Anonymous blog comments, vapid video pranks and lightweight mash-ups may seem trivial and harmless, but as a whole, this widespread practice of fragmentary, impersonal communication has demeaned personal interaction. Jaron Lanier Read Quote
What does it mean to not be alone? I’ve approached that question through music, technology, writing and other means. Jaron Lanier Read Quote
We’re losing track of the vastness of the potential for computer science. We really have to revive the beautiful intellectual joy of it, as opposed to the business potential. Jaron Lanier Read Quote
The basic problem is that web 2.0 tools are not supportive of democracy by design. They are tools designed to gather spy-agency-like data in a seductive way, first and foremost, but as a side effect they tend to provide software support for mob-like phenomena. Jaron Lanier Read Quote
Governments oppress people, but so do mobs. You need to avoid both to make progress. Jaron Lanier Read Quote
Google’s thing is not advertising because it’s not a romanticizing operation. It doesn’t involve expression. It’s a link. What they’re doing is selling access. Jaron Lanier Read Quote
I’d much rather see a world where, when you make some quirky comment on a blog or news story or you upload a video clip, instead of just a moment of fame for your pseudonym, you’ll get 50 bucks. The first time that happens, you’ll realise that you’re a full-class citizen. You have the potential to make money from the system. Jaron Lanier Read Quote
I mean, you can’t have advertising be the only official business of the information economy if the information economy is going to take over. Jaron Lanier Read Quote
Facebook says, ‘Privacy is theft,’ because they’re selling your lack of privacy to the advertisers who might show up one day. Jaron Lanier Read Quote
Style used to be an interaction between the human soul and tools that were limiting. In the digital era, it will have to come from the soul alone. Jaron Lanier Read Quote
