The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads


Tim Wu - 2016
    In nearly every moment of our waking lives, we face a barrage of messaging, advertising enticements, branding, sponsored social media, and other efforts to harvest our attention. Few moments or spaces of our day remain uncultivated by the "attention merchants," contributing to the distracted, unfocused tenor of our times. Tim Wu argues that this condition is not simply the byproduct of recent technological innovations but the result of more than a century's growth and expansion in the industries that feed on human attention. From the pre-Madison Avenue birth of advertising to the explosion of the mobile web; from AOL and the invention of email to the attention monopolies of Google and Facebook; from Ed Sullivan to celebritypower brandslike Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump, the basic business model of "attention merchants" has never changed: free diversion in exchange for a moment of your consideration, sold in turn to the highest-bidding advertiser. Wu describes the revolts that have risen against the relentless siege of our awareness, from the remote control to the creation of public broadcasting to Apple's ad-blocking OS. But he makes clear that attention merchants are always growing new heads, even as their means of getting inside our heads are changing our very nature--cognitive, social, political and otherwise--in ways unimaginable even a generation ago.

World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech


Franklin Foer - 2017
    Over the past few decades there has been a revolution in terms of who controls knowledge and information. This rapid change has imperiled the way we think. Without pausing to consider the cost, the world has rushed to embrace the products and services of four titanic corporations. We shop with Amazon; socialize on Facebook; turn to Apple for entertainment; and rely on Google for information. These firms sell their efficiency and purport to make the world a better place, but what they have done instead is to enable an intoxicating level of daily convenience. As these companies have expanded, marketing themselves as champions of individuality and pluralism, their algorithms have pressed us into conformity and laid waste to privacy. They have produced an unstable and narrow culture of misinformation, and put us on a path to a world without private contemplation, autonomous thought, or solitary introspection--a world without mind. In order to restore our inner lives, we must avoid being coopted by these gigantic companies, and understand the ideas that underpin their success.Elegantly tracing the intellectual history of computer science--from Descartes and the enlightenment to Alan Turing to Stuart Brand and the hippie origins of today's Silicon Valley--Foer exposes the dark underpinnings of our most idealistic dreams for technology. The corporate ambitions of Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon, he argues, are trampling longstanding liberal values, especially intellectual property and privacy. This is a nascent stage in the total automation and homogenization of social, political, and intellectual life. By reclaiming our private authority over how we intellectually engage with the world, we have the power to stem the tide.At stake is nothing less than who we are, and what we will become. There have been monopolists in the past but today's corporate giants have far more nefarious aims. They're monopolists who want access to every facet of our identities and influence over every corner of our decision-making. Until now few have grasped the sheer scale of the threat. Foer explains not just the looming existential crisis but the imperative of resistance.

So You've Been Publicly Shamed


Jon Ronson - 2015
    The shamed are people like us - people who, say, made a joke on social media that came out badly, or made a mistake at work. Once their transgression is revealed, collective outrage circles with the force of a hurricane and the next thing they know they're being torn apart by an angry mob, jeered at, demonized, sometimes even fired from their job. People are using shame as a form of social control.

Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin's Most Dangerous Hackers


Andy Greenberg - 2019
    Targeting American utility companies, NATO, and electric grids in Eastern Europe, the strikes became ever more brazen, eventually leading to the first-ever blackouts triggered by hackers. They culminated in the summer of 2017 when malware known as NotPetya was unleashed, compromising, disrupting, and paralyzing some of the world's largest companies. At the attack's epicenter in Ukraine, ATMs froze. The railway and postal systems shut down. NotPetya spread around the world, inflicting an unprecedented ten billions of dollars in damage--the largest, most penetrating cyberattack the world had ever seen.The hackers behind these attacks are quickly gaining a reputation as the most dangerous team of cyberwarriors in the internet's history: Sandworm. Believed to be working in the service of Russia's military intelligence agency, they represent a persistent, highly skilled, state-sponsored hacking force, one whose talents are matched by their willingness to launch broad, unrestrained attacks on the most critical infrastructure of their adversaries. They target government and private sector, military and civilians alike.From WIRED senior writer Andy Greenberg comes Sandworm, the true story of the desperate hunt to identify and track those attackers. It considers the danger this force poses to our national stability and security. And as the Kremlin's role in manipulating foreign governments and sparking chaos globally comes into greater focus, Sandworm reveals the realities not just of Russia's global digital offensive, but of an era where warfare ceases to be waged on the battlefield--where the line between digital and physical conflict begins to blur, with world-shaking implications.

Grow the F*ck Up: What your parents should have taught you and school never did...


John Kyle - 2016
    With 44 step-by-step how-to's, Grow the F*ck Up offers late teens and adults lessons they never received at home or in the classroom. This satirical and blunt novel surrounding general knowledge is an absolute must for birthday gifts, graduation presents, holidays, and more. Do you know someone that can't seem to manage their money, prepare for a job interview, create a resume and cover letter, or use a credit card? If you answered yes to any of the questions above, then they need to grow the f*ck up. Grow the F*ck Up is a must when looking to purchase: - Birthday gifts for men and women - High school graduation presents for him or her - Hilarious novelty items - Top gag gifts - College graduation gifts for him or her - Holiday presents - Self-help novels for teens - Satirical how-to books for young adults

Inbound Marketing: Attract, Engage, and Delight Customers Online


Brian Halligan - 2014
    Written by top marketing and startup bloggers, the book contains the latest information about customer behavior and preferred digital experiences. From the latest insights on lead nurturing and visual marketing to advice on producing remarkable content by building tools, readers will gain the information they need to transform their marketing online.With outbound marketing methods becoming less effective, the time to embrace inbound marketing is now. Cold calling, e-mail blasts, and direct mail are turning consumers off to an ever-greater extent, so consumers are increasingly doing research online to choose companies and products that meet their needs. "Inbound Marketing" recognizes these behavioral changes as opportunities, and explains how marketers can make the most of this shift online. This not only addresses turning strangers into website visitors, but explains how best to convert those visitors to leads, and to nurture those leads to the point of becoming delighted customers.Gain the insight that can increase marketing value with topics like: Inbound marketing - strategy, reputation, and tracking progressVisibility - getting found, and why content mattersConverting customers - turning prospects into leads and leads into customersBetter decisions - picking people, agencies, and campaignsThe book also contains essential tools and resources that help build an effective marketing strategy, and tips for organizations of all sizes looking to build a reputation. When consumer behaviors change, marketing must change with them."Inbound Marketing: Attract, Engage, and Delight Customers Online" is a complete guide to attracting, engaging, and delighting customers online.

The Bicycle Wheel


Jobst Brandt - 1993
    This volume answers questions such as: Should I use low- or high-flanged hubs for touring * Should I spoke crossed-four or crossed-three? Are radially spoked wheels stiffer than crossed-four? * How can I build a 32-spoke crossed-two wheel? * Should I use butted or straight sookes? * Does tying and soldering give a rough ride?Based on years of experience, the author has divided the book into three parts. Part One, Theory, explains how wheels respond to loads. It discusses the merits of various designs and components, and explains what causes failures. Part Two, Practice, gives a step-by-step guide for building front and rear wheels and wheels with different patterns and numbers of spokes. Part Three, Data, contains test results and formulas for computing spoke lengths and other wheel dimensions.

This Book is Gay


James Dawson - 2014
    Bisexual. Queer. Transgender. Straight. Curious. This book is for everyone, regardless of gender or sexual preference. This book is for anyone who's ever dared to wonder. This book is for YOU.There's a long-running joke that, after "coming out," a lesbian, gay guy, bisexual, or trans person should receive a membership card and instruction manual. THIS IS THAT INSTRUCTION MANUAL. You're welcome.Inside you'll find the answers to all the questions you ever wanted to ask: from sex to politics, hooking up to stereotypes, coming out and more. This candid, funny, and uncensored exploration of sexuality and what it's like to grow up LGBT also includes real stories from people across the gender and sexual spectrums, not to mention hilarious illustrations.You will be entertained. You will be informed. But most importantly, you will know that however you identify (or don't) and whomever you love, you are exceptional. You matter. And so does this book.

Emotional Intelligence: Exploring the Most Powerful Intelligence Ever Discovered


Benjamin Smith - 2016
    This process of introspection and self-reflection is never easy. It requires the ability to understand and handle your emotions in a healthy manner, and this always takes time and patience. That is why this book, “Emotional Intelligence: Exploring the Most Powerful Intelligence Ever Discovered,” has been written just for you. This book is meant to help make the process of emotional development clearer and smoother. Our lives are filled with constant and continual situations where communication with others is necessary. Your ability to communicate effectively and successfully with others is what sets you apart from animals. However, how many of us actually take the time to think about just how important the way we communicate is? In what ways can we become better able to communicate? This would be a good time to introduce you to the concept of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence, or EI, is defined as the ability to recognize, control, and express your emotions in a way that enables you to handle interpersonal relationships empathetically and judiciously. Emotional intelligence is what enables you to recognize how others are feeling in a given situation, differentiate the myriad of emotions, and act accordingly. It is only through emotional intelligence that we are able to adjust our emotions as we go through life, thus reaching whatever goals we have set. Nobody can claim that they do not have emotional intelligence. The only difference is that people exhibit varying levels of EI – some are simply more emotionally intelligent than others. However, it is not something that is fixed from birth to death. There are steps and actions you can take to become more intelligent emotionally. In fact, if there is one feature of personal development that most people need to work on, it is their emotional intelligence. Research has proven that those individuals who have a higher emotional quotient, or EQ, tend to make better leaders, enjoy a better quality of personal and professional relationships, and are more mentally healthy. All you need to do to increase your emotional quotient is take the time to put into practice the tips and strategies outlined in this book. In here, you will learn how to know yourself better so that you can understand others better. You will learn how your emotional brain works, and how emotional intelligence can be improved. There are some great tools and tips described in this book, so make sure that you are ready to learn and practice them. Get ready to also learn about some of the new discoveries in the field of emotional intelligence. Scroll to the top of this page and click the " Buy Now With One-Click " Button to start your journey on EI

SEO 2014: Learn Search Engine Optimization with Smart Internet Marketing Strategies


Adam Clarke - 2014
    But first, let me tell you a little secret about SEO marketing... Most of the search engine optimization advice on the Internet is just plain wrong!If you've sifted through the torrents of search engine optimization advice online, you may have noticed two things: - Most of the knowledge on SEO is either completely outdated or just dead-wrong.- Google's constant updates have rendered many well known SEO strategies completely useless.Why is this so? Google are constantly evolving, making it extremely difficult to know what currently works. Some recent changes: 1. August, 2014 - Google announced sites secured with SSL certificates will get an advantage in search engines.2. July, 2014 - Google released a big update dramatically affecting how often the local business listings appear in the search results.3. May, 2014 - Google announced a game changing update, punishing sites with poor quality content and user experience.SEO 2014 walks you through the above updates and more. This book also reveals industry secrets about Google's algorithm, so you can learn SEO from a fundamental level, achieve top rankings in Google, and generate hundreds, or even thousands of new customers to your site. Sidestep the feared 2014 Google updatesContrary to Internet marketing chatter, problems caused by Google updates are hardly irrecoverable or unavoidable—but you need the right knowledge. This book reveals in granular detail: - Recent Google updates—Panda 4.0, Pigeon, Hummingbird and beyond.- Steps required to recover from a Google penalty.- How to avoid being penalised in 2014 and beyond.Discover powerful link building techniques experts use to get top rankings and generate massive trafficLink building is simply the strongest factor for ranking high in Google. Unfortunately, most widely-used methods just plain suck! This chapter walkers you through the most powerful techniques that work wonders and won't get you in hot-water with Google. You will also discover: 1. How to leverage social media to skyrocket traffic to your site.2. How to find "money" keywords that will send customers to your site.3. The dirty secret about link-building.4. Sneaky tricks to get local businesses ranking high with local search engine optimization.5. How to get expert SEO or internet marketing advice, completely free.6. The new meta technology search engines love, schema.org, and how to use it to get more traffic.You will also learn the little-known search engine optimization tools top internet marketing experts useThe SEO tools chapter lists 20+ of the powerful tools top internet marketing experts are using to automate their search engine optimization, saving weeks of time, and creating bigger results... and most of the tools are free! And read the very special bonus chapter on pay-per-click advertisingIn this special bonus chapter, learn how to quickly and effectively setup a pay-per-click advertising campaign with Google AdWords, and send more traffic and customers to your website overnight. As one of the most advanced and comprehensive SEO books ever published, SEO 2014 contains everything you need to learn SEO and dominate search engines in 2014. Purchase from Amazon and get started right away!

Drug of Choice: The Inspiring True Story Of The One-Armed Criminal Who Mastered Love And Made Millions


Mark Van Stratum - 2017
    He has created a fulfilling life, which he shares with his beautiful fiancé and a world-wide circle of friends. But his inspiring life of today grew out of a dark and dangerous past.In this gripping tale, van Stratum brings a once-in-a-lifetime read of his experience growing up with one arm in a small town where he developed a savage temper and a criminal mindset. After a violent robbery by rival drug dealers he had a flash of insight that his life must change, or it would quickly end.After moving to a new country without telling a soul, Mark penetrates the secret world of pick-up artists and learns an incredible skill set that enables him to get the most desired women on the planet. In Drug of Choice, Mark offers insightful lessons about the power of choices to change your business, relationships, and life.This story teaches that your choices are both the cause of your problems and the key to your success. It will make you believe again that it’s never too late to change.

Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds and Stopped Trying To Earn God's Favor


Teresa Shields Parker - 2013
    Once weighing 430 pounds, she's been through every magic fix imaginable. The thing she found that worked, really worked, was a key she had available to her all along. After years of praying about her difficult, she finally realized she had to make a bold decision to change her life. She knew she was addicted processed sugar and flour because she craved them day and night. With God’s help, she gave up what she craved and began walking choice by choice into freedom. Sweet Grace will challenge you. It may shock you at times. You may shed a tear. But one thing is certain, you will never again be able to say you don't know what to do to become healthy. It is possible to overcome food cravings and live free and healthy.

Pinterest Savvy: How I Got 1 Million+ Followers (Strategies, Plans, and Tips to Grow Your Business with Pinterest)


Melissa Taylor - 2013
    Pinterest Savvy highlights: * Set up your profile for success. * Understand the basics of eye-catching pins. * Learn from businesses using Pinterest well. * Improve strategies for gaining followers and increasing engagement. * Achieve sales and marketing goals using Pinterest!Along the way, you'll hear from other Pinterest experts like popular blogger Amy at Living Locurto and the social media team at PBS.

How to be The Startup Hero: A Guide and Textbook for Entrepreneurs and Aspiring Entrepreneurs


Tim Draper - 2017
    To make that move. To fulfill your vision. I want to take you closer to your goal, whether that be starting a billion-dollar unicorn, building a revolution, or just helping you better understand that change of any kind starts with you. You can be the Startup Hero. Startup Heroes are the ones that drive progress, and whether you bring us to another planet or make your neighborhood a nicer, happier place, you can become a Startup Hero. This book is the first step. It helps you take that first step. The step will be different for everyone. It might be to call that customer. It might be to draw up a design concept. It might be to talk to your boss. With this book, I hope to guide people to think big, drive change and go full speed ahead. I am giving them a pledge to do their work for good, and I am giving them some of the tools they need to accomplish their goals. This book is hard. It takes you through a variety of activities, questions, stories and challenges (even puzzles and poems) working both the right and left side of your brain and all the parts in between. The activities I propose are challenging and sometimes even embarrassing. The questions I ask are probing and provoking. The stories I tell are used as examples to guide you toward what I call Startup Heroism. So, why would you read this book? Well, I have worked for 30 years for entrepreneurs. I have supported, funded and coached Startup Heroes all my working life. And I have tested the concepts of this book on the students at Draper University and they have come out to be some of the most interesting, dynamic, and motivated people the world has ever seen. In fact, we have had about 1000 students from over 60 different countries come through the program at this writing, and they have started more than 300 companies! I wrote this book so that some of the thinking that I applied to Draper University could be spread wider, in hopes that these messages would reach other potential Startup Heroes (maybe you) who might make an impact on the world, be proactive about their work, or at the very least, improve their lives. So, I implore you. Read this book, try this book, do this book, play this book, absorb this book, experience this book. It might surprise you. It might thrill you. It might drive you. It might kill you. At the very least, I hope it will give you a perspective on how real progress is made, and at the very best, it might just change your life.

Unusually Effective: 25 Unusual yet Effective Social Media Marketing Strategies for Creating an Irresistible brand, Ultimate Business Growth and Massive Profits


Akshay Desai - 2015
    An Absolutely No-Fluff guide to Unusual Social Media Marketing Strategies You have always wondered how some companies have made it big on social media and if you could do the same??Imagine if you could get your hands on all the behind-the-scene tactics employed by the successful brands..well, you don't have to imagine anymore...here's the answer;Unusually Effective: 25 Unusual yet Effective Social Media Marketing Strategies for Creating an Irresistible brand, Ultimate Business Growth and Massive Profits.Social Media Marketing is becoming a necessity, for a Small Business Enterprise and also for the large Corporate Mammoths...It is the easiest and fastest way to relay advertising and marketing products and services to your target market...And this book provides you the...Unfair Edge.The book is divided into 6 parts: # General Strategies # Video Strategies # Image Strategies # Hashtag Strategies # Facebook Strategies # Twitter StrategiesEnjoy 'Unusually Effective' and make your business achieve Mind Blowing Social Media Success