Review: The Scotsman, 28 Feb.

The novelist and critic Michael Pye writes an interesting review of the book here. In a generally sympathetic article, he argues that I pay too little attention to how the owners of places like Twitter and Facebook are manipulating us and our information. I do have a good deal to say in the book about what our data might tell those in controlĀ  of it, but it’s easy to argue that we’re being manipulated – that way conspiracy theories lie. And these are self-organising systems, after all, powered by our own keyboards rather than some evil sneakers-wearing Californian genius. It’s a good point, though, and well-made.