You Should Read This Book

I just finished reading "The Circle", a novel by Dave Eggers. It may not be the greatest novel I've read, but I couldn't put it down. It's a must read for anyone working in high tech &/or actively engaged in social media. The Circle is a story of how one company can do evil under the guise of corporate good will. It's about the positive and evil powers of social media. The novel illustrates the mechanisms of a cult gone viral on a global scale.  It's hard to believe the "world wide web" is 25 years old. Remember when a virtual visit to the Louvre was the most exciting web application? The Circle takes a dystopian view of how the internet might look well within the next 25 years. Most of the technology exists today - the NSA certainly uses it. 

Here's an excellent review by Margaret Atwood from the New York Review of Books.

 

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