Here is the first in an intermittent series of posts on some recommended reading for those interested in the social impact of IT and other related issues.
I will not attempt to be exhaustive, but will focus on works which are in some way particularly noteworthy or useful. From time to time, I will post reading recommendations vis-à-vis specific subject areas like cloud computing, project management, business intelligence, etc.
Let's start with a classic:
Being digital, Nicholas Negroponte
I recently re-read it and I found some interesting intuitions that I didn't spot in the first reading. Over the years, the author has developed a techno-utopian tendency that makes the whole lot uninteresting. The book is worth reading, though.
On the other side of the spectrum, the works of Nicholas Carr put a great emphasis on the shift in computing. The main idea is that computing is becoming a commodity. Buy and read the following:
Does IT matter?
The big switch - Rewiring the world, from Edison to Google
His latest is a penetrating analysis of the effect of the Net on our brain and behaviour. I will post the review of the book shortly. In the meantime, just get it shipped.
The shallows - What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains
Jonathan Zittrain has written an interesting book about the future of internet. Don't expect it to be conventional. It offers a set of different perspectives that can sound a bit heretical for most of the folk out there.
The future of internet and how to stop it
The following two books are very thorough and with a lot of insights. If you are serious about your profession, find the time to read them.
A History of Communications: Media and Society from the Evolution of Speech to the Internet, Marshall T. Poe
The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires, Tim Wu
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