The Digital Economy ANNIVERSARY EDITION: Rethinking Promise and Peril in the Age of Networked Intelligence

by Tapscott

"Twenty years of hindsight prove how deeply Tapscott understood the impact the Internet would have on the way we live, work, play and learn. This important book, now updated, is just as relevant today as it was then."
John Chambers, Chairman and CEO, Cisco

With a new foreword by Eric Schmidt, Chief Executive of Google Two decades ago, The Digital Economy changed the way the world thought about the Web and Internet. While everyone else was in awe of "websites" and dot coms, Don Tapscott was among the first people to argue that the Internet would fully transform the nature of business and government. It goes without saying that his predictions were spot on.

Now, in this new edition of his classic work, the New York Times bestselling author provides topical updates with a sweeping new analysis of how the Internet has changed business and society in the last 20 years, covering:

Natural frictions between present-day Industrial Capitalism and the Digital Economy
The radical effects of the Internet on traditional corporate structures and systems
Dramatic changes in business collaboration and culture thanks to social media
The rise of web-based analytics and how they have transformed business functions
Government transparency, citizen empowerment, and the creation of public value
Teaching and learning--revolutionary developments driven by digital content
When Tapscott was writing the original edition in 1994, he was living in a world where Netscape had been just introduced as go-to browser, websites didn't do transactions, dial-up was the only way to get online, and mobile phones sightings were rare. Google, YouTube, eBay, Facebook, Twitter? They didn't exist.

Preserving all the original text as it appeared 20 years ago, this new edition includes detailed essays ending each chapter--Tapscott's highly informed reflections on his predictions, along with new forecasts of where the digital world is headed.

Praise for the new edition of The Digital Economy

"1994 was a good year. Netscape Navigator and The Digital Economy. With this anniversary edition, Tapscott provides lucid insights for the next stage of these amazing times."
Marc Andreessen, Co-founder and General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz

"Brilliant. Governments can learn from The Digital Economy how to democratize access to prosperity, minimize social and economic divides and transform government and democracy for the 21st Century."
Enrique Pe�a Nieto, President of Mexico

"We're now into three decades of terrific insights and analysis from Don Tapscott about the digital revolution! Read this book!"
Ajay Banga, President and CEO, Mastercard

Genres: Business

448 pages, Hardcover

First published September 26, 2014

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was pretty good. Interesting from a historical look-back perspective. I did not read it when it was new in 1995 - I should have (sigh). Would have helped somewhat.

Chapter 8 and 10 introductions were very good.

Was amused by his disrespect for HDTV. He didn't think that would gain traction. (It did take 10 years however.)

Newmarket library.

[Rawn Shah · Rating 5 out of 5]

We live on Internet time whether we like it or not. Life goes on and seems to bring new innovations with almost endless regularity. Yet, when you take a big long look at it after years at a time we find ourselves shocked at how much as changed. To prognosticate the future on the Internet timescale is a risky venture even looking year to year. When one understands the fundamentals of what is changing, per rare individuals like Don Tapscott, it is possible been right on the target even over decades. In his 20th anniversary edition of The Digital Economy (McGraw-Hill, 2014), we can take a look back at the bright glimpses into what was and look forward at what could be.

As I read this version written 20 years later, updated with many new pre-chapter pages, I find both some of his predictions that have come to pass, as well as things that are still actively underway. Reading this book is taking two trips in parallel: examining innovations that challenged our thinking in the past, and following new issues that continue to persist or are developing. This book isn’t a nostalgia piece, but a challenge to how you look at innovation with long-term impact.

The value of this book is to help people catch up on the common underlying issues of the Digital economy in the world today. Yet, a digital historian can also use this to examine how innovative ideas that span beyond single companies, industries or countries, evolve over time. It helps us understand maturity and the diffusion of innovation, even as we claim there is too much inertia in some fields for real change.

[ Read more of the review on my Forbes blog ]

[Emma Sands · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished this book, and found it well organized and a perfect complement to the "Shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution" I'd just finished. Slightly dated, even with the 20th Anniversary edition inserts before each chapter - the whole privacy and Fake News issues would have illustrated some of the concepts perfectly well. But things are moving fast, which is precisely one of the things the book tells us to prepare for. Good read.

[Jim Sta Isabel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disorganized, incoherent and long-winded. The writing style is not fluid, and the points are repetitive. There are a lot of business jargon (i.e. smart-sounding terms that are overused so they've lost meaning altogether), so majority of the book is hard to comprehend. Don't waste your time on this.

[Hanie Noor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was first published in 1995 where I wasn’t even born yet and compiled together with some updates (2014). Too lengthy for someone who knows bits about it and too general as well. Good reference tho.