Extremely Online

Taylor goes through the evolution of the internet, social media, its influence and culture from the early 2000's to current day pretty accessibly and seamlessly. It's a proper telling of the many different media and tech companies that have dominated, shuttered, and how they've changed over time as well as the internet stars/users themselves. It's a really great read for those interested in learning how internet culture has changed or rediscovering how internet culture used to be. My only minor complaint is that this isn't an “untold story” by any means. It's been documented quite thoroughly throughout the years on numerous publications but you gotta entice readers with a catchy title.

3.5 stars.

I think the scope of this book was too broad, but I liked it. While not a new favorite, this book made me realise I like nonfiction books about the internet and the history of the internet. So now, I have a new section in my library that I can go and explore.

A necessary balm to a lot of the usual chronicling of our online lives and history, filling in the gaps with stories of the often overlooked and marginalized people who flocked to these spaces in the first place.

If you're not an extremely online person, you might find this interesting.

A good blast through the history of influencer culture on the internet, from early blogs to TikTok hype houses. I just feel like anyone could have written this, you know? It's a couple of steps up a really well-written Wikipedia article. Taylor Lorenz is a fantastic writer and her voice was largely wasted on this dry-ass content.

An interesting overview of internet culture. Worth a read if you're interested in the behind the scenes journey of how we ended up with our current online environment.