Anne P. Mintz

I wasn’t expecting what I got with Web of Deceit. I actually had a very hard time with this book – not because the material being covered wasn’t interesting, but because it was presented in a way that didn’t make the material appeal to me.

The biggest thing that didn’t work for me was how American-centred this book is. It is definitely geared towards an American audience, and I hadn’t been expecting that at all, especially because it’s a topic that doesn’t just affect Americans – the social web is a global thing. It’s one thing that the majority of the examples that this book illustrates are directly impacting the American people (such as pretty much a whole essay on the current American election)… but it’s another thing when the majority of resources that are provided are specifically for Americans: federal government resources, information about American laws, places to retrieve credit reports, etc. It’s unfortunate, but this makes this particular book only good for everyone in theory and not helpful on the practical front for people who are not American.

The other thing that really didn’t work for me in regards to this book, personally, was that I found the information to be very basic. This would make the book really great for someone who is just being introduced to social media and the social web… but for someone who has an intermediate or advanced knowledge of it, then it’s information that has been rehashed again and again.

There are some things that can be taken away from this book – the appendix that goes into evaluating websites, is definitely useful. This appendix explains what sort of stuff you’re looking for to see whether a website is legit before you fully believe the information they promote, or before you submit your credit card (or any sensitive) information. This book also helps remind readers that if you click a link in an email or on a webpage that you believe is taking you to facebook (or another social networking site) but when you look up into the address bar and it’s not the address that you’re expecting, then you probably shouldn’t trust that site.

The Bottom Line: Overall… didn’t really enjoy it. Felt it didn’t really apply to me. But I can see how it could be useful to American readers who aren’t already well-versed in social media.

Review originally published: http://books.moonsoar.com/archives/2012/10/25/web-of-deceit-misinformation-and-m...… (mer)

This is a reasonable overview of various forms of online deception, although it concentrates primarily on the fraudulent and criminal. Given the mention of social media in the subtitle, I had expected there to be more about personal deception: false personas, cyberbullying, etc.. There is one chapter that covers that sort of material, but it's not the primary aim.

That being said, the topics that are covered are good things to know about. The problem is that some of the coverage is fairly superficial (and a bit uneven from chapter to chapter). Some contributors offer useful resources and websites that can be used to, say, evaluate a charity or combat identity theft. Others provide a little too much detail. I found the first appendix, on evaluating websites, to be a good reminder of how to assess sources critically; but the second, an annotated glossary of terms, to be a little more specific than I needed it to be.… (mer)