is created.
- Digital manipulation.
- Social media
And the "Top Ten Dicta of the Internet Skeptic," including such gems as "A social media site's purpose is to serve its users -- in the same sense as a zoo's purpose is to serve its animals."
The book can be dry at times and some of this information is pretty widely known. But I'm a pretty well-informed technical guy who makes a living in the online world and some of the information here was eye-opening, not just the details but the history and theory behind it. Seife also provides some practical advice on how you can protect yourself, at least to a certain extent. The listed length of the book is a bit misleading, by the way, since 30% of the book consists of links, footnotes, and an extensive index.
- Hardcover: 256 pages
- Publisher: Viking (June 26, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 9780670026081
- ISBN-13: 978-0670026081
- ASIN: 0670026085
- Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
- Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
- Average Customer Review: 22 customer reviews
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#1,045,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #686 in Hoaxes & Deceptions
- #3692 in Probability & Statistics (Books)
- #2897 in Internet & Telecommunications
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