From Zocalo
Because he's one of the most wired and more influential netizens, the philosophic turn taken by online innovator Jaron Lanier has attracted big blog buzz. And Thursday night, there's a chance to see why his new book, 'You Are Not a Gadget: a Manifesto,' has prompted so much ink and so many electrons to be devoted to Lanier, who will be appearing in a free forum. Reservations are required and space is limited. Among his arguments, reduced here, of course, almost to caricature, is that the net has gone awry. Lanier has expressed his displeasure with the rigidity of software programming that makes people bend their will and way to the convenience and operation of machines. He also has attracted the ire of parts of the bloggerati because he denounces the mob mentality that can prevail online, where a disturbing anonymity and demands for things free also is a norm.
Are 'hive mentality' of net, rigid programming big downsides of tech age?
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