Writing on the Wall
Social Media - the First 2,000 Years
1st Edition
Published on 10. October 2013
288 pages
978-1-4088-4207-2 (ISBN)
Description
Today we are endlessly connected: constantly tweeting, texting or e-mailing. This may seem unprecedented, yet it is not. Throughout history, information has been spread through social networks, with far-reaching social and political effects. Writing on the Wall reveals how an elaborate network of letter exchanges forewarned of power shifts in Cicero's Rome, while the torrent of tracts circulating in sixteenth-century Germany triggered the Reformation. Standage traces the story of the rise, fall and rebirth of social media over the past 2,000 years offering an illuminating perspective on the history of media, and revealing that social networks do not merely connect us today - they also link us to the past.
More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
ISBN-13
978-1-4088-4207-2 (9781408842072)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Tom Standage
Writing on the Wall
The Intriguing History of Social Media, from Ancient Rome to the Present Day
Book
09/2014
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
€38.56
Shipment within 15-20 days
Book
10/2013
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
€38.56
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Person
Tom Standage is digital editor at the Economist and editor-in-chief of its website, Economist.com. He is the author of six history books, including An Edible History of Humanity, the New York Times bestseller A History of the World in Six Glasses and The Victorian Internet. His writing has also appeared in the Daily Telegraph, the New York Times and Wired. He lives in London.
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tomstandage.com
@tomstandage
facebook.com/writingonthewallbook
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Content
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction: Cicero's Web
- 1 The Ancient Foundations of Social Media: Why Humans Are Wired for Sharing
- 2 The Roman Media: The First Social-Media Ecosystem
- 3 How Luther Went Viral: The Role of Social Media in Revolutions (1)
- 4 Poetry in Motion: Social Media for Self-Expression and Self-Promotion
- 5 Let Truth and Falsehood Grapple: The Challenges of Regulating Social Media
- 6 And So to the Coffeehouse: How Social Media Promotes Innovation
- 7 The Liberty of Printing: The Role of Social Media in Revolutions (2)
- 8 The Sentinel of the People: Tyranny, Optimism, and Social Media
- 9 The Rise of Mass Media: The Centralization Begins
- 10 The Opposite of Social Media: Media in the Broadcast Era
- 11 The Rebirth of Social Media: From ARPANET to Facebook
- Epilogue: History Retweets Itself
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Sources
- A Note on the Author
- By the Same Author
- eCopyright
