This is a techno-utopian look at how “blockchain” can solve all our social ills on the internet, by a man who has been involved in funding many of the companies that are bring the internet ills to us. Yes Chris Dixon is part of a16z which has helped fund many companies that are “disrupting” our world, which is really code for stealing value before regulation can catch up.

Overall, I found the book tone-deaf to the impacts that a16z has had on the internet, while pushing accelerationism which will benefit a16z and the companies they invest in.

I’ve got some more reading to do on the critiques of the book before I can really dig into my thoughts though.

Further Reading

• Pluralistic: How a billionaire’s mediocre pump-and-dump “book” became a “bestseller” (15 Feb 2024)
• How Tech Firms Made a Crypto-Boosting Book an NYT Best Seller by Gaming the System
• Review: Chris Dixon’s Read Write Own

Should you read the book…maybe. It’s not revolutionary but it is a look at how the elite who invest in the technology that will be pushed on everyone think. If you want to dig into that so you can be prepared to run away from their ideas as they crop up[1] then this is a decent book. But don’t read it if you want to be inspired by where technology could go that would benefit everyone. Dixon misses that mark by a long shot.

I’m happy I borrowed it from my library and didn’t spend money on the book.

Purchase Read Write Own on Amazon

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