The Circle Paperback by Dave Eggers

I read this book 2 summers ago (I think). Look forward to the discussion!!

 

I'm halfway through - it is addictive and terrifying! The scenarios played out so far and the logic behind each and every new release The Circle puts out is so realistic - it is no big leap to imagine this society as existing in the near future.

very curious to see where Mae goes from here...

 

This is one book that I read straight through. I could totally see this happening too. In a way, it already does. We have people trying to control everything, and say they are doing it only with the best intentions, but don't think things all the way through or how the implications impact our society.

 

this sounds interesting, i think it will be next on my list

 

Just started it,already looks good.

 

Short interview with Dave Eggers about The Circle ...

minor spoilers. (not really plot points but does refer to some things in the book)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/authorinterviews/10356543/Dave-Eggers-interview.html

 

I finished it - loved it. Was spooked to be reading a day later about Facebook for Work, I think Facebook are using The Circle as a template rather than a warning...

 

I just love him.

It really doesn't surprise me that a lot of things are already in the works. It is definitely a slippery slope as far as privacy is concerned. People think they want cameras, but then when they get caught (ex: red light cameras), they complain about them.

Today, my hubby was reading me an article about a woman who was taking cell phone pics of people stealing decorative rocks from a local park/garden. She posted them on FB and asked people to help her track them down (including their license plate). The cops finally got involved and the thieves didn't think it was any big deal.

 

It was very unsettling, wasn't it?

 

Years ago at a staff meeting, we were talking about the concept that if an ordinary person like thee and me came up with an idea, it was likely that someone else already had it in production. This reminds me of one of my favorite 80s movies, Real Genius, where the geeky students inadvertently are helping to produce a space laser beam. Today's drones...

Fortunately, I found Mae to be such a flat character - young and needy - that I could try to ignore her actions leading up to the end.

Yes, it was and not only was a lot actual now, so much of it was things that we volunteer for or give permission through. cf all the endless FB sponsored quizzes that purport to give you an in depth portrait of yourself.

(Please like this post so I can get my totals way up!!! ) joking!!!

 

That is what is sad. I think the younger generations are going to have a much harder time because they don't know what it was like to live *before* social media. They just think it is normal... so I guess that is how it will become. Just a normal part of life... that you post every silly little thing you do, even if it is meaningless. And it is there forever. I remember a crazy boss I had asking me to delete something off of the internet about her (in 2006). She didn't understand that you can't just delete it. And now there are companies who you can pay to go in and create alternative social media posts about you so you can bump negative things down off the searches, but it is crazy. And potential employers demand to have access to social media posts... more crazy. And then the sites tailor the information you receive as well and can manipulate people's emotions (Forbes). I just can't imagine what is going to happen in the future.

The chipping thing scares me. I started reading about that back at the end of the 90s and thought it sounded insane. Of course it sounds like it is only for good things (like children's safety), but seriously... no one thinks that it will turn ugly?

I was watching a first season episode of The X-Files yesterday. In the episode, they were talking about how the government could track you through a magnetic strip in money. Of course sensible Scully was poo-poohing the whole idea until she found a tracking device in her pen. But now they don't even have to worry about putting it in money. The technology is out there to track people through their phones and based on some of the apps people have on those phones, the apps can record conversations or interact with other wireless devices without your knowledge once you decide to use the app. And there is already equipment in use by some police units that allows them to sit parked on a residential street and listen to conversations people are having on their phones, so it is a weird time to be living in. I don't think people are going to revolt against it until it starts being used against them, and by then it is going to be too late. Ironically, the technology is there, but isn't being used (in many cases) for good... like the ability to find people in emergencies (911 calls). The whole world has gone crazy.

 

Yes, thank goodness for the greedies... otherwise we'd be in more trouble sooner.

 

I read this 2 years ago but barely remember it. Do others suffer from this lack of ability to retain books years later. I also read I'm still Alice within the last year (and saw the movie) ... I'm starting to worry about my memory!

Another sort of creepy, comical, futuristic play on social media and youth culture is Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart. Deftly not for everyone but it had its moments with me.

 

not reading any of the above cos am only a few pages in (it's a hardcover from the library and i forgot how much of a pain they can be... (i'm sure there are people that love them but i was never one of them)

 

I sadly found the Mae character to be too believable. Of course she is going to be more influenced by the people who have given her work, looked after her family and provides her with her social life as well as fame. It is so easy to be caught up in the minute by minute activities to forget to look at the big picture. She has everything a millenial would want, the ideal job in a high tech company plus by the end she has such a huge social following, her own importance is magnified in her mind. The instant gratification would be feeding her, like a snowball rolling down a hill.

The character I have the least affection for is Kalden/Ty surprisingly enough ( actually not quite right, really did not like Francis as all) . I liked him while I was reading the novel but it struck me afterwards was that he had access to real power, he was one of the big three and yet did nothing with that influence. He tried to use Mae as much as any of them did.