Rating: 
Summary: The Social Effects of the Net
Review: The social effects of a technology go unseen as that technology becomes more ubiquitous. In "Next," Michael Lewis looks at the social implications of the Internet by interviewing a few ordinary individuals who have managed to do extraordinary things on the Internet. The first section deals with Jonathan Lebed, the 15 year old stock trader from a blue collar family, who managed to turn $8,000 in to $800,000 by pushing stocks in owned via [false]press releases of financial boards.The second section of the book deals with another fifteen year old who managed to become the top rated legal advisor on the askme.com website, even though he came from a poor family, never touched a law book, and learned about the law exclusively from the internet and television. In both these cases, ordinary boys who otherwise would be categorized as [normal], managed to do extraordinary things by using the Internet. The other sections of the book deal with gnutella, tivo, polling, the sense of time, and the idea that accessibility of information due to technology may lead to the downfall of mankind. I really enjoyed this book, but I though that overall it was rather incomplete, this book could have been easily doubled in size by examining more social phenomenon. I was really surprised that there was very little ink spent on the open source movement and how strangers are now collaborating on major projects. This was partially covered in the gnutella chapter, but you could write a whole book on the social implications of open source development.
Rating:
Summary: Social Implications of the Internet? You bet!
Review: Just about everyone I know that has worked in the investment business has read the book Liars Poker, Lewis' first book and bestseller that got his writing career off to a start. I have also read Money Culture but this is the first book I have read from Lewis that is outside of the financial services industry. In this book Lewis begins to look at some of the social implications of the Internet and some of the crazy stories that are occurring as a result of the Internet Phenomena. Examples include: ·A 15 year old becomes the leading legal advisor on AskMe.Com. ·Another youth (15 also) draws SEC fire after earning $800K in security trades through various pump and dump schemes on message board. ·An older rock band (40+ years old) get their fans to pay for their overseas tour BEFORE the concert. Ie. The fans funded the tour and they then show Lewis how they are leveraging the Internet to build a stronger relationship with their fans. ·He talks about Gnutella and peer-to-peer computing, created by an 18 year old that will radically affect intellectual capital and the way knowledge workers seek to protect it. All and All the book is a good look at the social implications of the Internet. Other interesting books about American Culture/social changes are Credit Card Nation by Manning, Free Agent Nation by Pink and Fast Food Nation by Schlosser.
Rating:
Summary: what i thought
Review: This book just happened to be a really great book. After reading review after review of this book, i realized that i felt the same way as everyone else. I thought that this book was going to be really bad or really boring. Well I got news for you...this book was great! It's the many stories of people all over the world who have had different beneficial and damaging experiences witht the internet. Personally i liked it, and I'm not one big on computer nerd books. This is not one of them. This is a book for everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Starts out slow, but picks up the pace soon enough
Review: Michael Lewis describes how the internet revolution has allowed teenagers to influence the stock market, the music industry, and even the interpretation of law itself. Lewis investigated various sites on the internet, and then interviewed the people responsible for the material. Lewis discovered that by masking their identities, teenagers are able to do pretty much anything they want. Fifteen year old Jonathon Lebed manipulates the investment system, making about $800,000. The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) forces Jonathon to hand over some but not all of his profits, proving that even the government cannot do anything about the number of kids who are overtaking the business world. The next kid that Lewis interviewed is also a fifteen year old boy, Marcus Arnold from Perris California. Marcus disguises himself as an attorney, offering free legal advice to whoever needed it. Even after revealing his true identity Marcus ends up #1 on AskMe.Com. Finally Lewis interviews a fourteen year old British boy a follower of the creator of Gnutella, a web-based file sharing program. Lewis also reveals that it was a mastermind nineteen year old who was responsible for the worldwide file sharing system, Napster.
It is always interesting to find out that kids have the power to change the world. Although this book was a bit of a slow read at first, it soon picked up its pace.
I recommend this book to everyone, especially teenagers. Also if you're a big internet fan, this book might inspire you to do who knows what.
Rating:
Summary: Next the future just happend
Review: :
The book shows how ones life can be affected by the Stock Market. Jonathan Lebed is 14-year-old boy who is accused of Stock Market fraud. Lewis shows Jonathan in a family setting just to depict the stress the stock market could cause on a small town family. One of the main point that Lewis is showing in presented when he writes, "the point is even a fourteen-year-old boy could see how it worked-why some guy working for free out of a basement in Jackson, Missouri was more reliable than the most highly paid analyst on Wall street"(pg.57). The problem was not that Jonathan did what he did but that fact that he was so young an inexperienced.
By reading this book it further my knowledge on how misleading the Stock Market could be when I agree to invest my income I will be more cautious.
Rating:
Summary: Teens Rule
Review: Next: The Future Just Happened is about how the internet is changing the world. Lewis profiles Jonathan Lebed, a teenage stock market wizard (the SEC says he was a stock market manipulator -- Lewis isn't so sure); a teenage law expert who has never studied law; a teenager in England who is using Gnutella software as a springboard to, I don't know, take over the world, I guess. It seems obvious from the first half of the book that teenage boys are using the internet to become rich, powerful, and influential. So maybe all the internet has really done is speed things up by a few decades. But Lewis throws the over-thirties among us a small bone by interviewing an aging rock group that uses the internet to raise money for a tour, an eighty-something woman who participates in WebTV polls, and the creators of TiVo. The second half of the book is a bit unconvincing. Set-top boxes, big deal. Those teenagers rule the book, and it would seem, the world. Lewis, as usual, writes an engaging book, it pulls you right in and moves quickly. The Lebed story itself makes the book worth your time.
Rating: 
Summary: Changing of the Guard
Review: Talks about the dramatic changes brought about by the Internet in a world where adults are supposed to rule. Anecdotes range from a kid whose instincts in playing the stock market prove to be better than experienced stock brokers to a teenager whose legal advice prove more useful in the people's eyes compared to the members of the Bar. All these are possible as they compete in the ultimate playing field called the Internet. Author then progresses from the Internet to the concept of change in general and closes with Bill Joy's article on Wired magazine titled, "Why the Future Doesn't Need Us" outlining the software guru's fear of change. In the end CHANGE of which the Internet is just one form is the ultimate leveller in any playing field. Excellent writing!!!! I give it 5 stars
Rating:
Summary: Much better than I expected
Review: To be totally honest, I was prepared to hate this book - I've (at least until recently) never been a Michael Lewis fan. But this book was a pleasant surprise - Lewis dropped his smarter-than-thou sarcasm about most things and instead delivers a great deal of insight on how the web is truly changing things - for all of us. Similar subject matter to the Cluetrain Manifesto, but MUCH better delivery. Worth a read.
Rating:
Summary: Slow start, but picks up the pace soon enough
Review: The internet revolution has allowed teenagers to influence the stock market, the music industry, and even the interpretation of law itself. Lewis investigated various sites on the internet, and then interviewed the people responsible for the material. Lewis discovered that by masking their identities, teenagers are able to do pretty much anything they want. Fifteen year old Jonathon Lebed manipulates the investment system, making about $800,000. The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) forces Jonathon to hand over some but not all of his profits, proving that even the government cannot do anything about the number of kids who are overtaking the business world. The next kid that Lewis interviewed is also a fifteen year old boy, Marcus Arnold from Perris California. Marcus disguises himself as an attorney, offering free legal advice to whoever needed it. Even after revealing his true identity Marcus ends up #1 on AskMe.Com. Finally Lewis interviews a fourteen year old British boy a follower of the creator of Gnutella, a web-based file sharing program. Lewis also reveals that it was a mastermind nineteen year old who was responsible for the worldwide file sharing system, Napster.
It is always interesting to find out that kids have the power to change our world. Although the book started off slow, it soon picked up the pace. I recommend this everyone, especially teenagers. Also if you're an internet fan, this book might inspire you to do who knows what.
Rating:
Summary: Best Economic Book Ever!
Review: This is an extremely good book. It is essential for everyone planning on living in the 21st century. It gets into the minds of both middle aged adults and teenagers and spells out exactly what is to come. The Internet has changed the world in which we live and this book lets you know how. It's a quick read with great reward.
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