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Public Parts: How Sharing in the Digital Age Improves the Way We Work and Live Hardcover – September 27, 2011

by Jeff Jarvis (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 37 ratings
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International bestselling author and optimistic internet thinker Jeff Jarvis examines the way the Internet has changed the way we form communities, create identities, engage in commerce, and live our lives.

A visionary and optimistic thinker examines the tension between privacy and publicness that is transforming how we form communities, create identities, do business, and live our lives.

Thanks to the internet, we now live—more and more—in public. More than 750 million people (and half of all Americans) use Facebook, where we share a billion times a day. The collective voice of Twitter echoes instantly 100 million times daily, from Tahrir Square to the Mall of America, on subjects that range from democratic reform to unfolding natural disasters to celebrity gossip. New tools let us share our photos, videos, purchases, knowledge, friendships, locations, and lives.

Yet change brings fear, and many people—nostalgic for a more homogeneous mass culture and provoked by well-meaning advocates for privacy—despair that the internet and how we share there is making us dumber, crasser, distracted, and vulnerable to threats of all kinds. But not Jeff Jarvis.

In this shibboleth-destroying book, Public Parts argues persuasively and personally that the internet and our new sense of publicness are, in fact, doing the opposite. Jarvis travels back in time to show the amazing parallels of fear and resistance that met the advent of other innovations such as the camera and the printing press. The internet, he argues, will change business, society, and life as profoundly as Gutenberg’s invention, shifting power from old institutions to us all.

Based on extensive interviews, Public Parts introduces us to the men and women building a new industry based on sharing. Some of them have become household names—Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Google’s Eric Schmidt, and Twitter’s Evan Williams. Others may soon be recognized as the industrialists, philosophers, and designers of our future.

Jarvis explores the promising ways in which the internet and publicness allow us to collaborate, think, ways—how we manufacture and market, buy and sell, organize and govern, teach and learn. He also examines the necessity as well as the limits of privacy in an effort to understand and thus protect it.

This new and open era has already profoundly disrupted economies, industries, laws, ethics, childhood, and many other facets of our daily lives. But the change has just begun. The shape of the future is not assured. The amazing new tools of publicness can be used to good ends and bad. The choices—and the responsibilities—lie with us. Jarvis makes an urgent case that the future of the internet—what one technologist calls “the eighth continent”—requires as much protection as the physical space we share, the air we breathe, and the rights we afford one another. It is a space of the public, for the public, and by the public. It needs protection and respect from all of us. As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in the wake of the uprisings in the Middle East, “If people around the world are going to come together every day online and have a safe and productive experience, we need a shared vision to guide us.” Jeff Jarvis has that vision and will be that guide.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    272 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Simon & Schuster
  4. Publication date
    September 27, 2011
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1451636008
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1451636000
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A refreshing take on a topic often covered by people who feel that the Internet…threatens to imperil our children and undermine our society.”—Jessi Hempel, Forbes.com

"This is a superior work. Not only is it well researched and elegantly argued but he makes some original observations about how digital technology is changing the nature of human self-expression."—John Gapper, The Financial Times

"Jarvis offers a persuasive and personal look at why sharing things publicly on the Web should become the norm... Jarvis works methodically in Public Parts to unravel long-held beliefs about why openness online is dangerous... Jarvis' message of openness will be provocative to many, but what he explores is only the beginning of a revolution that will continue to change how we use the Web—and how the Web uses us."—Mark W. Smith, Detroit Free Press

"The author of What Would Google Do? returns with another thoughtful look at the Internet age. A welcome and well-reasoned counterpoint to the arguments that social-networking sites and the easy availability of personal information online are undermining our society and putting our safety at risk... A must-read for anyone interested in the issue of connectivity versus privacy."—David Pitt, Booklist

"It's important and will become more so, and I'm very glad Jeff has written his valuable book."—Stephen Baker, author of The Numerati

"How do we define what is public and what is private? What are the benefits and dangers of living a life in which everything is shared? Jarvis explores these questions and more in his immensely readable, chatty style... No one knows what's going to happen next. But people like Jarvis are having fun making sense of these confusing early years."—Niall Firth, New Scientist


"Jarvis makes a powerful case for re-framing the way we think about privacy, and for better appreciating the benefits of “publicness” in the information age."—Adam Thierer, Forbes.com

About the Author

Jeff Jarvis blogs about media, news, technology, and business at Buzzmachine.com, and appears weekly as a co-host on Leo Laporte’s “This Week in Google.” He is associate professor and director of the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism at the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism. The author of What Would Google Do?, he lives in the New York area. Join the conversation at buzzmachine.com/publicparts and on Twitter (@jeffjarvis and #publicparts).

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster (September 27, 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1451636008
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1451636000
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 37 ratings

About the author

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Jeff Jarvis

Jeff Jarvis

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Jeff Jarvis is the author of "What Would Google Do?", "Public Parts", "Geeks Bearing Gifts", and "Gutenberg the Geek." He blogs at Buzzmachine.com and is a cohost of the podcast This Week in Google. He was named one of 100 worldwide media leaders by the World Economic Forum at Davos from 2007 to 2018, and he was the creator and founding editor of Entertainment Weekly. He is on the faculty of the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism in New York City.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
37 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

heavydutyguitar
5.0 out of 5 stars Baba-Booey and the Age of Radical Transparency
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2011
Verified Purchase
To hell with the handful of naysayers in academe who criticize brilliant minds like Jeff Jarvis and Clay Shirky for being "Internet Intellectuals"; they think deeply and are able to relate their important insights in a fashion that the average person can grasp.

Public Parts is a must-read for anyone. Period.

Not just business pros, though they'll doubtless benefit from the discussion of how the era of Radical Transparency can benefit business. Not just netizens, though they'll find the discussion of civil rights in the digital space invaluable in protecting themselves and advancing their own ideas. Not just PR pros, though they'll be comforted by the litany of case studies that will help them justify "doing the right thing" to the C-Suite.
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Jose M. Cane
4.0 out of 5 stars It gets a little boring in some parts (maybe because I know some of ...
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2014
Verified Purchase
The book is reasonably researched and supports and explains Jarvis views about publicness and privacy. It’s not a scholarly book nor gives a deep theoretical analysis; its focus is a chronicle of the expanding ethic and culture of openness (Jarvis words, Loc. 3352). It’s well written (he’s a journalist and writes clear and to the point). It gets a little boring in some parts (maybe because I know some of his ideas and points from his blog, which I been following for years), and some explanations of how a few services work (Twitter, Kickstarter, etc.) which at the time of publishing were probably needed, now look dull and self-evident, but overall I found it interesting.
I greatly value Jarvis views and wasn’t disappointed with the value the book added me with its information, but especially with the questions raised and the perspective offered, which helped me better understand the issue.
Overall you won’t get a lot of insights if you follow Jarvis and his ideas, but even so you’ll gain some new perspectives. If you don’t know much about his ideas I highly recommend the book, since I think he has a deep understanding of how the net is evolving, especially in reference to communications.
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Ken Nielsen
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent insights
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2011
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Public Parts  Better than What Would Google Do. Jarvis has thought deeply about the public/private issues coming from recent developments online and spoken to quite a few of the players. We should all think about this and how it effects us. The book does not do the thinking fr us but is a very good starting point. Very highly recommended.
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Sean
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting View on Privacy
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2011
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Disclaimer: I have been a fan of Jeff Jarvis for over a year, mostly due to his weekly show, This Week in Google.

As the majority of the Facebook and Google users will acknowledge, privacy is a hot issue right now. Privacy advocate groups are everywhere, so a different opinion is needed to balance the world. And that's where Jeff Jarvis' book comes in.

The book starts out with the example of Germany and the dispute over Google Maps. Well, before that, there is the introduction... but you know what I mean. Throughout the book, he provides some interesting "good" points for being "public" online. However, near the middle, he succumbs to the benefits of being "private" online. In a sense, this book is, essentially, a compendium of the benefits and weaknesses of removing your privacy online. There are rather in-depth interviews and examples to help explain the deeper reasons for our need for privacy, or lack thereof, which is good.

Mr. Jarvis has written an acceptable book that will certainly help readers understand the struggles of privacy online. 4 stars.
2 people found this helpful
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Biz Book Reader
3.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and Helpful for Those in the Know, Less Interesting to Newcomers
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2015
"Public Parts" is a useful contribution to the public dialogue around privacy concerns. It doesn't have a compelling narrative and isn't a particularly fun read -- it comes across more as a broad collection of a bunch of different thoughts around many of the personal and social issues emerging as more and more of our data is captured, stored and used in various ways. But these are important issues, and Jarvis has given them a lot of thought. For those trying to work out their own perspectives or policies, reading "Public Parts" should be a part of their process.
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Top reviews from other countries

robc
5.0 out of 5 stars Check your publicness
Reviewed in Canada on April 14, 2020
Verified Purchase
This is the second book I have read which was written by Jeff Jarvis, the first was What Would Google Do (WWGD). I loved WWGD so I pre-ordered Public Parts at the very first opportunity. The book came at an opportune time for me as I had just recently turned from a social network hater into a serious user and the notion of publicness was very relevant.

The book discusses publicness in relation to the technologies and ideas which are pervasive today. It starts by looking at the impact to our personal lives, then progresses to how companies can benefit from publicness, and then finally how governments could better and more efficiently serve the people.

The world is changing around us, openness, responsiveness, and transparency are the new expectations. This book captures the essence of publicness today and why it should be important to all of us.

To be honest I found it hard to write a quick review of this book, you just need to read it and take it all in, you will not be disappointed.
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James Hammond
5.0 out of 5 stars amazing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 16, 2013
Verified Purchase
I have never read a more candid book; I have to admit this is the only book I would recommend people to read of everything I have ever bought from Amazon
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MrJuggles
4.0 out of 5 stars Public
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 4, 2011
Verified Purchase
After finding Mr Jarvis on TWIG I was ready to listen to his thoughts on the public and private life.
I've spent an age trying to phrase and rephrase my review to sound more educated, ponderous and thoughtful, but I've deleted that.
I love this book, I love the thoughts it put forward and the further reading as well as further thinking it pointed me towards. I am a public person but only because it feels comfortable and right to be, not because I've broke down the semantics of why it fits me well.
Jeff gives a balanced view of the organic and ever changing state of the public profile and gives me great food for thought that by being considered and open to my public profile is a socially progressive choice, when done appropriately.
For this book I invested in my first kindle and this was a great first choice to read.
6 people found this helpful
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