Hacking: Digital Media and Technological Determinism

by Tim Jordan

Hacking provides an introduction to the community of hackers and an analysis of the meaning of hacking in twenty-first century societies. On the one hand, hackers infect the computers of the world, entering where they are not invited, taking over not just individual workstations but whole networks. On the other, hackers write the software that fuels the Internet, from the most popular web programmes to software fundamental to the Internet's existence. Beginning from an analysis of these two main types of hackers, categorised as crackers and Free Software/Open Source respectively, Tim Jordan gives the reader insight into the varied identities of hackers, including: • Hacktivism; hackers and populist politics
• Cyberwar; hackers and the nation-state
• Digital Proletariat; hacking for the man
• Viruses; virtual life on the Internet
• Digital Commons; hacking without software
• Cypherpunks; encryption and digital security
• Nerds and Geeks; hacking cultures or hacking without the hack
• Cybercrime; blackest of black hat hacking Hackers end debates over the meaning of technological determinism while recognising that at any one moment we are all always determined by technology. Hackers work constantly within determinations of their actions created by technologies as they also alter software to enable entirely new possibilities for and limits to action in the virtual world. Through this fascinating introduction to the people who create and recreate the digital media of the Internet, students, scholars and general readers will gain new insight into the meaning of technology and society when digital media are hacked.

Genres: Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published November 3, 2008

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.

For the sociologist, see Tim Jordan
For the doctor, see Tim Jordan

Reviews

[Tee Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hacking is a good book, albeit one that is a little dry. However, it is an academic book, aimed at academics, and so a little dryness is to be expected. It is to be “coded” into the text in other words. In this book Tim Jordan gives a solid overview of the the origins of hacking, and how the idea of hacking has transcended and morphed into other areas of society and not just a small subset of computer hackers. Hacktivism, Cyberwar/Cyberterror, Digital Commons, et cetera, are all discussed at length in this book, thereby making connections between otherwise disconnected and disparate aspects of society. In essence, Jordan is looking at the digital societies within societies.
One criticism I do have is that I found some of the summations of points, and conclusions, to be overly repetitive. Jordan will mention something in one paragraph, only to mention it again and again; conversely, Jordan also makes certain points repeatedly within the same paragraph. I do believe that if this characteristic could have been curbed somewhat, it would have made for a less dry text, and one with more impact.

The Good
* The book was written using Open Office running on Ubuntu.
* Gives detail and fleshes out parts of society that are otherwise either sensationalized in the media, or overlooked altogether.
*Not overly long
The Bad
* Some repetitiveness could have been edited out
* Text could use a little spicing up to make it more accessible to a wider audience

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched, well written.