Review: I Live in the Future

For Nick Bilton to begin his book on how technology is affecting the trajectory of media and society with a chapter on the porn industry? Both unnecessary and, quite frankly, rather pathetic.

But to frame our use of technology in the context of storytelling and characterize online social networks as anchoring communities (akin to Benedict Anderson's notion of imagined communities) that help us filter the information we come across online? A smidgen short of brilliant.

Such is the dichotomy inherent in I Live in the Future & Here's How It Works. It covers similar ground as Nicholas Carr's The Shallows or Clay Shirky's Cognitive Surplus, but lacks the depth of discussion either book affords. Notwithstanding this, it offers an entertaining and observant journalist's perspective into where technology and society intersect, in a fashion similar to Steven Johnson's Everything Bad is Good for You. A chapter on the hypercustomization that technologies will increasingly afford, "Me Economics", particularly stands out, as does an epilogue that neatly ties together the book's main points with a flourish.

A concise NYTimes piece adapted from the book offers a substantial glimpse into Bilton's main points. The article itself is must-read material, and may very well convince you that the book is, too.