Writing on the Wall: The Intriguing History of Social Media, from Ancient Rome to the Present Day

Description

Today we are endlessly connected: constantly tweeting, texting or e-mailing. This may seem unprecedented, yet it is not. Throughout history, information has been spread through social networks, with far-reaching social and political effects. Writing on the Wall reveals how an elaborate network of letter exchanges forewarned of power shifts in Cicero's Rome, while the torrent of tracts circulating in sixteenth-century Germany triggered the Reformation. Standage traces the story of the rise, fall and rebirth of social media over the past 2,000 years offering an illuminating perspective on the history of media, and revealing that social networks do not merely connect us today - they also link us to the past.

Tom Standage is digital editor at the Economist and editor-in-chief of its website, Economist.com. He is the author of six history books, including An Edible History of Humanity, the New York Times bestseller A History of the World in Six Glasses and The Victorian Internet. His writing has also appeared in the Daily Telegraph, the New York Times and Wired. He lives in London. tomstandage.com @tomstandage facebook.com/writingonthewallbook instagram.com/tomstandage flickr.com/photos/tomstandage

It broadens our modern and narrow view of social media to include all forms of social communication ... Thorough ... Compelling ... Writing on the Wall is a wonderful read ... Standage makes a strong case for social media as the driving force for change, whether for good or bad * criticalmargins.com * The most illuminating of Britain's technology writers ... He understands that there are few eternal patterns to human behaviour - no ahistorical understanding to be had about blinks, outliers, or tipping points ... Standage has identified the most important triggers that initiated some of those jumps in the past. He's the go-to man to identify the triggers for what comes next * Literary Review * Tom Standage is a very ingenious, engaging and wide-ranging non-fiction writer ... much to admire * Scotsman * Short and sparky history of information ... Standage provides a useful reminder that, however much our material environment changes, our behaviour tends to remain the same * Guardian * Today's tweeting and texting may seem unprecedented, yet they are not. Throughout history, information has been spread via social networks, with far-reaching effects * Observer *