“Starting with radio, starting with television, we got used to this idea of stuff being free as long as you just watch a few ads.” LongIdeasUsedStuffWatchesTelevisionStartingRadioAdsBeing Free Author:Tim Wu
“You have to think back to the '90s. The computer was this terrible-looking thing that was trying to compete with the television. And it was this idea of email and chat rooms and this kind of stuff that first people - got people there.” PeopleThinkingTryingFirstsKindIdeasStuffRoomsTelevisionTerribleComputerEmail Author:Tim Wu
“When you think about normal advertising, it's just like, hey, here's a car and, you know, we don't know if you're looking for a car or not. So Google promised that mental state, and then were able to prove that delivering the message at the exact right moment would make someone click on something. So they pioneered the idea that advertising could be profitable on the internet, that a specific, very micromental state could be targeted. And they established the primacy of the click, which has haunted us ever since.” IfsThinkingKnowsIdeasStatesMomentsAbleCarInternetProveNormalMessagesAdvertisingHeyGoogleProfitableClicksDeliveringRight MomentPrimacy Author:Tim Wu
“I'm concerned with our autonomy. I don't like the idea of people collecting information on me in general, but I particularly don't like it when it's used to sort of exploit your weaknesses or make you lose control in some ways.” PeopleWayIdeasUsedLosesInformationWeaknessConcernedAutonomyExploitsCollectingCollecting Information Author:Tim Wu
“If you have a weakness for furry slippers or something, you might end up with that kind of advertising. It's a very complicated algorithmic decision. There's no one dude who's deciding what ads are going with things, and it's very individualized also. And that's the idea of collecting information is that in theory, you're showing people things that they should want to see or for which they are a good target. So, no, there's no master person.” PeopleIfsWantShouldKindPersonsIdeasEndsMightDecisionInformationMastersTheoryWeaknessComplicatedAdvertisingTargetAdsCollectingSlippersFurryCollecting Information Author:Tim Wu
“I think that's been really the key, the idea of trying to harness social capital for selling purposes. That we've let this happen so easily without clearly getting something in exchange is kind of amazing to me.” ThinkingTryingKindIdeasHappensPurposeSocialKeysSellingHarnessSocial Capital Author:Tim Wu
“The case for industry breakups comes from Thomas Jefferson's idea that occasional revolutions are important to the health of any system. As he wrote in 1787, “a little rebellion every now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical one.” WorldLittlesImportantIdeasPoliticalCasesRevolutionIndustryGood ThingsStormBreakupRebellionNow And ThenOccasional Book:The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires Source: The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires
