Synopses & Reviews
Just as Susan Sontag did for photography and Marshall McLuhan did for television, Virginia Heffernan (called one of the and#8220;best living writers of English proseand#8221;) reveals the logic and aesthetics behind the Internet.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Since its inception, the Internet has morphed from merely an extension of traditional media into its own full-fledged civilization. It is among mankindand#8217;s great masterpiecesand#8212;a massive work of art. As an idea, it rivals monotheism. We all inhabit this fascinating place. But its deep logic, its cultural potential, and its societal impact often elude us. In this deep and thoughtful book, Virginia Heffernan presents an original and far-reaching analysis of what the Internet is and does.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Life online, in the highly visual, social, portable, and global incarnation rewards certain virtues. The new medium favors speed, accuracy, wit, prolificacy, and versatility, and its form and functions are changing how we perceive, experience, and understand the world.
Review
“Heffernan is a new species of wizard, able to perform literary magic upon supersonic technology. Her superpower is to remove the technology from technology, leaving the essential art. You might get an epiphany, like I did, of what a masterpiece this internet thing is. Heffernan has the cure for the small thinking that everyday hardware often produces. She generates marvelous insights at the speed of light, warmed up by her well-worn classical soul. It's a joy and revelation to be under her spell.”—Kevin Kelly, author of What Technology Wants and co-founder of Wired
About the Author
Virginia Heffernan writes andldquo;The Medium,andrdquo; a weekly column about Internet culture, for andlt;Iandgt;The New York Times Magazine. andlt;/Iandgt;Sheandrsquo;s had the newspaperandrsquo;s top-emailed articles with columns about the iPhone, Facebook, and revisions to andlt;Iandgt;Sesame Streetandlt;/Iandgt;. A frequent radio and roundtable guest who has appeared on andlt;Iandgt;20/20 andlt;/Iandgt;and other national television shows, she has given keynote addresses at South by Southwest, WebbyConnect, EconCeleb, Digital Hollywood, and dozens of other tech, entertainment, and business conferences. With an extensive Facebook network and someandnbsp;8,000 Twitter subscribers, she has also lectured at colleges and universities across the country, include Princeton, Dartmouth, and NYU. In 2005, Virginia (with co-writer Mike Albo) published the cult comic novel, andlt;Iandgt;The Underminer andlt;/Iandgt;(Bloomsbury). She received her BA in 1991 from the University of Virginia, where she majored in philosophy and English, graduated with highest honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In 2002, Heffernan received her PhD. in English literature. Her speakerand#39;s agent is The Lavin Agency: TheLavinAgency.com/Speaker-Virgina-Heffernan.