The author of Silicon Valley satire I Hate the Internet on the evils of social media, and how novelists have failed to tackle itWhen the novel I Hate the Internet came out in the US earlier this year, it had every likelihood of sinking without trace. It was self-published, it was by a young unknown – Jarett Kobek – and its main selling point was naked, gleeful contempt for the devices and technology platforms that are an essential part of all our daily lives. “Nothing says individuality like 500 million consumer electronics built by slaves,” he says at one point. “Welcome to hell.” Hell, for Kobek, a 38-year-old American of Turkish heritage, became daily life in San Francisco, where the novel is set. Along with many of the city’s artists and writers, he found himself driven out by the forces of gentrification, moved to Los Angeles, where he’s now based, set up his own small press, and wrote this book – a scorching satire of how a few hypercapitalist companies in Silicon Valley have come to dominate everything. I Hate the Internet didn’t sink without trace. It found a readership thirsty for its funny, acerbic edge, got a rave review in the New York Times, went to the top of the bestseller charts in Germany and has now been published here by Serpent’s Tail.So, do you actually hate the internet, Jarett?Not particularly. There’s part of it that I find really contemptible. The title is offered like the sneer of a 15-year-old into Twitter, after they’ve just seen a meme of... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2016-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When I was a teenager, I thought it would be great to be an adult and be surrounded by people who weren't mean to each other all day. Enter stage left: the world wide webBack in the early 90s, when I was still at school and words such as "friend" and "message" were nouns as opposed to verbs, a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When Gary Rubin joined the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) 11 years ago, he brought a corporate sensibility with him. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2013-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wholesaler Bertrams' latest financial results have seen growth from online traders, its... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Internet can often feel like a cesspool of bad intentions, casual cruelty, and hopeless ignorance. Which is why a social networking site like CaringBridge, which allows sick people and their families to give their communities updates on their illnesses, gives us hope for humanity. The site... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Last Monday night, Mark Zuckerberg published a post announcing Facebook's new initiative to bring Internet access to the developing world. The blueprint for internet.org mapped out how Facebook and a host of phone company allies might connect an additional 5 billion people online through more... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New documents published in The Guardian reveal that the NSA can snoop on you in real time--and that the agency is building a giant keyword-based database of everything connected to the Internet, including Word and Excel docs on users' hard drives. Sometimes life seems a lot like dystopian... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House and National Geographic Society have announced a multi-year extension of their sales and distribution partnership. They have partnered since 2005. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Small Internet publishers have been to Washington before to tell their story, but this time they are gathering with a singular purpose: to persuade lawmakers to put more pressure on Mozilla to change its plans for blocking third-party advertisers cookies by default in its Firefox browser. As... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2013-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amina Alaoui Hachimi from the Moroccan publishing house Yanbow Al Kitab believes the internet is a viable gateway to entice North African children to read. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A previously unpublished writer has won the inaugural Historical Novel Society International... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Last year saw a higher number of books bought from internet-only businesses than from bricks and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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(Reuters) - Germany's largest newspaper publisher will introduce a paywall for its flagship national daily Die Welt by the end of this year and is confident competitors will follow suit, Axel Springer Chief Executive Mathias Doepfner said. In an ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Directors of learned societies say clarity over the timing of transition to open access... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Society of Authors has written to schools minister Nick Gibb urging him to support children... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A non-profit body representing the interests of self-published authors will launch this spring... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Roger McGough has been announced as the new president of the Poetry Society. The poet has been a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication Date: Tue, 27/09/2011 - 08:30 Titles on words, waves and the periodic table have made it through to the final six for the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books, described as an "intensely rewarding and eye-opening" shortlist by the judges. Guy Deutschers Through the Language... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 14/09/2011 - 08:55 Authors including Neil Gaiman and Ian Rankin will collaborate with the public in a short story "Tweetathon" organised by the Society of Authors. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 24/08/2011 - 15:06 The Royal Society is holding its first literary festival in its 350-year history, with the likes of Sebastian Faulks, China Miéville and John Banville taking part. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 19/08/2011 - 08:46 The Poetry Society has reinstated Judith Palmer as its director after leading poets and members including poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy called for her to be returned to the post. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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