Trying out a crosspost from Goodreads, because I really like the observation I made in it. Sometimes I look back at things I have written and really like them.
The Social Life of Information by John Seely Brown
Reminding me very strongly of the reading I did in college for Sociology and Anthropology classes, with a focus on enterprise use cases.
I find it strange to read, in 2010, a book written in 2000 about the effect of the Internet on human behavior with information. I can see places where the authors were quite prescient, and areas where they got it wrong – in particular, their prediction that newspapers will continue to be relevant and successful. I think in that case it’s a matter of incomplete understanding of the business model of newspapers; craigslist and ebay have largely destroyed classified advertising, and that’s a big revenue loss.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who looks back on stuff I’ve written and likes it. It feels good to admire my own skills. Then I feel a little silly, so I never mention it.