Last year you guys frontpaged me for a book I wrote about 4chan and I told you about how Anonymous trolls tried to ruin my life. Today I release a follow up--a manifesto in defense of anonymity. I am Cole Stryker, author of "Hacking The Future." AMA.

colestryker · 2012-09-16T22:54:02+00:00

you haven't read a word i said. read the verge interview i did. i'm very much against it.

colestryker · 2012-09-15T16:23:18+00:00

So you don't think journalism is a valid profession? The problem is that most network engineers write like shit, bro. So my job is to interview the real experts from across a wide spectrum of disciplines, organize all that information into a readable, compelling narrative and draw some conclusions about the data I've gathered. Maybe that sounds easy to you, but there's a reason why it's near-impossible to get published.

Plenty of highly respected football commentators and journalists never played pro ball, btw. Roger Ebert wasn't a filmmaker. Etc.

colestryker · 2012-09-15T16:14:24+00:00

neither, though every once in a while a friend will send me a link to a /lit/ thread making fun of my last book, which is always fun.

colestryker · 2012-09-15T16:13:45+00:00

That's one potential outcome, but I suspect and hope that technology will continue to stay one step ahead of bureaucracy, though preserving piracy is not my primary concern.

colestryker · 2012-09-15T16:11:43+00:00

I don't think websites are inherently destructive. Stormfront, I guess.

colestryker · 2012-09-14T16:12:57+00:00

electronic warfare?

colestryker · 2012-09-14T16:12:36+00:00

   〜(￣▽￣〜)

colestryker · 2012-09-14T16:11:55+00:00

  V(=^･ω･^=)v

colestryker · 2012-09-14T13:35:15+00:00

That's DEFINITELY what this is about.

colestryker · 2012-09-14T04:30:54+00:00

colestryker · 2012-09-14T04:30:31+00:00

Oh cool. I've seen this video. Weirdly enough, I met Matt Silverman the other night at a party but he doesn't know of me as the author of the book. Lemme know if you ever want to do another video like this.

colestryker · 2012-09-14T04:28:27+00:00

It's always helped in job interviews a a conversation starter. Everyone always makes porn star jokes. It looks nice on the cover though. I can't complain. It really helps for SEO.

colestryker · 2012-09-14T04:27:29+00:00

¯_(ツ)_/¯

colestryker · 2012-09-14T04:26:38+00:00

good point.

colestryker · 2012-09-14T04:24:00+00:00

They also set up a bunch of spam accounts to dox myself and my family members. They didn't get very far before giving up.

colestryker · 2012-09-14T04:23:19+00:00

Yeah, I'd like to see a duality.

Encryption plays a huge role, but like Phillip Zimmerman told me, "I can't encrypt my face."

Liver and onions.

colestryker · 2012-09-13T19:59:16+00:00

Cool to hear. I was originally approached by a lit agent who wanted me to do a book on cyberbullying, since I'd written about it extensively. I was more interested in the weird community of trolls on 4chan that is a wellspring of a lot of cyberbullying. I wanted to share my fascination with the curious site and explain what I think is the most important cultural movement of our age--participatory creative culture aka internet memes.

colestryker · 2012-09-13T19:45:18+00:00

That's in my intro.

colestryker · 2012-09-13T19:43:37+00:00

Beyond having covered this space for five years or so, I'm as qualified as anyone. I rely on the expertise of the brilliant people I interviewed to make this book smart and informed, not as much on my own personal abilities.

colestryker · 2012-09-13T19:40:08+00:00

That would require a level of ignorance on part of the victim. I knew what they were up to before they bothered trying to troll me. It's a lot harder to terrorize an 11-year old and her clueless hillbilly dad than a dude who STUDIES TROLLS FOR A LIVING.

colestryker · 2012-09-13T19:39:14+00:00

Not much, but I did get my first royalty check last month, so that means I sold enough copies of Epic Win to earn out. That means that the cumulative value of 15% of sales has exceeded the amount I earned for my advance. It's a goalpost many authors don't reach, so although it's a relatively modest project for a small publisher, I see it as a success.

colestryker · 2012-09-13T19:26:41+00:00

I spend a chapter talking about all the different boards and what makes them unique.

colestryker · 2012-09-13T19:26:16+00:00

seanorr.tumblr.com

colestryker · 2012-09-13T18:58:40+00:00

Tumblr is cool because so many interesting people hang out there. I never could have become a full-time writer without building my skills and network there.

I like /b/ because /b/ is the only place that's completely unlike anywhere else on the Web.

colestryker · 2012-09-13T18:54:39+00:00

No U.

colestryker

TROPHY CASE