Restoring Our Sanity Online: A Revolutionary Social Framework

by Mark Weinstein

Overview

“This is a must-read for anyone concerned with where we are today and looking for a better path forward.”
―Steve Wozniak, Co-founder, Apple Inc.

Big Tech is driving us, our kids, and society mad. In the nick of time, Restoring Our Sanity Online presents the bold, revolutionary framework for an epic reboot. What would social media look like if it nourished our critical thinking, mental health, privacy, civil discourse, and democracy? Is that even possible?

Restoring Our Sanity Online is the entertaining, informative, and frequently jaw-dropping social reset by Mark Weinstein, contemporary tech leader, privacy expert, and one of the visionary inventors of social networking.

This book is for all of us. Casual and heavy users of social media, parents, teachers, students, techies, entrepreneurs, investors, and elected officials. Restoring Our Sanity Online is the catapult to an exciting, enriching, and authentic future. Readers will embark on a captivating journey leading to an inspiring and actionable reinvention.

Restoring Our Sanity Online includes thought-provoking insights including:

• Empowering You—Social Media User, Content Creator
• In The Crosshairs: Privacy And Anonymity
• Saving Our Kids From The Abyss
• Surprise! Social Media Can Be Good For Your Mental Health
• Is AI The High-Tech Tattletale In Your Social Experience?
• Lifting the Veil On Bots and Trolls
• Facts, Opinions, Lies—Who Decides?
• Web3 Is Here—What The Heck Is It?
• Is There a Better Way?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781394273966
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	09/24/2024
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	612,122
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

MARK WEINSTEIN is a world-renowned tech entrepreneur, contemporary thought leader, privacy expert, and one of the visionary inventors of social networking. His adventure in social media has lasted over 25 years through three award-winning personal social media platforms enjoyed by millions of members worldwide. Mark is frequently interviewed and published in top-tier media including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Fox, CNN, BBC, Newsweek, Los Angeles Times, The Hill, and more.

markweinsteininventor.com

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Chapter 1 My Adventures in Web1 and Web2: The Rise of Surveillance Capitalism 1

Chapter 2 Uncanny Parallels: Big Ag, Big Energy, Big Tech 9

Chapter 3 Promising Movements Afoot 27

Chapter 4 Web3 Is Here: What the Heck Is It? 31

Chapter 5 A Healthy Dose of Web3 Reality 39

Chapter 6 Meet Your New Boss, Same as the Old Boss 49

Chapter 7 Is There a Better Way? 51

Chapter 8 Empowering You: Social Media User, Creator, Star 59

Chapter 9 Do I Need a Social Media Wallet: Is There Money in It? 65

Chapter 10 How Do We Overcome C-Suite Tyranny? 69

Chapter 11 In the Crosshairs: Privacy and Anonymity 73

Chapter 12 User ID Verification: Friend or Foe? 85

Chapter 13 Saving Our Kids from the Abyss 91

Chapter 14 Surprise! Social Media Can Be Good for Your Mental Health 103

Chapter 15 Is AI the High-Tech Tattletale in Your Social Experience? 109

Chapter 16 Lifting the Veil on Bots and Trolls 115

Chapter 17 Balancing Act: Free Speech versus Moderation 123

Chapter 18 Facts, Opinions, Lies: Who Decides? 129

Chapter 19 Seven Lessons for the Street Fight 135

Chapter 20 Welcome to Web4: The Restoration of Sanity 141

Chapter 21 Taking It to the Streets 153

Appendix A: Advice to Legislators 157

Appendix B: Accountability Structures for Restoration Networking 167

Appendix C: Revenue Superchargers 171

Appendix D: Seven-Point Prescription to Vanquish Bots and Trolls 175

Notes 179

Acknowledgments 223

About the Author 227

Index 229

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Three and a half decades ago, when I invented the web, the intention was to allow for collaboration, foster compassion, and generate creativity. It was a tool to empower humanity. Yet in the past decade, instead of embodying these values, a few social media platforms have played a part in eroding them. Restoring Our Sanity Online reveals the web’s fascinating journey with powerful anecdotes. The book’s call to action for a human-centered web aligns with my original vision. Mark Weinstein presents a new paradigm for the web and social media that empowers users, reshapes data storage around user-controlled Solid Pods, protects democracy, and eliminates surveillance capitalism. Its vision, which I share, is a digital future that prioritizes human well-being. This is a vital read.”
—SIR TIM BERNERS-LEE, Inventor of the Web

“Technology has a purpose: to do good and to share. Restoring Our Sanity Online is a timely and essential read for those seeking an approach to social media that aligns with this. Mark Weinstein offers a refreshing vision—users are customers to serve, not products to sell. The book presents practical solutions for social media that doesn't rely on tracking users or targeting them with ads. It provides a blueprint for sharing profits with users while championing privacy, mental health, and authentic connections. This is a must-read for anyone concerned with where we are today and looking for a better path forward.”
—STEVE WOZNIAK, Co-founder, Apple Inc.

“Mark Weinstein has long been a leading voice advocating for the responsible use of social media. In this important book, he brings decades of wisdom to bear on one of the most consequential issues of our times—how we can deploy the extraordinary power of social media and AI in ways that align with our collective well-being over the long term. This is essential reading for business leaders, policy makers, and citizens at large.”
—RAJ SISODIA, Co-founder, Conscious Capitalism Inc.

“Mark Weinstein’s Restoring Our Sanity Online is a compelling journey into the heart of the digital age, where the promises of social media collided with the stark realities of its influence on our lives. Combining personal anecdotes and a critical analysis of Big Tech’s evolution, Weinstein offers a hopeful narrative on how we reclaim the internet for its intended purpose–connection and community. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to understand the impact of social media and seeking practical solutions to create a healthier online environment.”
—DR. MARSHALL GOLDSMITH, Bestselling author of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

"Social media is changing the world. With it, democracy is in danger, kids are addicted to screens full of misinformation, and we're all losing the ability to be civil. Mark Weinstein is more than a decades-long friend; he has been prophetic as one of social media's inventors, warning us years in advance. Restoring Our Sanity Online is gripping, inspiring, essential reading for all of us. Mark paints a deeply researched, captivating vision, unveiling an exciting, achievable path to social media's future. It's one that nurtures and unites us, empowers and remunerates users, restores connectedness and authenticity, while saving our kids and democracy from the abyss."
—JACK CANFIELD, Bestselling author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul^® series