{"product_id":"the-peoples-platform-taking-back-power-and-culture-in-the-digital-age-9781250062598","title":"The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Taylor is the Marshall McLuhan or the Neil Postman of our new digital economy, the lonely voice raising urgent questions we need to answer together . . . If \u003ci\u003eThe People's Platform\u003c\/i\u003e doesn't spark the conversation about the kind of democracy and culture we deserve, then we'll deserve the one we get.\"--NY1 News' \u003ci\u003eThe Book Reader \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe Internet has been hailed as an unprecedented democratizing force, a place where all can participate equally. But how true is this claim? In a seminal dismantling of techno-utopian visions, \u003ci\u003eThe People's Platform\u003c\/i\u003e argues that the Internet in fact amplifies real-world inequities at least as much as it ameliorates them. Online, just as off-line, attention and influence largely accrue to those who already have plenty of both. A handful of giant companies remain the gatekeepers, while the worst habits of the old media model--the pressure to seek easy celebrity, to be quick and sensational above all--have proliferated in the ad-driven system.\u003cbr\u003e We can do better, Astra Taylor insists. The online world does offer a unique opportunity, but a democratic culture that supports work of lasting value will not spring up from technology alone. If we want the Internet to truly be a people's platform, we will have to make it so.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAstra Taylor\u003c\/b\u003e is a writer and documentary filmmaker. Her films include \u003ci\u003eZizek!\u003c\/i\u003e, a feature documentary about the world's most outrageous philosopher, which was broadcast on the Sundance Channel, and \u003ci\u003eExamined Life\u003c\/i\u003e, a series of excursions with contemporary thinkers. Her writing has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe Nation\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSalon\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMonthly Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Baffler\u003c\/i\u003e, and other publications. She lives in New York City.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Picador USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50333769138450,"sku":"9781250062598","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_c1a673b6-d420-41fc-9551-d2e2149b70ab.jpg?v=1727876861","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-peoples-platform-taking-back-power-and-culture-in-the-digital-age-9781250062598","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}