I just read The Geek Freaks: Why Jaron Lanier rants against what the Web has become, which reviews Jaron Lanier’s “You Are Not a Gadget”.

Over the years, Lanier has become a skeptic of that amorphous thing called Web 2.0. He directs most of his ire toward the “anonymous blog comments, vapid video pranks, and lightweight mashups” that flit through our browsers and Twitter feeds. But he’s also critical of bigger Internet landmarks, such as Wikipedia, the open-source software Linux, and the “hive mind” in general.

The review is generally quite negative towards the book – but I am always interested in reading books and articles such as this.  They present an alternative to prevailing opinion and they make me think.

The much despised The Dumbest Generation by Mark Bauerlein played a similar role for me.  I also liked Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains by Nicholas Carr.

I plan to purchase “You Are Not a Gadget” and think about alternative viewpoints of Web 2.0.  Knowing potential negatives of new technologies is just as important as knowing the positives.  Criticism often promotes improvement.  Wikipedia has improved in reaction to widespread criticism.  Even if it might still be considered “a mediocre product of group writing”….. 🙂