CONTENTS Introduction 1. Share & Share Alike: The Rise of Social Media 2. Brands, Cesspools and Credibility 3. Can Brands Be Trusted? 4. The Facebook Decade: F8=Fate (Plus interview with executive) 5. The Death of Privacy (Plus Sidebar on Timeline) 6. YouTube: Thirty Five Hours A Minute 7. Twitter: News No Longer Breaks, It Tweets (Plus interview with co-founder) 8. Google Loses Its Buzz 9. The New Wave of Media Researchers 10. Public Displays of Connection: Social Media & Social Capital 11. Politics 2.0 12. The Daily Me vs. The Daily We 13. The Death of Media Brands Conclusion: Friends, Followers & The Future

"In his lucid examination of the effects of digital technology, the author asserts that the evolution of web-based platforms and the rise of the Occupy movement has caused a marked decrease in our culture's dependence on 'traditional models of organization' ... O'Connor pulls no punches and effectively tracks the gains and losses of the movement in clear, energetic language. An erudite, constructive analysis."--Kirkus Reviews "Anyone who cares about the impact of the digital information revolution on democracy and culture can't afford to miss FRIENDS, FOLLOWERS AND THE FUTURE -- a story that moves as swiftly as the dizzying pace of change itself. Rory O'Connor combines journalistic integrity with a passionate belief in the power of ordinary people to change the world. Depending on your stake in the outcome, you will find this book inspiring, scary, or perhaps a bit of both." -- Andrew Heyward, Former President of CBS News "This book is a comprehensive, up-to-date, and fair-minded survey of how social media are conveying -- and perhaps transforming -- what we want to know." -- Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education and author, most recently, of Truth, Beauty and Goodness Reframed "Before Rory O'Connor writes, he researches, ask questions, and asks them again before calling the the insiders who are the targets of his inquiry. He is persistent, even relentless, as a hard-charging reporter which is why his blogs, columns and this new book 'Friends, Followers and the Future: How Social Media are Changing Politics, Threatening Big Brands, And Killing Traditional Media' (City Lights, 2012) leaves you questioning your own assumptions and often superficial take on the issue at hand. Personally, he is a refugee from old media and as a multi-media man (films, books, blogs, websites, etc) , an early adopter to the new. But he didn't stop there: he is a practitioner who wants to know where all this is headed and how the digital innovators and entrepreneurs think about what they do. This is a book in the know with ideas that we will all need to know as we navigate our personal and collective futures." -- Danny Schechter News Dissector.com "With laser-like accuracy Rory O'Connor spotlights the key challenges and opportunities in the world of news and information, where technology has upended the old rules of how media is created and consumed. O'Connor's wise, savvy 'Friends, Followers and the Future' is an essential examination of how social media is transforming the lives of individuals and society at large. Read it and share it." -- J. Max Robins, Vice President/Executive Director, The Paley Center for Media "...O'Connor has put together a trustworthy introduction to the current state of play."--Boston Globe "If Glenn Beck keeps a J. Edgar Hoover-esque blacklist under his bed pillow, journalist Rory O'Connor is probably on it, appearing before Nancy Pelosi and George Soros. O'Connor turns a skeptical yet pragmatic eye to the likes of Facebook. He examines how such online networks empower citizens to create counternarratives to bullsh*t punditry, political spin, and corporate PR, while warning of the dystopian echo chamber they could realize, where every citizen becomes a bullsh*tting pundit, partisan hack, or corporate flak." --SF Weekly

Print: Rory's articles have appeared in many leading national periodicals, including The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Mother Jones, Vogue, The Los Angeles Times, The Nation, Newsweek, Details, and many others. We will send the book to those publications plus: NY Times, Washington Post, Boston Review, SF Chronicle, Boston Globe, Nation, Mother Jones, Progressive, Utne, Wired, among others. Web: Alternet, Counterpunch, Powells.com, Shelf Awareness, Huffington Post, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads. Author has his own website: http://roryoconnor.org Radio: Democracy Now, NPR's "On the media," NPR’s Tell Me More, NPR Talk of the Nation, NPR Weekend All Things Considered, and various NPR and Pacifica shows. TV: Rory has been a Producer for 48 Hours, NewsHour, PBS, WGBH-TV in Boston. We will pitch NewsHour, Colbert, Charlie Rose, BBC, CNN, and CSPAN's Book TV to film an event.