Book Review: The Future of Reputation

In less than 24 hours I have plowed through Daniel Solove's "The Future of Reputation." Solove is a leading expert on privacy law and his erudition is clear as he weaves a comprehensive tale of the Internet's effect on gossip, rumor, privacy and reputation.

Solove's writing is highly readable and anecdotal as he explains why age-old concepts like gossiping and shamming have become permanently etched into digital memory. After establishing the various types of activity which is coming to affect reputation in the 21st Century, Solove argues for a more nuanced understanding of privacy. He notes that public acts may be done without the expectation of permanence, yet in a world of camera-phones, people do not often have a choice. Further, although free speech and privacy may seem to be at odds, he shows that they may act to further the same goals (think anonymous political publications).

In all, I think Solove does a great job raising a warning in an accessible book which presumes no previous knowledge. Though I would have liked a discussion of how government surveillance fits into this, Solove chose to write about reputation and the public norms which underlay that. Perhaps that is just as important in the global village.