"The Filter Bubble": What the Internet Is Hiding from You ~ Eli Pariser

and....What Do Google and Facebook Have in Common?

MoveOn wouldn't be possible without the open Internet. But according to our own Eli Pariser, the Internet itself is changing. His book on the topic, The Filter Bubble, comes out this week (you can check it out here).

In March, the TED conference invited him to preview the argument. When I talked to Eli beforehand, he was really nervous—in the audience were top executives from Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and a number of other companies he critiques. But his call for an open, ethical Internet—he actually called out the Google founders and Bill Gates in the audience by name—got a standing ovation. And it's been burning up the TED website ever since.

We're sharing it today because we think it's a really important point. Increasingly, the Internet is hiding things from us, and we don't even know it. Take a moment to watch Eli's TED talk today:

The Filter Bubble, Eli's book, has been getting good reviews, too. Here's a particularly good one from author and 350.org organizer Bill McKibben:

"You spend half your life in Internet space, but trust me—you don't understand how it works. Eli Pariser's book is a masterpiece of both investigation and interpretation; he exposes the way we're sent down particular information tunnels, and he explains how we might once again find ourselves in a broad public square of ideas. This couldn't be a more interesting book; it casts an illuminating light on so many of our daily encounters."

If you're interested in the book, you can check it out by clicking on the image to the left or this link—all of Eli's profits from this email will go to MoveOn.org Civic Action.

It's not a given that the Internet will remain fertile ground for democracy. We need to make sure it does, and Eli's argument is an important part of that fight.

Thanks for all you do.

–Daniel and the MoveOn.org Civic Action Team