Restoring Our Sanity Online
A Revolutionary Social Framework
1. Auflage September 2024
256 Seiten, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
"This is a must-read for anyone concerned with where we are today and looking for a better path forward."
--Steve Wozniak, Co-founder, Apple Inc.
Big Tech is driving us, our kids, and society mad. In the nick of time, Restoring Our Sanity Online presents the bold, revolutionary framework for an epic reboot. What would social media look like if it nourished our critical thinking, mental health, privacy, civil discourse, and democracy? Is that even possible?
Restoring Our Sanity Online is the entertaining, informative, and frequently jaw-dropping social reset by Mark Weinstein, contemporary tech leader, privacy expert, and one of the visionary inventors of social networking.
This book is for all of us. Casual and heavy users of social media, parents, teachers, students, techies, entrepreneurs, investors, and elected officials. Restoring Our Sanity Online is the catapult to an exciting, enriching, and authentic future. Readers will embark on a captivating journey leading to an inspiring and actionable reinvention.
Restoring Our Sanity Online includes thought-provoking insights including:
* Empowering You--Social Media User, Content Creator
* In The Crosshairs: Privacy And Anonymity
* Saving Our Kids From The Abyss
* Surprise! Social Media Can Be Good For Your Mental Health
* Is AI The High-Tech Tattletale In Your Social Experience?
* Lifting the Veil On Bots and Trolls
* Facts, Opinions, Lies--Who Decides?
* Web3 Is Here--What The Heck Is It?
* Is There a Better Way?
Chapter 1 My Adventures in Web1 and Web2: The Rise of Surveillance Capitalism 1
Chapter 2 Uncanny Parallels: Big Ag, Big Energy, Big Tech 9
Chapter 3 Promising Movements Afoot 27
Chapter 4 Web3 Is Here: What the Heck Is It? 31
Chapter 5 A Healthy Dose of Web3 Reality 39
Chapter 6 Meet Your New Boss, Same as the Old Boss 49
Chapter 7 Is There a Better Way? 51
Chapter 8 Empowering You: Social Media User, Creator, Star 59
Chapter 9 Do I Need a Social Media Wallet: Is There Money in It? 65
Chapter 10 How Do We Overcome C-Suite Tyranny? 69
Chapter 11 In the Crosshairs: Privacy and Anonymity 73
Chapter 12 User ID Verification: Friend or Foe? 85
Chapter 13 Saving Our Kids from the Abyss 91
Chapter 14 Surprise! Social Media Can Be Good for Your Mental Health 103
Chapter 15 Is AI the High-Tech Tattletale in Your Social Experience? 109
Chapter 16 Lifting the Veil on Bots and Trolls 115
Chapter 17 Balancing Act: Free Speech versus Moderation 123
Chapter 18 Facts, Opinions, Lies: Who Decides? 129
Chapter 19 Seven Lessons for the Street Fight 135
Chapter 20 Welcome to Web4: The Restoration of Sanity 141
Chapter 21 Taking It to the Streets 153
Appendix A: Advice to Legislators 157
Appendix B: Accountability Structures for Restoration Networking 167
Appendix C: Revenue Superchargers 171
Appendix D: Seven-Point Prescription to Vanquish Bots and Trolls 175
Notes 179
Acknowledgments 223
About the Author 227
Index 229
--SIR TIM BERNERS-LEE, Inventor of the Web
"Technology has a purpose: to do good and to share. Restoring Our Sanity Online is a timely and essential read for those seeking an approach to social media that aligns with this. Mark Weinstein offers a refreshing vision--users are customers to serve, not products to sell. The book presents practical solutions for social media that doesn't rely on tracking users or targeting them with ads. It provides a blueprint for sharing profits with users while championing privacy, mental health, and authentic connections. This is a must-read for anyone concerned with where we are today and looking for a better path forward."
--STEVE WOZNIAK, Co-founder, Apple Inc.
"Mark Weinstein has long been a leading voice advocating for the responsible use of social media. In this important book, he brings decades of wisdom to bear on one of the most consequential issues of our times--how we can deploy the extraordinary power of social media and AI in ways that align with our collective well-being over the long term. This is essential reading for business leaders, policy makers, and citizens at large."
--RAJ SISODIA, Co-founder, Conscious Capitalism Inc.
"Mark Weinstein's Restoring Our Sanity Online is a compelling journey into the heart of the digital age, where the promises of social media collided with the stark realities of its influence on our lives. Combining personal anecdotes and a critical analysis of Big Tech's evolution, Weinstein offers a hopeful narrative on how we reclaim the internet for its intended purpose-connection and community. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to understand the impact of social media and seeking practical solutions to create a healthier online environment."
--DR. MARSHALL GOLDSMITH, Bestselling author of What Got You Here Won't Get You There
markweinsteininventor.com
