Coercion: Why We Listen to what "they" Say

Front Cover
Riverhead, Dec 31, 1998 - Business & Economics - 321 pages
"They say that you're using only ten percent of your brain. They say the corner office is a position of power. They say you can earn thousands of dollars a week in your spare time. They say that knowing your audience is more important than whatever it is you're selling." "Who, exactly, are "they"? And why do we listen to them?" "Douglas Rushkoff argues that we each have our own "theys" - bosses, pundits, authorities, both real and imaginary - whom we allow to shape our lives and manage our futures. Like parents, they can make us feel safe. They do our thinking for us. We don't have to worry about our next move. It has already been decided on our behalf, and in our best interests. Or so we hope." "Unfortunately, not everyone to whom we surrender this control has our interests at heart. What's more, Rushkoff says, as much as we try to resist them, they are always finding new and improved ways to manipulate us."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

From inside the book

Contents

Introduction
1
Chapter
27
Chapter
73
Copyright

7 other sections not shown

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (1998)

Douglas Rushkoff was born on February 18, 1961. After graduating from Princeton University he received an MFA in Directing from California Institute of the Arts. He has written numerous magazine columns on topics including cyberculture and has been aired on CBS Sunday Morning and NPR's All Things Considered and published in The New York Times and Time magazine. Rushkoff has taught at the MaybeLogic Academy, NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program, and the Esalen Institute, and he teaches media studies at the New School University. Rushkoff lectures around the world about media, art, society, and change at conferences and universities. He consults to museums, governments, synagogues, churches, universities, and companies on new media arts and ethics. Rushkoff won the first Neil Postman award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity. He is on the Boards of the Media Ecology Association, The Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics, Technorealism, The National Association for Media Literacy Education, MeetUp.com, and Hyperwords. His bestselling books include graphic novels, Cyberia, Media Virus, Playing the Future, Nothing Sacred: The Truth about Judaism, Get Back in the Box: Innovation from the Inside Out, Coercion, and Life Inc.

Bibliographic information