in the book: " Reading the Comments: Likers, Haters, and Manipulators at the Bottom of the Web"
byJoseph M. Reagle Jr.
Though this book has some great nuggets of information in it (best selling authors who have created sock puppet accounts to go after reviewers or other authors) it doesn't really offer anything that people who have been active in forums don't already know. And I would suspect, for those who don't frequent comment sections (or rarely do) - they would care.
Though Reagle advocated for the right to have individual thought - unfortunately, he writes with bias of one that lives in the tower of academia. He can hardly veil his contempt for Conservative values as he describers "Preppers" as White Christian Conservative Males and gives an example of ONE man who allegedly has placed a gun in his 5 year old sons' bug out bag. Like Rachel Dozell, the Rolling Stone Magazine college "rape" story, it's difficult not to know if this video described by Reagle is an actual person, or a person that is an activist with the intent of dehumanizing truly independent thought.
I don't know many preppers, but I do know there is a "prepper" in the Amazon Vine program (or was...) and she is young, beautiful, and never brings religion up in any of her reviews.
And what if people are religious? Is that unacceptable? And why is it okay to make a blanket statement that "preppers are white male Christians" - that is like saying "terrorists are mostly black male Muslims" -
Most of the 'hate' directed at women online (I speak from experience) is from white male liberals who self-identify as atheists. This was mentioned in the book, except for the 'liberal' part.
Reagle also pointed out the Republican owner of a restaurant who was "flamed" on Yelp after hugging Obama who stopped in at his restaurant.
Reagle at no time points out all the horrible comments made to black conservatives like Ben Carson, Star Parker, Mia Love. He doesn't talk about the outpouring of hate for Ted Cruz or Mark Rubio.
He doesn't talk about the hate that Stacey Dash goes through, and did not mention one peep about how is attacked like a the guy who walks into a Sugar Addict meeting carrying free donuts.
This is a one sided narrative falling in line with collective thinking - offering nothing new.
An odd thing is - this book is being offered for free in the Amazon Vine. People who 'get things' in exchange for reviews often rate the product higher in order to 'rank up.'
So Reagle, himself, is trying to manipulate his ranking.
It's common sense people.
And at 15.00 bucks in the Kindle store - Reagle is obviously a great fan of capitalism - unless, of course, he plans on donating to the Hillary Clinton "Help Bring Back My Emails" campaign.
Not worth the value at 15.00 - maybe 2.99.
These are my Kindle Highlights which show examples of his pigeon holing of people on the right and religious people:
At YouTube, prepper reviewers are typically white Christian men who are concerned with an over-reaching big government, gun rights, and the collapse of civil society. Their slogan is “pray for the best, prepare for the worst.” As one blog posting noted, these folk are “completely obsessed with both gear and the idea of self-sufficiency. They prize durability and functionality in a product because their fervency makes them believe their livesRead more at location 835 • Delete this highlight
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(Flashlights and knives are fetishized objects that garner many reviews.)Read more at location 844 • Delete this highlight
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(I wonder, how often will his fifth grader need to carry an M4 or drag a wounded teammate?) One can even find someRead more at location 858 • Delete this highlight
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For instance, a creationist might post the same critical review across multiple books on evolution. She might do this from the same account or through multiple accounts, known as sockpuppets. Finally, reviewers might plagiarize their own reviews across products to increase their review count and credibility (although, as I discuss below, some top reviewers’ numbers lead to incredulity).Read more at location 957 • Delete this highlight
when Barack Obama visited a Florida pizza parlor. When the owner, a registered Republican, made the most of the visit by endorsing and embracing the president in a bear hug, the owner’s Yelp page exploded with hundreds of partisan, nonpizza-related comments.Read more at location 1066 • Delete this highlight
