The Internet trap : how the digital economy builds monopolies and undermines democracy /
Matthew Hindman
- Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2018
- xii, 240p. ; 24cm.
This book sheds light on the stunning rise of the digital giants and the online struggles of nearly everyone else-and reveals what small players can do to survive in a game that is rigged against them. The author shows how seemingly tiny advantages in attracting users can snowball over time. He also explains why the internet is not the postindustrial technology that has been sold to the public, how it has become mathematically impossible for grad students in a garage to beat Google, and why net neutrality alone is no guarantee of an open internet. He also explains why the challenges for local digital news outlets and other small players are worse than they appear and demonstrates what it really takes to grow a digital audience and stay alive in today's online economy. The Internet Trap shows why, even on the internet, there is still no such thing as a free audience.
9780691159263
Internet--Economic aspects Internet--Political aspects--United States Internet--Political aspects