Too Much Magic

Summary

An Irreverent Cultural History of This Digital Life. Too Much Magic is the story of how venture capital, media moguls, and marketeers use digital magic to distract us, invade our privacy, corrupt democracy, distort our human values, and sell us things that we don't need.Authored by Silicon Valley marketing-communications guru Jason Benlevi, Too Much Magic looks at all aspects of our emerging digital lifestyle, how it is changing us, and who really benefits. Benlevi argues that the problem with our digital age is not technology itself, but rather the powers that are charting its course. Originally, the personal-computing revolution was all about self-empowerment and the Internet was for people to share knowledge.Now that revolution is in danger of being turned against us. Too Much Magic explains how the Cult of Tech an axis of business, media, and academic interests is infiltrating every aspect of our lives through clever marketing and "digital convergence." Too Much Magic examines what "being digital" really means, and details historic changes in entertainment, personal communications, play time, public affairs, and social interactions. It also sounds an alarm on the stealthy and escalating attacks upon our basic freedoms. Benlevi describes what consumers don't know about their increasingly digital lives and how this lack of knowledge is perpetuated by powerful interests. Conversely, he shows how we can choose to disengage from technology and preserve our humanity, independence, and creativity all of which are being threatened by an unending stream of digital "magic."Although the book's topic is serious, its tone is bright and irreverent, offering a refreshing contrarian viewpoint that comes from a deep understanding of technology, media, and culture. Too Much Magic is a unique blend of history, social criticism, and entertainment for the digital age

Introduction
Preface: It's Personal	p. .7
The Twilight Zone	p. 11
Learning the Tricks
That Old Black (Box) Magic	p. 15
The Way-Back Machine	p. 21
Monolog on Digital and Analog	p. 27
Not Made in Our Image	p. 35
The Cult of Tech	p. 41
Scenes from a Digital Life
Pushing Your Own Buttons Feels Good	p. 57
The Entertainment Invasion: The Dark Side of Fun	p. 59
InCellated: The Mobility Bubble	p. 87
The Games of Death: Are Wii Having Fun Yet?	p. 117
Moving Images: Seeing Is Deceiving	p. 163
Why Mickey Mouse Has More Rights Than You Do	p. 221
Electiontronics: Hey, Who's Counting?	p. 261
Naked on the Net, Let's Get Social	p. 303
Too Much Magic and What to Do About It
Puncturing the Illusion of Progress	p. 351
All Things Being Digital, Is Your Life Any Better?	p. 365
Breaking the Spell	p. 371
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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