Voice of America and the Triple Revolution
How nice to be described as “restrained” but “not in the mushy middle.”
A lovely review of the book has just appeared in the Voice of America’s smart Digital Frontiers section.
Ross Slutsky and one of my favorite reporters, Doug Bernard, have some nice things to say and, more importantly “get” the big themes in the book and “get” where we’re coming from.
“In keeping with their academic pedigrees, they work hard to objectively weigh the implications, both positive and negative, of the digital age. But this is no document from the mushy middle. In the end, they land closer to sunny tech evangelists like Vint Cerf and Chris Anderson than their somewhat gloomier peers like Sherry Turkle and Evgeny Morozov….
“The picture they draw is more finely detailed than previous efforts, such as Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone, that overly focus on the decline of civic groups like the Kiwanis or local bowling leagues. Rainie and Wellman counter that these groups’ membership declines don’t reflect a loss in American sociability so much as a change in how Americans are connecting with one another. Additionally, the authors exhibit a nuanced understanding of the Arab Spring, offering a comprehensive account of the role of both social media and offline mobilization in the uprisings.”
While I’m referring to Doug Bernard, let me add that you should look soon for his piece and interview with my colleague Prof. Janna Anderson from Elon University about our new report about the future of corporate responsibility and how tech companies will deal with repressive regimes that want to use their gear to thwart or crack down on dissidents.