Reviews
Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet by Taylor Lorenz
shelbymccarty's review
informative
slow-paced
3.5
EXTREMELY ONLINE is a well-catalogued story of the rise of social media, creators, and content monetization. Lorenz does a detailed job of telling the story of major social media platforms and how they interacted with the creator and content producing communities. This does make the book a tad repetitive because it’s similar stories of different platforms.
I think it was really lacking some commentary on parasocial relationships because they were mentioned in passing and with no depth.
Personally, I would’ve appreciated some more of the psychology of it all, but I get that’s not exactly what she was out to do.
Overall, interesting and enjoyable!
I think it was really lacking some commentary on parasocial relationships because they were mentioned in passing and with no depth.
Personally, I would’ve appreciated some more of the psychology of it all, but I get that’s not exactly what she was out to do.
Overall, interesting and enjoyable!
servemethesky's review
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.75
Three cheers for Taylor Lorenz! While some reviewers said this book had nothing new to offer, I see it quite differently. There are plenty of books talking about the evolution of various social media platforms, yes, but Lorenz chronicles the evolution of these platforms while focusing on the growth of the creator industry and exploring how the internet democratized fame and influencer. It's a fascinating story that will only be more and more relevant in the years to come. A few miscellaneous thoughts:
-So many of the older generation/legacy institutions still do not understand online culture or how much power and influence online creators hold, and it's to their own detriment.
-It was quite funny to read about things like Fuck Yeah blogs on Tumblr as historical content.
-This started to drag a bit toward the end and then ended pretty abruptly.
All in all, an excellent thorough investigation of what life on the internet has been like, the value of paying creators, and how much power creators truly have. Yes, some of these platforms are practically monopolies and are only motivated by profit, but the creators have power too and should yield it wisely to influence the internet for the better.
Also, damn her cover designers did her dirty with this one.
-So many of the older generation/legacy institutions still do not understand online culture or how much power and influence online creators hold, and it's to their own detriment.
-It was quite funny to read about things like Fuck Yeah blogs on Tumblr as historical content.
-This started to drag a bit toward the end and then ended pretty abruptly.
All in all, an excellent thorough investigation of what life on the internet has been like, the value of paying creators, and how much power creators truly have. Yes, some of these platforms are practically monopolies and are only motivated by profit, but the creators have power too and should yield it wisely to influence the internet for the better.
Also, damn her cover designers did her dirty with this one.
caseythereader's review
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Bullying, Misogyny, Alcohol, and Cursing
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Stalking, and Self harm
zombiefied35's review
informative
4.5
Quite informative. Books that focus on the internet tend to be, for lack of a better word, "cringy" and written by people who don't use social media, but this one had very few moments that rubbed me the wrong way.
chantelbrenna's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
5.0
This is so comprehensive and so good. Nothing less than I expected from Taylor Lorenz!
janiswong's review
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
A brilliant view of how social media and the Internet is how it is today. The content is technical and precise in its explanation, yet really pinpoints the exact markers of people and technology that made a difference. As someone who spends a lot of time on the Internet and knows some of its history, I loved this very human driven perspective that Lorenz draws out in their book. It packs a punch and also provides a bit of light in thinking about how we can all help create a better Internet.
kalliegrace's review
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This is so nostalgic for a millennial, having been around for the birth of social media and participated in all of the platforms covered in this book. This gives you a background on when each platform cropped up and how it evolved or didn't evolve, and finally how it's monetized its creators. Very easy read and some stuff I didn't know behind the scenes-wise.
inamerata's review
Extremely Online is interesting, but it frequently feels incomplete, especially as someone who has grown up with and read about a lot of internet history. (That it apparently never addresses SESTA/FOSTA, for example, is wild.) Overall, it just isn't scratching the itch I'd hoped, so I'm setting it aside for now.
sarahkorn's review
informative
medium-paced
4.0
For a book that didn't seek to tell the history of the internet, this is really a comprehensive one. As someone who came of age alongside the Internet, this book covered topics I knew well and topics that were new to me. I now feel like I have more context to some of the things I see online on a daily basis.
It's clear Lorenz is a tech journalist more than a culture journalist, as it felt like the book lacked analysis deeper than the creator economy is just as if not more powerful than traditional media. Since the book covers so much ground and the ground is constantly evolving, it lacks a central narrative and somewhat inconsistent pacing as it jumped from platform to platform. Lorenz is also such a presence online and was essentially absent from the narrative of the book -- maybe that's considered good reporting, but perhaps I wanted a little more than just 300 pages of straight reporting on the social startup industry. Despite that, I still think it's worth a read for the information it offers.
It's clear Lorenz is a tech journalist more than a culture journalist, as it felt like the book lacked analysis deeper than the creator economy is just as if not more powerful than traditional media. Since the book covers so much ground and the ground is constantly evolving, it lacks a central narrative and somewhat inconsistent pacing as it jumped from platform to platform. Lorenz is also such a presence online and was essentially absent from the narrative of the book -- maybe that's considered good reporting, but perhaps I wanted a little more than just 300 pages of straight reporting on the social startup industry. Despite that, I still think it's worth a read for the information it offers.
samwescott's review against another edition
4.0
This was really interesting! As someone who didn't get a smartphone until 2018, I have always been behind on internet shifts and technology-induced social changes, so parts of this were honestly just helpful info for me on parts of the early internet and mobile apps that I straight up missed. Ultimately, it was more of an overview of internet history than I was hoping, since I was really looking forward to more analysis by Lorenz.
For what it does, though, it does well and engagingly. The book moves swiftly and it was interesting to see the same patterns repeat in different corners of the internet. There's something worth noting about how someone will make a social media, app, or service with one intention and then inevitably creators will show up and develop a method of celebrity and influence. Watching the power struggle between developers and creators repeat over and over was really compelling. The lesson seems to be that in every case, some of your consumers will become celebrities and creators and they will want compensation for the immense value they add to your app and if you don't find a way to keep them happy, you're doomed.
My one area of minor expertise in this book was that I've been a Tumblr user since like 2011 and have watched the many changes (and lack of changes) that makes the service unique. Honestly, follow counts being hidden is my favorite thing about Tumblr because it makes the app so hard to monetize, which in my opinion is a large part of why it still feels vibrant, creative, and communal. But Lorenze blames Tumblr's decline on a general "failure to innovate" and never once mentions the porn bans of 2017 than completely squashed the thriving sex work scene on the site and drove away NSFW and queer blogs in droves. It was devastating. In fact, the way that this entire book never once mentioned SESTA/FOSTA and the censorship of the internet and erasure of sex work online led by banks and credit card companies was deeply weird to me. How can you spend so much time on the tension between creators and developers trying to make money off the same pool of users without talking about sex work? It makes me question what other major events and factors were ignored or skipped over by this author. I don't have the topical expertise to know.
That said, this book was entertaining and easy to read. It was worth the cost of admission just to see YouTube's Adpocalypse laid out in chronological order. If you're looking for a good overview of social media with a pretty comprehensible timeline and entertaining storytelling style, I think this will serve you well.
For what it does, though, it does well and engagingly. The book moves swiftly and it was interesting to see the same patterns repeat in different corners of the internet. There's something worth noting about how someone will make a social media, app, or service with one intention and then inevitably creators will show up and develop a method of celebrity and influence. Watching the power struggle between developers and creators repeat over and over was really compelling. The lesson seems to be that in every case, some of your consumers will become celebrities and creators and they will want compensation for the immense value they add to your app and if you don't find a way to keep them happy, you're doomed.
My one area of minor expertise in this book was that I've been a Tumblr user since like 2011 and have watched the many changes (and lack of changes) that makes the service unique. Honestly, follow counts being hidden is my favorite thing about Tumblr because it makes the app so hard to monetize, which in my opinion is a large part of why it still feels vibrant, creative, and communal. But Lorenze blames Tumblr's decline on a general "failure to innovate" and never once mentions the porn bans of 2017 than completely squashed the thriving sex work scene on the site and drove away NSFW and queer blogs in droves. It was devastating. In fact, the way that this entire book never once mentioned SESTA/FOSTA and the censorship of the internet and erasure of sex work online led by banks and credit card companies was deeply weird to me. How can you spend so much time on the tension between creators and developers trying to make money off the same pool of users without talking about sex work? It makes me question what other major events and factors were ignored or skipped over by this author. I don't have the topical expertise to know.
That said, this book was entertaining and easy to read. It was worth the cost of admission just to see YouTube's Adpocalypse laid out in chronological order. If you're looking for a good overview of social media with a pretty comprehensible timeline and entertaining storytelling style, I think this will serve you well.