Douglas Rushkoff is a writer, columnist, and lecturer focusing on technology, media, and popular culture. His work critically examines the impact of these forces on society and human behavior. Rushkoff delves into how the digital realm shapes our thoughts and interactions. His insights into contemporary trends offer a profound understanding of the information age.
How the Power of Community Can Transform Your Business
This is not a book of theory. It’s a collection of real stories and tools from the front lines of the future of working together.Learn to create radically collaborative, caring workplaces.
Douglas Rushkoff was one of the first social commentators to identify the new culture around the internet. He has spent nearly a decade advising companies on the ways they can re-orient their businesses to the transformations the internet has caused. Through his speaking and consulting, Rushkoff has discovered an important and unrecognized shift in American business. Too many companies are panicked and operating in survival mode when the worst of the crisis has already passed. Likening the internet transformation to the intellectual and technological ferment of the Enlightment, Rushkoff suggests we have a remarkable opportunity to re-integrate our new perspective with the work we actually do. Instead of running around trying to "think out of the box," Rushkoff demonstrates, now is the time to "get back in the box" and improve the way we do our jobs, run our operations and drive innovation from the ground up. Combining stories gleaned from his consulting with a thrilling tour of history's dramatic moments and clever readings of cultural shift we've just experienced, Rushkoff offers a compelling vision of the simple and effective ways businesses can re-invigorate themselves.
A manual for survival in a demanding age. Covering everything from the coercive power of casino and shopping-centre design to how door-to-door salesmen employ CIA interrogation techniques, the book shows what "they" do and how they do it.
Makes a far-reaching, accessible case the positive impact that digital technologies will have on our ability to participate more actively and thoughtfully. This book includes not just examples but ideas and conclusions drawn based on years of experience watching these ideas become incorporated into academic, business, education and culture.
In San Francisco in 2013 activists protesting against the gentrification of their city smashed the windows of a bus carrying Google employees to work. But these protests weren't just a question of the activists versus the Googlers, or even the 99 per cent versus the 1 per cent. Rather they were symptomatic of the true conflict of our age, between humanity as a whole and a digital economy in which boundless growth is valued above all else. In this groundbreaking book, Douglas Rushkoff - named one of the world's ten most influential thinkers by MIT - lays out a ground plan for a different economic and social future. Ranging from big data to the rise of robots, from the gig economy to the collapse of the eurozone, Rushkoff shows how we can combine the best of human nature with the best of modern technology to achieve a state of sustainable, distributed wealth. It's time the economy finally worked for the human beings it's supposed to serve.
Our world is getting more complex every day. Faced by a media run amok, a rapidly expanding global economy, the collapse of national and social boundaries and the profound impact of technology on our lives, we all feel like immigrants to a very new territory. Gone is the predictability of an organized civilization, overwhelmed by a seemingly random wave of change. Like any new immigrants to an unfamiliar culture, we must look to our children for signs of how to act and think. Natives of chaos, they have already adapted to its demands.
In 'Life Inc.' Douglas Rushkoff offers a timely, provocative and urgent look at the origins and nature of the modern corporate system, a world in which everything can be commodified, a closed system that conquers not through exclusion but total inclusion.
Now in paperback with a new introduction by the author, a dizzying and dangerous guided tour through 'cyberspace, ' an unfolding terrain of digital information . . . redefining reality.--Publishers Weekly. Rushkoff profiles the thinkers, technologies, sciences, and philosophies that are moving our society into the 21st Century.
Political structures need to change. They will emerge from people acting and communicating in the present, not talking about a fictional future ... (from cover).
The tech elite have devised a plan to survive the impending apocalypse by leaving the rest of society behind. Five billionaires invited theorist Douglas Rushkoff to discuss how to endure the "Event," a societal catastrophe they anticipate. Rushkoff realized these men were influenced by The Mindset, a belief that they can defy the laws of physics, economics, and morality to escape a disaster they created, provided they possess enough wealth and technology. In this urgent work, Rushkoff explores the origins of The Mindset in science and technology, highlighting its manifestations in missions to Mars, island bunkers, AI futurism, and the metaverse. Through compelling chapters, he critiques tech utopianism, the datafication of human interaction, and corporate exploitation of that data. Featuring intriguing characters—from visionary programmers to bankers influenced by Burning Man—Rushkoff reveals why those capable of altering our trajectory show little interest in doing so. He also examines how recent anti-mainstream movements, like QAnon and meme stocks, perpetuate the existing destructive order. Ultimately, this thought-provoking analysis advocates for transcending the landscape shaped by The Mindset, emphasizing the need to foster community, mutual aid, and human interdependency to prevent the impending catastrophe.
Arguing that media-saturated children have learned the necessary skills to survive and prosper in our digital age, the author uses everything from chaos theory, to Rodney King, to Star Wars to demonstrate that kids hold the key to the future. Reprint.
Understanding the complex relationship Americans have with information technology reveals that the media is vibrant and dynamic. Welcome to the "datasphere," where news—good, bad, or indifferent—travels instantly, along with a torrent of information: ideas, images, fads, truths, and lies. The infrastructure of this "information superhighway," composed of cable television, fiber-optic telecommunications, and various digital tools, prompts us to consider the nature of the messages it conveys. This exploration delves into how popular media manipulates and is manipulated by those adept at leveraging its influence. With a mix of amusement and concern, the discussion highlights the expanding impact of the "media virus." As a culture critic, Douglas Rushkoff illustrates how messages can "infect" audiences, from the subversive undertones of shows like "The Simpsons" to political scandals exploited for gain. The pervasive nature of this media influence means that unless you've been completely disconnected, you're already affected by the media virus. But fear not; rather than being harmful, it encourages critical thinking.
Porchlight’s Management and Workplace Culture Book of The Year “[A] thoroughly fascinating exploration of the long interplay between power and the technologies of communication.” —Adam Frank, NPR Team Human is a fiery distillation of preeminent digital theorist Douglas Rushkoff’s most urgent thoughts on civilization, technology, and human nature. In one hundred concise statements, he argues that we are essentially social creatures who achieve our greatest aspirations when we work together not as individuals. Yet today, an antihuman ethos has overtaken our society, undermining our ability to connect. Technologies that were meant to foster cooperation from currency to computers too often are used to exploit and divide us. If we are to adapt and survive these destructive forces, we must recognize that being human is a team sport. Rushkoff inspires us to find the others who understand this fundamental truth and reassert our humanity together.
Banding together in a decrepit warehouse, a group of disenfranchised twentysomethings explore the ultimate frontier: cyberspace. Part techie heaven, part 24-hour rave, the Ecstasy Club is an electronic playground where young hackers and esoteric spiritualists strive to create a new utopia.
Cursed by older generations, Generations X means a lot of things to a lot of people. They are a culture, a demographic, an outlook, a style, an economy, a scene, a literature, a political ideology, an aesthetic, an age, a decade, and a way of life. Here is a collage of the most revered voices of Generation X, demonstrating that while twentysomethings may, indeed, have dropped out of American culture (as it is traditionally defined), they also stand as a testament to American ingenuity, optimism, instinct, and intelligence.
Media theorist and documentarian Douglas Rushkoff weaves a mind-bending tale of iconography and mysticism against the backdrop of a battle-torn Europe. In a story spanning generations, and featuring some of the most notable and notorious idealists of the 20th century, legendary occultist Aleister Crowley develops a powerful and dangerous new weapon to defend the world against Adolf Hitler's own war machine spawning an unconventional new form of warfare that is fought not with steel, but with symbols and ideas. Unfortunately, these intangible arsenals are much more insidious and perhaps much more dangerous than their creators could have ever conceived. "Rushkoff is a cultural treasure and an eccentric author of big, strange ideas, never less than fascinating and always entertaining." -Warren Ellis, author of Gun Machine, Red, Trees, and Transmetropolitan "Douglas has been one of my personal heroes, and I've been a most attentive reader of anything he cares to put between covers, knowing that his combination of a cold eye and a warm heart is guaranteed to astonish and embolden my own thinking about what's possible in the world--about what's possible to enact in the space between one human being and another. He occupies the ground of our most immediate perplexities, and his reports of what he finds are breaking news." -Jonathan Lethem, author of The Best American Comics and The Fortress of Solitude
"If the end of the twentieth century can be characterized by futurism, the twenty-first can be defined by presentism." Award-winning media theorist Douglas Rushkoff argues that while we've reached the moment we've been waiting for, we are overwhelmed by an always-on, live-streamed reality that we can never fully inhabit. This has profound effects on our lives. In the twentieth century, we were obsessed with the future, developing technologies to connect us and compress time and space. Now, in a continuous present enabled by digital platforms, we find ourselves in a state of "present shock," unable to truly grasp the now. Rushkoff connects various trends and events to illustrate how living in this eternal present impacts our biology, behavior, politics, and culture. He explores our fascination with zombie apocalypse fiction as a longing for closure, the duality of movements like the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, and the shift from long-term corporate investing to real-time stock market maneuvers. He also discusses how 9/11 severed a generation's connection to history and why conspiracy theories provide comfort. Ultimately, we can either succumb to information overload or choose to engage meaningfully in the present, prioritizing human connection over digital interactions. Rushkoff offers a hopeful perspective for those seeking to navigate the complexities of modern existence.
El debate sobre si la red es buena o mala es irrelevante: la red está aquí para quedarse y si bien somos cada vez más conscientes de los muchos problemas que ha engendrado la era digital, lo que se requiere ahora es una respuesta humana a la evolución de estas tecnologías. Para Rushkoff es imprescindible empezar a codificar los cambios por los que estamos pasando y desarrollar un nuevo patrón ético, comportamental y comercial para guiarnos. Estamos viviendo un cambio de paradigma real y sin embargo tenemos escasa comprensión de lo que nos ocurre y de cómo superarlo. La verdadera pregunta que debemos plantearnos es, ¿dirigimos la tecnología, o nos dejamos dirigir por ella y aquellos que la han dominado? En el paisaje altamente programado en el que vivimos podemos crear el software o podemos ser el software; programar o ser programados. Hasta ahora, nos hemos limito a ser programados. En este pequeño y valioso libro Rushkoff ofrece tanto a los entusiastas cibernéticos como a los tecnófobos las pautas para navegar en este nuevo universo digital y recuperar el control de nuestras vidas.
Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the birth of Acid House, this anthology of new stories includes works by Alan Warner, Irvine Welsh and Jeff Noon.
Auf dem Weg zu einer vernetzten, sozialen Wirtschaft "Die Welt verändert sich, spielen wir mit"
Die Lektüre bietet zahlreiche Beispiele und einen lockeren Stil, der das Lesen zum Vergnügen macht. Der Autor betont, dass die Welt im Wandel ist und fordert dazu auf, aktiv an der Zukunft teilzunehmen. Der Kulturkritiker und Trendscout zeigt, wie das Internet eine Umpolung in der Gesellschaft bewirkt hat, vergleichbar mit einer zweiten Renaissance. Neue Kommunikationsformen und Beziehungen entstehen, wobei hierarchische Strukturen durch interaktive Prinzipien ersetzt werden. In der Open-Source-Gesellschaft haben alle Zugang zu Wissen, wodurch sich Menschen von manipulierbaren Konsumenten zu informierten Mitgestaltern eines sozial-wirtschaftlichen Netzwerks entwickeln. Die Analyse wird als packend beschrieben und bietet neue intellektuelle Anstöße, um die gegenwärtige gesellschaftliche Entwicklung besser zu verstehen. Rushkoffs Betrachtung der vernetzten Open-Source-Gesellschaft ist ein Aufruf zur aktiven Teilnahme in einer Ära, in der das Kollektiv im Mittelpunkt steht. Es bleibt abzuwarten, ob diese "neue Renaissance" tatsächlich ein Zeitalter der Kooperation einleitet. In seinen früheren Werken hat sich der Autor als scharfsinniger Analytiker technischer und gesellschaftlicher Entwicklungen erwiesen, und es besteht Hoffnung, dass dies auch hier der Fall ist.
Kritický pohled do světa nekalých praktik podomních prodejců, sekt, pyramidového marketingu, reklamy i psychologie. Strhující sada příkladů zavádí čtenáře do zákulisí míst, kde se připravují kampaně a manipulace se zákazníky a publikem. Autor, který pro sběr materiálu působil jako \\\"dvojí agent\\\" ve světě marketingu, je českým čtenářům znám díky překladu bestselleru Kyberie a rovněž z časopisu Živel.
