A review by sarahkorn
Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet by Taylor Lorenz
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.