I came across “The People’s Platform – Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age” on a post somewhere, about the 20 best books of 2014. It piqued my curiosity, so I got it.
Astra Taylor is a documentary filmmaker, writer, and musician. I would add to that, thinker.
On this book, she takes a detailed look to the online world, having at times a very critical opinion about it and the companies that operate in it.
She devotes a chapter of the books to the arts, and how they are influenced by new media.
She then goes into journalism, and how it has changed with the internet, and how the fault for its troubles is not entirely the Internet’s.
The role of women, minorities, and inequalities online is one of her concerns also, as are copyright issues, their limits and abuse thereof.
A later chapter is devoted to how all this new technology is hurting the environment (factories) and consuming huge amounts of energy (data centers).
A phrase that stuck with me deals with the need to note what went wrong with the offline world, so we don’t repeat it online.
She concludes in the form of a manifesto for sustainable culture.
This is a good eye opener for anyone who thinks the online world is all good. There are huge companies behind it, whose main purpose is profit. It is important not to forget this, but at the same time strive for making changes and having a better internet.
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