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The Tangled Web We Weave: Inside The Shadow System That Shapes the Internet
We all see what the internet does and increasingly don't like it, but do we know how and more importantly who makes it work that way? That's where the real power lays...
The internet was supposed to be a thing of revolutions. As that dream curdles, there is no shortage of villains to blame--from tech giants to Russian bot farms. But what if the problem is not an issue of bad actors ruining a good thing? What if the hazards of the internet are built into the system itself?
That's what journalist James Ball argues as he takes us to the root of the problem, from the very establishment of the internet's earliest protocols to the cables that wire it together. He shows us how the seemingly abstract and pervasive phenomenon is built on a very real set of materials and rules that are owned, financed, designed and regulated by very real people.
In this urgent and necessary book, Ball reveals that the internet is not a neutral force but a massive infrastructure that reflects the society that created it. And making it work for--and not against--us must be an endeavor of the people as well.
The internet was supposed to be a thing of revolutions. As that dream curdles, there is no shortage of villains to blame--from tech giants to Russian bot farms. But what if the problem is not an issue of bad actors ruining a good thing? What if the hazards of the internet are built into the system itself?
That's what journalist James Ball argues as he takes us to the root of the problem, from the very establishment of the internet's earliest protocols to the cables that wire it together. He shows us how the seemingly abstract and pervasive phenomenon is built on a very real set of materials and rules that are owned, financed, designed and regulated by very real people.
In this urgent and necessary book, Ball reveals that the internet is not a neutral force but a massive infrastructure that reflects the society that created it. And making it work for--and not against--us must be an endeavor of the people as well.
265 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 6, 2020
32 people are currently reading
340 people want to read
About the author
James Ball
60 books10 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
James Ball, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral, has been in the autism field for over 20 years providing educational, residential, and employment services to children and adults affected by autism. Dr. Ball is the President/CEO of JB Autism Consulting. He is also the Director of Clinical Services for New York Families of Autistic Children, Inc. (NYFAC), a private not-for-profit organization providing support and training for children and families. He provides private consultation to organizations, schools, and families regarding staff training, parent training, home support services, classroom design/support, and behavior management/assessment.
Dr. Ball is also a member of Autism New Jersey, formally known as the New Jersey COSAC, Board of Trustees, and Professional Advisory Board, and also sits on the advisory board for Autism Asperger’s Digest magazine. A member of the Autism Society Board of Directors. Dr. Ball has lectured nationally and internationally on various topics such as early intervention, inclusion services, functional behavior assessment, social skills training, behavior management, direct instruction, sensory issues, and accountability. He has published in many of the above areas and authored the breakthrough award- winning book Early Intervention and Autism: Real-life Questions, Real-life Answers. Dr. Ball has won numerous awards including: NYFAC’s Autism Inspiration Award, the Autism Society’s Publication Award, and the Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor of Autism New Jersey.
James Ball, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral, has been in the autism field for over 20 years providing educational, residential, and employment services to children and adults affected by autism. Dr. Ball is the President/CEO of JB Autism Consulting. He is also the Director of Clinical Services for New York Families of Autistic Children, Inc. (NYFAC), a private not-for-profit organization providing support and training for children and families. He provides private consultation to organizations, schools, and families regarding staff training, parent training, home support services, classroom design/support, and behavior management/assessment.
Dr. Ball is also a member of Autism New Jersey, formally known as the New Jersey COSAC, Board of Trustees, and Professional Advisory Board, and also sits on the advisory board for Autism Asperger’s Digest magazine. A member of the Autism Society Board of Directors. Dr. Ball has lectured nationally and internationally on various topics such as early intervention, inclusion services, functional behavior assessment, social skills training, behavior management, direct instruction, sensory issues, and accountability. He has published in many of the above areas and authored the breakthrough award- winning book Early Intervention and Autism: Real-life Questions, Real-life Answers. Dr. Ball has won numerous awards including: NYFAC’s Autism Inspiration Award, the Autism Society’s Publication Award, and the Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor of Autism New Jersey.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
February 9, 2025
This is a book of three parts.
In the first, we meet the architects of the internet. The internet is over 50 years old and was always a lot closer to the government and the establishment than you might imagine. Featured next are the people who own and operate the cables that make up the physical internet. Thirdly come the custodians of the internet, those who run the core mechanics of the internet.
The second part features the venture capitalists who put up the seed capital for firms to grow and spread their business across the internet, plus the people who invented programmatic advertising , the ads aimed at you across all the sites you visit.
The third part covers the cyber warriors, those who protect us from the 'bad actors' out there as well as the people who make the rules that we all follow. Finally, is a chapter called The Resistance, featuring Cindy Cohn who represents a school of activism which tackles problems head-on via litigation and Jimmy Wales who wants to build an internet that works differently to the current model.
In the first, we meet the architects of the internet. The internet is over 50 years old and was always a lot closer to the government and the establishment than you might imagine. Featured next are the people who own and operate the cables that make up the physical internet. Thirdly come the custodians of the internet, those who run the core mechanics of the internet.
The second part features the venture capitalists who put up the seed capital for firms to grow and spread their business across the internet, plus the people who invented programmatic advertising , the ads aimed at you across all the sites you visit.
The third part covers the cyber warriors, those who protect us from the 'bad actors' out there as well as the people who make the rules that we all follow. Finally, is a chapter called The Resistance, featuring Cindy Cohn who represents a school of activism which tackles problems head-on via litigation and Jimmy Wales who wants to build an internet that works differently to the current model.
November 1, 2020
First, I must confess my biases. I develop software (browser- and mobile-based) for a living. I have committed my career to bettering the US healthcare system, both research and medical. I understand how the Internet works, in highly technical (and boring) detail. I work in a non-profit research university lab but willingly work with for-profit products.
I mention this because Ball’s main audience in this work seems to be the general public and not me. A journalist by trade, he seeks to educate us on how the “network of networks” works and how businesses reap profits from it. Since I received a quality technical education, this exposé is not news to me. I wish more people would pay attention to how technology works. There is a need for the public (especially people of societal influence) to take heed of mobile, desktop, and Internet technologies. In our age, every educated citizen should be at least literate in how these impactful devices work. Therefore, I appreciate Bell’s contribution to the discussion and sincerely hope that a few social leaders would increase their literacy by reading this work.
At times, Bell seems to fall into an anti-capitalist bias by contending that business veers to the bad. I personally trust Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” to correct unhealthy situations more than Ball does. Nonetheless, I know enough to know that the threats the author alerts us to are real. The question is not whether governmental regulation is needed but is, what sort of regulation is needed. I am grateful for the economic investment the big Internet companies have made (a topic Ball remains relatively silent on) and do not begrudge them as they seek to reap a profit from this investment. That said, monopolies and oligopolies help no one in the long run. As you can see, this complex issue deserves an entire book, if not more, to address.
I write this two days before the US elections in 2020. I believe that at present, the American government lacks the seriousness and workableness to tackle this issue. (I hope to be proven wrong.) Nonetheless, Ball’s work, out one month before this election, will leave such a discussion in a better place. It is balanced in the main and identifies the key issues. One does not have to buy into all of his advised remedies fully in order to appreciate his analysis.
All our lives these days are touched by technology; thus, any decision-maker could benefit from this work. Many groups stand to benefit from this work: academics, policymakers, lawyers, business-folk, or software developers (like me). Further, this book has global reach – extending from the West to the East, from the US and Europe to China and Japan. The African continent, whose Internet capabilities I know to be rapidly expanding, is even addressed. Ball’s work stands to advance the conversation about technology and our lives; the presumed next question becomes, Are we willing to engage in the dialogue?
I mention this because Ball’s main audience in this work seems to be the general public and not me. A journalist by trade, he seeks to educate us on how the “network of networks” works and how businesses reap profits from it. Since I received a quality technical education, this exposé is not news to me. I wish more people would pay attention to how technology works. There is a need for the public (especially people of societal influence) to take heed of mobile, desktop, and Internet technologies. In our age, every educated citizen should be at least literate in how these impactful devices work. Therefore, I appreciate Bell’s contribution to the discussion and sincerely hope that a few social leaders would increase their literacy by reading this work.
At times, Bell seems to fall into an anti-capitalist bias by contending that business veers to the bad. I personally trust Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” to correct unhealthy situations more than Ball does. Nonetheless, I know enough to know that the threats the author alerts us to are real. The question is not whether governmental regulation is needed but is, what sort of regulation is needed. I am grateful for the economic investment the big Internet companies have made (a topic Ball remains relatively silent on) and do not begrudge them as they seek to reap a profit from this investment. That said, monopolies and oligopolies help no one in the long run. As you can see, this complex issue deserves an entire book, if not more, to address.
I write this two days before the US elections in 2020. I believe that at present, the American government lacks the seriousness and workableness to tackle this issue. (I hope to be proven wrong.) Nonetheless, Ball’s work, out one month before this election, will leave such a discussion in a better place. It is balanced in the main and identifies the key issues. One does not have to buy into all of his advised remedies fully in order to appreciate his analysis.
All our lives these days are touched by technology; thus, any decision-maker could benefit from this work. Many groups stand to benefit from this work: academics, policymakers, lawyers, business-folk, or software developers (like me). Further, this book has global reach – extending from the West to the East, from the US and Europe to China and Japan. The African continent, whose Internet capabilities I know to be rapidly expanding, is even addressed. Ball’s work stands to advance the conversation about technology and our lives; the presumed next question becomes, Are we willing to engage in the dialogue?
April 17, 2021
If you are old enough, you remember the promise of the early internet: in the '90s, we all thought that it is a force of Good, a destroyer of barriers, and a great leveler. Twenty years on, it's hard to believe in our own naivety. How the heck this happened? If you also ask yourself this question, this is a book for you.
James Ball describes the history of the internet, showing that all of today’s troubles have roots in the past. Many arise from the original design - after all, ARPANET was created to facilitate communication between a few scientific institutions, where security or business model weren't an issue. Others occurred because, as the author puts it, we weren't paying attention.
It is a fascinating story, with lively profiles of many main figures and a clear explanation of the intricacies of technical issues. Ball also advises on how to fix this broken system, so if you care about the future (and glorious past) of the internet, you really should read this book.
Thanks to the publisher, Melville House Publishing, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
James Ball describes the history of the internet, showing that all of today’s troubles have roots in the past. Many arise from the original design - after all, ARPANET was created to facilitate communication between a few scientific institutions, where security or business model weren't an issue. Others occurred because, as the author puts it, we weren't paying attention.
It is a fascinating story, with lively profiles of many main figures and a clear explanation of the intricacies of technical issues. Ball also advises on how to fix this broken system, so if you care about the future (and glorious past) of the internet, you really should read this book.
Thanks to the publisher, Melville House Publishing, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
December 18, 2021
Interesting topic with a good review of the evolutionary process of how external forces shaped and continue to shape the internet experience. I thought the writing style was rough and lacked a good flow - better in the beginning, but progressively worse.
April 27, 2021
Very into and excited by the topic of the book, I dove in and was surprised to find a choppy, poorly edited hopscotch from topic to topic under the internet theme. Within the first chapter (“The Architects”), you will be treated to such sentences as “The senior faculty concerned had agreed the overall aims, and looked forward to seeing how it might aid their research when done, and then were happy to leave the details to their graduate students to thrash out among themselves. [p. 19]” Not only does this book have various missing articles (e.g., “agreed [to] the overall aims..”) but plenty of clustering of ideas into run-ons or garbled sentences. Moving just a few pages further is another shining example: “That left our assortment of relatively young postgraduates having to make and agree [on] design decisions – with no one in charge day-to–day. [p.23]” In the book’s case, it would appear no one was in charge of proof-reading or editing. One more example from further on in the book, before moving on to the content, “It doesn't take any invasive personal data to know, for example, that someone searching for 'budget holiday Magaluf' is someone worth targeting a cheap holiday ad at." [Ch.5 The Ad Men, p. 127] Now, why couldn’t this sentence and its many cousins read more like “For example, it doesn't take any invasive personal data to know that someone searching for 'budget holiday Magaluf' is someone worth targeting with a cheap holiday ad.”
If you can move pass the choppy and mashed prose, you will find a book that may provide some depth on various topics to readers that are not familiar with the internet and its challenges and exploits. However, if you already know that ISPs and phone companies do a great job of lobbying while charging you higher prices (than other developed nations) for a subpar service or that ads track you around the internet based off an auction-like system, etc. then you may not find a lot here. As an avid reader and podcast listener on such topics, I didn’t find anything new. In the end, I was left with a review of various themes related to the internet but nothing in “the shadows”. The book is a bit bizarre with apparent research and interviews to provide some depth per topic but writing and editing that was clearly done hastily. The overarching theme also suffers, other than being ‘the internet’, as the connections from topic to topic are not particularly strong.
If you can move pass the choppy and mashed prose, you will find a book that may provide some depth on various topics to readers that are not familiar with the internet and its challenges and exploits. However, if you already know that ISPs and phone companies do a great job of lobbying while charging you higher prices (than other developed nations) for a subpar service or that ads track you around the internet based off an auction-like system, etc. then you may not find a lot here. As an avid reader and podcast listener on such topics, I didn’t find anything new. In the end, I was left with a review of various themes related to the internet but nothing in “the shadows”. The book is a bit bizarre with apparent research and interviews to provide some depth per topic but writing and editing that was clearly done hastily. The overarching theme also suffers, other than being ‘the internet’, as the connections from topic to topic are not particularly strong.
December 28, 2021
The book is divided into 3 parts:
1. History/Structure of the internet
2. The $$ men - driving force behind every household name in the tech world is venture capital & programmatic advertising.
3. The internet battlefield - regulators, culture wars, cyberwarfare.
Some notable exercpts:
The internet as we know it had its origins in ARPA. The project started with two computers located at two different university campuses sending data between each other. Ball mentions that the early design of the internet came from relatively young postgraduates - in a "request for committee" sort of fashion. This request for comments style of adding or modifying the protocols set forth still exist today and follow the same structure: https://www.rfc-editor.org/
The most obvious thing this means for most of us is that when something goes wrong, it might not actually be your internet provider's fault: any connection to any website is likely to travel across multiple different networks and computers, owned and managed by totally different people or corporations.
^ to test this, check out these links:
https://tools.keycdn.com/traceroute.
https://www.hellotech.com/guide/for/h...
I was surprised to see the different servers that my request went through to get the data.
Programmatic Advertising:
Let's say you go to a random website, like facebook.com. Before you scroll and take a look at that ad that looks quite interesting & tailored to you - do you know there's a process behind how that was even selected?
As you click on a site, the browser will render the content you want to see - but also sends a request for ads to a supply side platform which it instructs to get in touch with you directly. That SSP then asks your browser for all the information it can get from your cookies, IP address and more.
The SSP will connect your data with a Data Management Platform(DSP), which collects data on the type of user it would like, and matches you with ads that they have in stock and choose the one based of the winning bid.
Cyber Warriors
The private sector can voluntarily be given extensive access to the networks of their clients The FBI and other public agencies are restricted by what they can obtain through warrants and legal authorities. 'The US laws are set up to make it difficult for the law enforcement to do their job because you want to protect people's rights, which is s good thing in my opinion' - Steve Meckl
1. History/Structure of the internet
2. The $$ men - driving force behind every household name in the tech world is venture capital & programmatic advertising.
3. The internet battlefield - regulators, culture wars, cyberwarfare.
Some notable exercpts:
The internet as we know it had its origins in ARPA. The project started with two computers located at two different university campuses sending data between each other. Ball mentions that the early design of the internet came from relatively young postgraduates - in a "request for committee" sort of fashion. This request for comments style of adding or modifying the protocols set forth still exist today and follow the same structure: https://www.rfc-editor.org/
The most obvious thing this means for most of us is that when something goes wrong, it might not actually be your internet provider's fault: any connection to any website is likely to travel across multiple different networks and computers, owned and managed by totally different people or corporations.
^ to test this, check out these links:
https://tools.keycdn.com/traceroute.
https://www.hellotech.com/guide/for/h...
I was surprised to see the different servers that my request went through to get the data.
Programmatic Advertising:
Let's say you go to a random website, like facebook.com. Before you scroll and take a look at that ad that looks quite interesting & tailored to you - do you know there's a process behind how that was even selected?
As you click on a site, the browser will render the content you want to see - but also sends a request for ads to a supply side platform which it instructs to get in touch with you directly. That SSP then asks your browser for all the information it can get from your cookies, IP address and more.
The SSP will connect your data with a Data Management Platform(DSP), which collects data on the type of user it would like, and matches you with ads that they have in stock and choose the one based of the winning bid.
Cyber Warriors
The private sector can voluntarily be given extensive access to the networks of their clients The FBI and other public agencies are restricted by what they can obtain through warrants and legal authorities. 'The US laws are set up to make it difficult for the law enforcement to do their job because you want to protect people's rights, which is s good thing in my opinion' - Steve Meckl
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2020
Excellent book
Concise, entertaining, instructive, witty, mostly well argued.
I will be reading the author's next books for sure, as there clearly is a lot of thought put in here.
If it wasn't for one major issue I had with it (described below), I would have given it a 5-star rating.
Unfortunately, the author repeats the same themes as many other Western-based authors (though he doesn't seem to be as naive as others), whereby...
After...
The US having over the years:
- replaced through shady means a number of democratically elected foreign governments, including the one in Guatemala in 1954... over the price of bananas!
- gone in and out of war all around the world for dubious reasons (e.g. Vietnam, Iraq, [fill-in-the-blank])
- repeatedly avoided punishing the guilty or being punished for abhorrent crimes (e.g. My Lai Massacre)
...among other exploits
And...
By the author's own admission, and direct experience:
The US having been behind:
- complete and exhaustive illegal spying of its OWN citizens for years
- keeping god-knows how many zero-day vulnerabilities secret for its own benefit
- exoneration of a foreign country spying on one of its own citizen, inside the US!
- spying on leaders of its ALLIES!... such as Germany's Merkel (including for commercial reasons)
We get repeated statements throughout this book that somehow... China would use any internet advantage in an 'evil' way, to gain intellectual property or commercial edge, etc... whereby the US/West is the 'good' guy here...
really???.... you have got to be kidding me
but look aside from this dimension, which frankly is marginal throughout the book, especially compared to other 'literature' I have been unlucky enough to read, it is an excellent book
Concise, entertaining, instructive, witty, mostly well argued.
I will be reading the author's next books for sure, as there clearly is a lot of thought put in here.
If it wasn't for one major issue I had with it (described below), I would have given it a 5-star rating.
Unfortunately, the author repeats the same themes as many other Western-based authors (though he doesn't seem to be as naive as others), whereby...
After...
The US having over the years:
- replaced through shady means a number of democratically elected foreign governments, including the one in Guatemala in 1954... over the price of bananas!
- gone in and out of war all around the world for dubious reasons (e.g. Vietnam, Iraq, [fill-in-the-blank])
- repeatedly avoided punishing the guilty or being punished for abhorrent crimes (e.g. My Lai Massacre)
...among other exploits
And...
By the author's own admission, and direct experience:
The US having been behind:
- complete and exhaustive illegal spying of its OWN citizens for years
- keeping god-knows how many zero-day vulnerabilities secret for its own benefit
- exoneration of a foreign country spying on one of its own citizen, inside the US!
- spying on leaders of its ALLIES!... such as Germany's Merkel (including for commercial reasons)
We get repeated statements throughout this book that somehow... China would use any internet advantage in an 'evil' way, to gain intellectual property or commercial edge, etc... whereby the US/West is the 'good' guy here...
really???.... you have got to be kidding me
but look aside from this dimension, which frankly is marginal throughout the book, especially compared to other 'literature' I have been unlucky enough to read, it is an excellent book
November 6, 2021
This book wasn't very long, and it was well-written enough with a somewhat dry writing style. However, the content of this book remains relevant today. The comparison of the physical structures of the internet to what we think of as the internet made this book a valuable read on the topic since most books avoid the topics of Comcast, cable companies etc and how that impacts our global "struggle" let's say for net neutrality and fair/open access to the internet.
His discussions on cyber-security and internet privacy were also pretty informative but what I felt was missing was why we should care. It's not that I don't personally know why or that I don't care, but he mentioned that millennials have a casual "well I don't have privacy anyway so eff it" attitude, but it wasn't totally fleshed out what the personal/individual impact of this might be in the West.
The examples in Iran, Pakistan etc. were helpful enough, but I felt there was something missing about how this plays out in democratic countries. Overall, it feels like Ball wanted to be neutral and avoid stepping on toes by "making it political". But isn't it?
Anyway, learned a lot about "internet history", tech companies and the legal/constitutional difficulties of regulating the internet.
The most interesting part of the book was related to the antitrust section and the comparisons between the industrial monopolists (i.e. JP Morgan/Rockefeller) and the current internet monopolists (Facebook, Google, Amazon). This is important for anyone who uses the internet to get a better understanding of how this fast-moving industry affects all of our lives.
His discussions on cyber-security and internet privacy were also pretty informative but what I felt was missing was why we should care. It's not that I don't personally know why or that I don't care, but he mentioned that millennials have a casual "well I don't have privacy anyway so eff it" attitude, but it wasn't totally fleshed out what the personal/individual impact of this might be in the West.
The examples in Iran, Pakistan etc. were helpful enough, but I felt there was something missing about how this plays out in democratic countries. Overall, it feels like Ball wanted to be neutral and avoid stepping on toes by "making it political". But isn't it?
Anyway, learned a lot about "internet history", tech companies and the legal/constitutional difficulties of regulating the internet.
The most interesting part of the book was related to the antitrust section and the comparisons between the industrial monopolists (i.e. JP Morgan/Rockefeller) and the current internet monopolists (Facebook, Google, Amazon). This is important for anyone who uses the internet to get a better understanding of how this fast-moving industry affects all of our lives.
October 7, 2020
The Internet explained - it might surprise you.
James Ball aims to explain the Internet, how and when it was born, up until our times. He pictures its whole history, focusing on major issues and the actors that marked its destiny so far. The people who have the power, the people who made the decisions, the people who handle the money, the people who take a stand for our rights concerning the vast world of the Internet.
Writing wise, this book is perfect for anyone interested in the subject, there are few technical moments and they are easily described for non-technical readers. This is one of the goals of the book, to shine a light on this subject, to brake down its complexity for all of us to understand more about this tool we use and give so much to.
There is an abundance of situations that are skillfully presented, the story line glides between issues without creating confusion but making it all more simple and understandable. I would consider the time spent with this book an investment, this is a door opened into very complex world - you think you know it because you use it and think of yourself as informed about it. It may or may not be true. You will not see the Internet the same after reading it.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
James Ball aims to explain the Internet, how and when it was born, up until our times. He pictures its whole history, focusing on major issues and the actors that marked its destiny so far. The people who have the power, the people who made the decisions, the people who handle the money, the people who take a stand for our rights concerning the vast world of the Internet.
Writing wise, this book is perfect for anyone interested in the subject, there are few technical moments and they are easily described for non-technical readers. This is one of the goals of the book, to shine a light on this subject, to brake down its complexity for all of us to understand more about this tool we use and give so much to.
There is an abundance of situations that are skillfully presented, the story line glides between issues without creating confusion but making it all more simple and understandable. I would consider the time spent with this book an investment, this is a door opened into very complex world - you think you know it because you use it and think of yourself as informed about it. It may or may not be true. You will not see the Internet the same after reading it.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
January 5, 2021
"[When] it comes to online infrastructure, the analogy comes to be more 'move fast, grow fast, fix achingly slow."
I was born at a time when the internet was already on its uphill. It was a time when tech companies have found ways to monetize from it. As someone from the younger generation who grew up already interacting with the web, I thought I would have known a lot about it by now. Reading this book, I realized what I know is only the tip of the tip of the iceberg.
The Tangled Web We Weave is filled with discussions centered on the history of the internet, its infrastructure, and its protocols. With interviews from the inventors and founders of what makes the internet what it is now. It goes beyond the websites that reign the online space and focuses on the politics of who sees our data and who controls it (the five eyes). Most importantly, the book offers insight into the problems ordinary citizens might face in the future of the internet and what we can do to fix them.
I was born at a time when the internet was already on its uphill. It was a time when tech companies have found ways to monetize from it. As someone from the younger generation who grew up already interacting with the web, I thought I would have known a lot about it by now. Reading this book, I realized what I know is only the tip of the tip of the iceberg.
The Tangled Web We Weave is filled with discussions centered on the history of the internet, its infrastructure, and its protocols. With interviews from the inventors and founders of what makes the internet what it is now. It goes beyond the websites that reign the online space and focuses on the politics of who sees our data and who controls it (the five eyes). Most importantly, the book offers insight into the problems ordinary citizens might face in the future of the internet and what we can do to fix them.
January 16, 2021
Upon reading this book, I realised that the author is trying to give readers different perspectives of the Internet in three parts The Mechanics, The Money, and The Melee. These respectively covers the who and how ...
(1) the web was built and maintained ... Architects, Cable Guys
(2) money can be made via the web ... Money Man, Ad Man
(3) parties who exploit, regulate and resist dominance on the web ... Cyber Warriors, Rulemakers, Resistance
The cases and facts revealed in these chapters, with the author's opinions should enable readers to aware, understand and give some series thoughts whether this web is evolving in the right course and our usage of it needs any reflection. Obviously this covers technology, economics, privacy and governance for global use ... each already complicate by itself from a state perspective, while the web as a global network can make the tangle even harder to balance while steering through these considerations.
(1) the web was built and maintained ... Architects, Cable Guys
(2) money can be made via the web ... Money Man, Ad Man
(3) parties who exploit, regulate and resist dominance on the web ... Cyber Warriors, Rulemakers, Resistance
The cases and facts revealed in these chapters, with the author's opinions should enable readers to aware, understand and give some series thoughts whether this web is evolving in the right course and our usage of it needs any reflection. Obviously this covers technology, economics, privacy and governance for global use ... each already complicate by itself from a state perspective, while the web as a global network can make the tangle even harder to balance while steering through these considerations.
February 9, 2022
Interesting parts, but the whole book doesn't add much value. Content starts out good in the first chapters, then descends into flow-of-conscience style interviews held together by cynicism.
The writing is biased. The author castigates content farms but publishes on BuzzFeed. Many people who would talk to him have gotten rich off what they now oppose. The lack of balance is compensated by reminiscing about the rogue old days, since nothing but ads came out of Silicon Valley. (And the Wikipedia - though Jimmy Wales bought a boat. Never pass on an envious snipe.)
Finally: Horrible editing. The interviews the book is based on are poorly redacted. What could have been a quick, engaging look behind the scenes reads as slowly as a 500 page manual.
The writing is biased. The author castigates content farms but publishes on BuzzFeed. Many people who would talk to him have gotten rich off what they now oppose. The lack of balance is compensated by reminiscing about the rogue old days, since nothing but ads came out of Silicon Valley. (And the Wikipedia - though Jimmy Wales bought a boat. Never pass on an envious snipe.)
Finally: Horrible editing. The interviews the book is based on are poorly redacted. What could have been a quick, engaging look behind the scenes reads as slowly as a 500 page manual.
November 15, 2020
A worthwhile collection of the relevant events leading up to and supporting the creation of the internet. Independently the chapters were the core well-known material already well chronicled by many. Chapters covering surveillance and VC shadowing are well known. I would have liked to read more about the technology history (i.e. TCP/IP vs. SNA, Cisco-IBM, etc.) but that wasn't the aim of the book. So the take away is that the Internet has the ability to conquer big, hard problems if we use it correctly.
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November 28, 2020This is a great overview of the human history of the internet along with some of the technical realities, strengths, and limitations that were imposed by that history. This is an absolutely excellent pairing with Where Wizards Stay Up Late, which tells a more narrative story of this history. The Tangled Web We Weave focuses on the implications of the decisions that were made, and what we as web users should think about for the future of the internet. What a great read. Thanks to the publisher for a NetGalley.
November 23, 2022
The book is poorly written, it's repetitive, and it lacks a story. It's merely a sloppy pile of interview notes.
Here's an excerpt that represents just how terrible the writing is:
"As Google, Facebook, advertising networks and others build multi-billion-dollar businesses based on data, we need to work out how to treat personal data now it's so valuable. Given it's about us as citizens, as human beings, and it's often about personal aspects of our lives, should it be so easy for companies to own?"
The only saving grace is a decent interview with Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.
Here's an excerpt that represents just how terrible the writing is:
"As Google, Facebook, advertising networks and others build multi-billion-dollar businesses based on data, we need to work out how to treat personal data now it's so valuable. Given it's about us as citizens, as human beings, and it's often about personal aspects of our lives, should it be so easy for companies to own?"
The only saving grace is a decent interview with Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.
November 15, 2020
A decent overview of who built the web, how it works, and a few of the problems it faces. The book skims a lot of subjects, but it would take several volumes to cover the material he glosses. I'm not entirely sure who the target audience is, because much of the material isn't new to those in the industry, and it's not always clear why he does down on some topics but not others.
That said, it's clearly written and does address real issues.
That said, it's clearly written and does address real issues.
January 5, 2021
Good book for the internet illiterate like me who only have a vague idea of a) how the internet was built and how that impacts the way we use it and its regulations (or lack thereof), b) the extent to which who has access to and who can have access to your data, and c) why this is incredibly heavy and important.
February 17, 2021
Wow. This book explains how the internet got to be the way it is. Most people would agree that privacy is pretty much a thing of the past and here is a clear view of exactly how that works. The part about targeted advertising really got to me. One could say that major publishers like the NY Times are actually acting against their own interests, financial and other, by allowing it.
January 31, 2022
An excellent overview of how the internet works and the dangers it presents. Absolutely recommended for anyone trying to make sense of the real (and dangerous) impact the internet is having on democracy, truth, power, and economics.
December 28, 2024
A good overview on what the internet is. Please install an ad blocker. The future (and present) is scary.
December 31, 2020
The Tangled Web We Weave by James Ball as the name suggests tells the story of how the internet came about and how it works. The book takes on a journey of how the internet was birthed, the people behind it then, and the people behind it now. What the internet was intended for and how it is being used now. The extensive research that went into writing this book is evident. For a book about technology, with the many technical terms, it is surprisingly easy to read and absorb. James Ball also exposes the conflict between the people who provide the internet connections and the ones who provide its contents and how we are all tangled in this web. I recommend this book because it gives us the information we need to know that is often wrapped up in complexity and technical details to stop us from looking too closely. It is an important book of our time as more of us are forced to rely on the internet for our daily routines.
August 2, 2024
This book did a fantastic job breaking down and finding the human in complicated and abstract concepts. As someone who works in tech I found it fascinating to learn about the birth of the internet and how it has come to be so influenced by power and corporate greed. Would love to read an updated version with everything that has happened in the last 3 years w/ FB and TikTok.
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