About the Book:

"We do not know how to program our computers, nor do we care. We spend much more time and energy trying to figure out how to use them to program one another instead. And this is potentially a grave mistake."

The debate over whether the Net is good or bad for us fills the airwaves and the blogosphere. But for all the heat of claim and counter-claim, the argument is essentially beside the point: it’s here; it’s everywhere. The real question is, do we direct technology, or do we let ourselves be directed by it and those who have mastered it? "Choose the former," writes Douglas Rushkoff, "and you gain access to the control panel of civilization. Choose the latter, and it could be the last real choice you get to make."

In ten chapters, composed of ten "commands" accompanied by original illustrations from comic artist Leland Purvis, author Rushkoff provides cyberenthusiasts and technophobes alike with the guidelines to navigate this new universe.

In this spirited, accessible poetics of new media, Douglas Rushkoff picks up where Marshall McLuhan left off, helping readers come to recognize programming as the new literacy of the digital age — and as a template through which to see beyond social conventions and power structures that have vexed us for centuries. Program or be Programmed is a friendly little book with a big and actionable message.

What people say:

"Douglas Rushkoff is one of the great thinkers –– and writers –– of our time." — Timothy Leary

"Rushkoff is damn smart. As someone who understood the digital revolution faster and better than almost anyone, he shows how the internet is a social transformer that should change the way your business culture operates." — Walter Isaacson

"Now that much of what Rushkoff has predicted over the years has come to pass, he is uniquely qualified to write what may be one of the most important and instructive books of our times: Program or be Programmed.... In it, he outlines ten different ideas that information technology is biased towards; biases that can cause discord in our lives. However, rather than predicting that the sky is falling, Rushkoff gives practical and actionable advice on how to turn those biases into advantages." — Wired

About the Author:

Douglas Rushkoff is an American author, teacher, and documentarian who focuses on the ways people, cultures, and institutions create, share, and influence each other's values. The originator of ideas such as "viral media," "social currency" and "screenagers," he teaches media studies at NYU and the New School University, serves as technology columnist for The Daily Beast, and lectures around the world.