Digital Empires

In Digital Empires, Anu Bradford examines the ideological origins, societal implications, and the relative global influence of three contrasting regulatory approaches towards the digital economy. Throughout, she compares the EU's approach with both the US-based techno-libertarian model and China's authoritarian approach. At a moment of time when digital societies are at an inflection point, this book lays bare the choices we face as societies and individuals, explains the forces that shape those choices, and spells out the stakes involved in making those choices.

The latest installment of a digital humanities bellwether Contending with recent developments like the shocking 2016 U.S. Presidential election, the radical transformation of the social web, and passionate debates about the future of data in higher education, Debates in the Digital Humanities 2019 brings together a broad array of important, thought-provoking perspectives on the field’s many sides. With a wide range of subjects including gender-based assumptions made by algorithms, the place of the digital humanities within art history, data-based methods for exhuming forgotten histories, video games, three-dimensional printing, and decolonial work, this book assembles a who’s who of the field in more than thirty impactful essays. Contributors: Rafael Alvarado, U of Virginia; Taylor Arnold, U of Richmond; James Baker, U of Sussex; Kathi Inman Berens, Portland State U; David M. Berry, U of Sussex; Claire Bishop, The Graduate Center, CUNY; James Coltrain, U of Nebraska–Lincoln; Crunk Feminist Collective; Johanna Drucker, U of California–Los Angeles; Jennifer Edmond, Trinity College; Marta Effinger-Crichlow, New York City College of Technology–CUNY; M. Beatrice Fazi, U of Sussex; Kevin L. Ferguson, Queens College–CUNY; Curtis Fletcher, U of Southern California; Neil Fraistat, U of Maryland; Radhika Gajjala, Bowling Green State U; Michael Gavin, U of South Carolina; Andrew Goldstone, Rutgers U; Andrew Gomez, U of Puget Sound; Elyse Graham, Stony Brook U; Brian Greenspan, Carleton U; John Hunter, Bucknell U; Steven J. Jackson, Cornell U; Collin Jennings, Miami U; Lauren Kersey, Saint Louis U; Kari Kraus, U of Maryland; Seth Long, U of Nebraska, Kearney; Laura Mandell, Texas A&M U; Rachel Mann, U of South Carolina; Jason Mittell, Middlebury College; Lincoln A. Mullen, George Mason U; Trevor Muñoz, U of Maryland; Safiya Umoja Noble, U of Southern California; Jack Norton, Normandale Community College; Bethany Nowviskie, U of Virginia; Élika Ortega, Northeastern U; Marisa Parham, Amherst College; Jussi Parikka, U of Southampton; Kyle Parry, U of California, Santa Cruz; Brad Pasanek, U of Virginia; Stephen Ramsay, U of Nebraska–Lincoln; Matt Ratto, U of Toronto; Katie Rawson, U of Pennsylvania; Ben Roberts, U of Sussex; David S. Roh, U of Utah; Mark Sample, Davidson College; Moacir P. de Sá Pereira, New York U; Tim Sherratt, U of Canberra; Bobby L. Smiley, Vanderbilt U; Lauren Tilton, U of Richmond; Ted Underwood, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Megan Ward, Oregon State U; Claire Warwick, Durham U; Alban Webb, U of Sussex; Adrian S. Wisnicki, U of Nebraska–Lincoln.

The rise of the platform economy into statelike dominance over the lives of entrepreneurs, users, and workers. The early Internet was a lawless place, populated by scam artists who made buying or selling anything online risky business. Then Amazon, eBay, Upwork, and Apple established secure digital platforms for selling physical goods, crowdsourcing labor, and downloading apps. These tech giants have gone on to rule the Internet like autocrats. How did this happen? How did users and workers become the hapless subjects of online economic empires? The Internet was supposed to liberate us from powerful institutions. In Cloud Empires, digital economy expert Vili Lehdonvirta explores the rise of the platform economy into statelike dominance over our lives and proposes a new way forward. Digital platforms create new marketplaces and prosperity on the Internet, Lehdonvirta explains, but they are ruled by Silicon Valley despots with little or no accountability. Neither workers nor users can “vote with their feet” and find another platform because in most cases there isn’t one. And yet using antitrust law and decentralization to rein in the big tech companies has proven difficult. Lehdonvirta tells the stories of pioneers who helped create—or resist—the new social order established by digital platform companies. The protagonists include the usual suspects—Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Travis Kalanick of Uber, and Bitcoin’s inventor Satoshi Nakamoto—as well as Kristy Milland, labor organizer of Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, and GoFundMe, a crowdfunding platform that has emerged as an ersatz stand-in for the welfare state. Only if we understand digital platforms for what they are—institutions as powerful as the state—can we begin the work of democratizing them.

Financial Times Best Books of 2023 in Economics The global battle among the three dominant digital powers?the United States, China, and the European Union?is intensifying. All three regimes are racing to regulate tech companies, with each advancing a competing vision for the digital economy while attempting to expand its sphere of influence in the digital world. In Digital Empires, her provocative follow-up to The Brussels Effect, Anu Bradford explores a rivalry that will shape the world in the decades to come. Across the globe, people dependent on digital technologies have become increasingly alarmed that their rapid adoption and transformation have ushered in an exceedingly concentrated economy where a few powerful companies control vast economic wealth and political power, undermine data privacy, and widen the gap between economic winners and losers. In response, world leaders are variously embracing the idea of reining in the most dominant tech companies. Bradford examines three competing regulatory approaches?the American market-driven model, the Chinese state-driven model, and the European rights-driven regulatory model?and discusses how governments and tech companies navigate the inevitable conflicts that arise when these regulatory approaches collide in the international domain. Which digital empire will prevail in the contest for global influence remains an open question, yet their contrasting strategies are increasingly clear. Digital societies are at an inflection point. In the midst of these unfolding regulatory battles, governments, tech companies, and digital citizens are making important choices that will shape the future ethos of the digital society. Digital Empires lays bare the choices we face as societies and individuals, explains the forces that shape those choices, and illuminates the immense stakes involved for everyone who uses digital technologies.

This new volume offers an alternative view of human civilization in a globalizing age, exploring the uneven pace of development of human societies, particularly in the last two centuries, and arguing that this is leading to a global civil war.

The reach of Corporations into our lives via cards and apps has never been greater; many of us rarely use cash these days. But what we’re told is a natural and inevitable move is actually the work of powerful interests. And the great battle of our time is the battle for ownership of the digital footprints that make up our lives. In Cloudmoney, Brett Scott tells an urgent and revelatory story about how the fusion of Big Finance and Big Tech requires “cloudmoney”—digital money underpinned by the banking sector—to replace physical cash. He dives beneath the surface of the global financial system to uncover a long-established lobbying infrastructure: an alliance of partners waging a covert war on cash. He explains the technical, political, and cultural differences between our various forms of money and shows how the cash system has been under attack for decades, as banking and tech companies promote a cashless society under the banner of progress. Cloudmoney takes us to the front lines of a war for our wallets that is also about our freedom, from marketing strategies against cash to the weaponization of COVID-19 to push fintech platforms, and from there to the rise of the cryptocurrency rebels and fringe groups pushing back. It asks the most pressing questions: Who benefits from a cashless society and who gets left behind? Is the end of cash the end of true privacy? And is our cloudmoney future closer than we think it is?

"Digital Empires: Scaling New Heights in Online Business" is an essential guide for anyone looking to understand and excel in the world of online business. This comprehensive book covers every facet of creating, managing, and expanding a digital empire. From laying the foundations of online business to exploring advanced digital marketing techniques, it offers invaluable insights into building a strong, recognizable brand in the digital space. Dive deep into the essentials of e-commerce, unravel the intricacies of social media marketing, and master the art of SEO to enhance online visibility. The book also delves into the power of data analytics, providing readers with the tools to make informed decisions based on customer insights and market trends. Understand the legal and ethical considerations of running an online business, and learn how to achieve a global reach while maintaining a local touch. "Digital Empires" doesn't just stop at current trends; it looks ahead, discussing future innovations in online business, including the impact of AI, machine learning, and blockchain technology. This book also addresses the human side of online enterprises, emphasizing the importance of building virtual teams, fostering customer loyalty, and the personal development of digital entrepreneurs. Learn how to manage financial aspects effectively, scale operations efficiently, and navigate the complex global digital landscape. Crucial topics such as cultivating a culture of innovation, sustainable growth, ethical leadership, and crisis management are also covered in depth. "Digital Empires" is not just a guide; it's a roadmap for anyone aspiring to create a lasting impact in the digital marketplace. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur, a seasoned business owner, or a curious learner, this book is your key to scaling new heights in the world of online business.

Rebuilding Empires examines, through retail giants Best Buy and Target, how big box chains are constructing a new future by utilizing mobile devices, social media, and the Internet, the same technologies that once pushed them to the brink of irrelevance. This book features interviews with industry leaders and experts, including Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly, Target chief marketing officer Jeff Jones, and several other key players in both companies. Bricks and mortar retailing is not dead, and Best Buy shows others how to capitalize on their own physical spaces. Lee shows how showrooming is an asset rather than a liability, how physical space and online space are complementary, and how others can learn from Best Buy's innovations including the Geek Squad, stores within stores, and creating non-traditional partnerships. In a readable narrative format, journalist Thomas Lee explores how the world's largest consumer electronics retailer is redefining what it truly means to be a "Best Buy" in the age of online retailing.