Internet Daemons: Digital Communications Possessed

Description

A complete history and theory of internet daemons brings these little-known-but very consequential-programs into the spotlight We're used to talking about how tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon rule the internet, but what about daemons? Ubiquitous programs that have colonized the Net's infrastructure-as well as the devices we use t

Fenwick McKelvey is assistant professor of communication studies at Concordia University.

"Beneath social media, beneath search, Internet Daemons reveals another layer of algorithms: deeper, burrowed into information networks. Fenwick McKelvey is the best kind of intellectual spelunker, taking us deep into the infrastructure and shining his light on these obscure but vital mechanisms. What he has delivered is a precise and provocative rethinking of how to conceive of power in and among networks."-Tarleton Gillespie, author of Custodians of the Internet "Internet Daemons is an original and important contribution to the field of digital media studies. Fenwick McKelvey extensively maps and analyzes how daemons influence data exchanges across Internet infrastructures. This study insightfully demonstrates how daemons are transformative entities that enable particular ways of transferring information and connecting up communication, with significant social and political consequences."-Jennifer Gabrys, author of Program Earth