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Epic Win For Anonymous: How 4chan's Army Conquered The Web (2011)

by Cole Stryker(Favorite Author)

3.33 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1590207386 (ISBN13: 9781590207383)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Overlook

review 1: As a young person having spent my formative teenage years as a web denizen, and as someone who spends a majority of her time immersed in the unique internet culture, learning about "Epic Win For Anonymous" meant I could find a non-fiction book relevant to my interests, on a subject both familiar and foreign to me. I heard about the book from the author himself on the website Reddit--thus, I was in the key demographic.I am, admittedly, a terrible reviewer. I am notoriously easy to please; I recommend anyone wishing to find a more solid opinion should take my words lightly. With this disclaimer, I proceed.Over the years I have been in and out of the Anon culture as a bystander, a fringe participant. In my high school days, I had many friends who frequented 4chan's /b/ board ... moreand identified as /b/tards; by proxy, I was a /b/tard only due to my recognition of memes and slang. My proximity to /b/ did not teach me to love the community, but to fear it. My friends bragged about raids (many of them participated in the infamous Habbo Hotel raids) and freely snarked lulz-worthy internet candidates. I watched from the sidelines, fascinated, amused and terrified that I could become a target. Perhaps one can chalk it to age, or to the constant social paranoia I experience daily, but I was scared that I would slip up and taint my online identity, causing myself to be a target for the ruthless Anons. I plugged myself up on the internet at a time when many people were exposing themselves, and, in my perception, being punished for it.Stryker's book's number one takeaway message for me was that this is not true, and it has never been true. Numerous times, Stryker refers to "breathless exposés" done by nightly media outlets about the dangers of Anonymous, leading the public to believe that the group is a bunch of no-good, hate-filled terrorists who will destroy everything you know and love. The analyses, the history and the first-hand information from community founders detailed in Stryker's book depict /b/ and Anonymous as they truly are: a diverse community of creatives people, oriented both in the cultivation and propagation of unique internet culture and in the spread of justice and wide-spread social activism. Who can't get behind these movements?Stryker does not hide that some of Anonymous's practices are a bit on the shady side; he does not apologize for some of the major drama that Anonymous has caused, does not try to do damage control, but he explains why it happened. The number one thing Stryker's book cleared up for me was the very concept of Anonymity as it is used in an internet context. It is not so much a mask to hide behind as a movement that, in most cases, represents the public's will and true desires, subjects that could not be shared when attached to a name and face because of real life repercussions.I guess what I would say about this book is that anyone who feels they do not understand the reviled "Internet Hate Machine" should definitely try to read the book. It explains and details the rise of Anonymous as well as the rise of internet culture as a whole. To anyone in the loop, it is a beneficial read to learn about the background workings of a website that even people in the know may be fuzzy on. To anyone who has never heard of the site, their conquests are unforgettable and well-documented, and, as is the usual in mass media, an unwarranted amount of fear is attached to this movement that is harmless to the individual. Anything leaked by Anonymous will most likely not lead to your untimely death. It takes the terror out of Anonymous, and more importantly provides a very strong message: don't want to be targeted by Anonymous? Live life well, live it free of corruption and live it morally, but, most importantly, don't take yourself too seriously. In the end, most of it is done for the lulz.Anonymous is one of the most influential movements of our time. I would recommend anyone interested in technology, human interaction and the organization and success of activist movements check out the book to see just how it reached this point; but, if these things do not interest you, you could also read it to take some of the horrific mystique out of the collective.
review 2: I began reading this book with enjoyment, but after reading a quarter of the book I started to wonder when the subject matter was going start focusing less on 4chan and more on Anonymous. Based on the title, cover, and description of the book I was led to believe Cole Stryker's book was an in depth look at Anonymous. Instead it's a bird's eye description of internet culture as a whole, spritzed with occassional quotes interviews. According to my Kindle, the operations of Anon were not detailed until about 75% into the book, and only one chapter is dedicated to such. That single chapter quickly summarizes a handful of Anon's operations, with Stryker offering little more than info easily found on Wikipedia. Quite a disappointment, to say the least. less

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