“ulturally, we are definitely seeing people being to ask hard questions. There's been a major shift over the last year. The NSA revelations played a big part but there are all sorts of other issues too, like inequality and gentrification in the Bay Area, and labor abuses everywhere from Amazon's warehouse, to Apple's factories, to start-ups like Uber and TaskRabbit.” PeopleYearsHardBigsLastsAsksIssuesSeeingMajorsAreasLaborAbuseInequalityApplesRevelationsFactoriesLast YearAmazonNsaWarehouseBay AreaGentrificationHard QuestionsUber Author:Astra Taylor
“There's also the issue of tech titans throwing their weight around in Washington and lobbying. There was just a Reuters poll that reported that more than half of Americans are concerned that tech companies are "encroaching too much on their lives." That's pretty major, considering these companies were universally loved not that long ago.” LongHalfCompanyIssuesToo MuchMajorsConcernedWeightThrowingLong AgoConsideringPollsTitansLobbying Author:Astra Taylor
“Also, after Examined Life was finished I found myself thinking about the way creative opportunities and distribution channels were shifting. Should I be showing my films in theaters or just think about getting them out online? There were other issues, too.” ThinkingWayShouldFilmFoundOpportunityCreativeIssuesTheaterFinishedOnlineShould IDistributionShiftingExamined Life Author:Astra Taylor
“It's not just that we all as individuals should reevaluate our relationship with our devices - maybe you should, on a personal level - but in terms of balancing the micro and the macro and the personal and the structural, it's actually a bigger issue than you and your phone addiction.” ShouldIndividualTermLevelsIssuesBiggerAddictionPhonesDevicesOur RelationshipMacro Author:Astra Taylor
“I'm interested in the way the whole cultural landscape can shift over time. Okay, this will seem like a silly example, but look at the whole discourse around "selling out," a concept people say is irrelevant because there's no more distinction between mainstream and underground, inside and outside (which I don't really believe, but that's another issue).” PeopleWayBelieveLooksWholeSeemsIssuesExampleConceptsOkaySillySellingLandscapeDistinctionMainstreamDiscourseIrrelevantSelling OutInside And Outside Author:Astra Taylor
“One sad consequence of this is that people don't feel permitted to try understand Internet infrastructure, so I'm really grateful to groups like Free Press and other nonprofits who are trying to make the issue urgent and comprehensible. And Andre Blum's book Tubes is great on this topic.” PeopleFeelsTryingBookIssuesGroupsInternetConsequenceGratefulPressesTopicsInfrastructureUrgentTubesFree PressNonprofits Author:Astra Taylor
