Dataclysm by Christian Rudder
First off I should state that I got this for free, although I can't remember from where.
The book is subtitled Who We Are When We Think No One's Looking. Rudder examines date from various websites such as his own dating website OkCupid, Facebook, Twitter, Google, and other dating websites. The theory is that we reveal our true thoughts and feelings when we feel the freedom of anonymity that the internet provides, and apparently that is true because the information he examines is quite interesting.
One of the more interesting of those topics is racism. I imagine that most people if you confront them directly with the question, "Are you a racist?" would say no. The OkCupid website has a preliminary questionnaire, one of which asks something along the lines of "would you ever date someone that has made racist statements" and not surprisingly, most people say no. But the data Rudder presents shows something quite different. The interesting part is that there is bias not just between races, but interracially as well.He also looks at biases in sexuality and attractiveness, showing how being considered a "10" can actually hurt your chances of getting a date (poor babies).
Another interesting topic examines Twitter flaming, giving a few examples of how someone makes an innocuous joke or a poorly thought out post and suddenly the posts become very violent. It makes apparent that we aren't just making a remark to our friends and family; the entire world is eavesdropping and anything can be misconstrued. But it also points out the mob mentality of internet anonymity. Would people become so aggressive and threatening if we were face to face?
Rudder also examines the pros and cons of data harvesting and where it might go from here.
I thought it would be more like Freakonomics, but it's a bit more dry. Most of it I had to force myself through because I am not a numbers girl, so throwing numbers at me makes me want to hide my head under a pillow. About mid-book it picks up and gets more interesting. There are genuine moments of humor but they are kind of few and far between. It may take some willpower, but it is worth the effort.
The book is subtitled Who We Are When We Think No One's Looking. Rudder examines date from various websites such as his own dating website OkCupid, Facebook, Twitter, Google, and other dating websites. The theory is that we reveal our true thoughts and feelings when we feel the freedom of anonymity that the internet provides, and apparently that is true because the information he examines is quite interesting.
One of the more interesting of those topics is racism. I imagine that most people if you confront them directly with the question, "Are you a racist?" would say no. The OkCupid website has a preliminary questionnaire, one of which asks something along the lines of "would you ever date someone that has made racist statements" and not surprisingly, most people say no. But the data Rudder presents shows something quite different. The interesting part is that there is bias not just between races, but interracially as well.He also looks at biases in sexuality and attractiveness, showing how being considered a "10" can actually hurt your chances of getting a date (poor babies).
Another interesting topic examines Twitter flaming, giving a few examples of how someone makes an innocuous joke or a poorly thought out post and suddenly the posts become very violent. It makes apparent that we aren't just making a remark to our friends and family; the entire world is eavesdropping and anything can be misconstrued. But it also points out the mob mentality of internet anonymity. Would people become so aggressive and threatening if we were face to face?
Rudder also examines the pros and cons of data harvesting and where it might go from here.
I thought it would be more like Freakonomics, but it's a bit more dry. Most of it I had to force myself through because I am not a numbers girl, so throwing numbers at me makes me want to hide my head under a pillow. About mid-book it picks up and gets more interesting. There are genuine moments of humor but they are kind of few and far between. It may take some willpower, but it is worth the effort.
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