Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus

How Growth Became the Enemy of Prosperity

By: Douglas Rushkoff

Narrated by: Douglas Rushkoff

Digital technology was supposed to usher in a new age of distributed prosperity, but so far it has been used to put industrial capitalism on steroids. It's not technology's fault but that of an extractive, growth-driven economic operating system that has reached the limits of its ability to serve anyone, rich or poor, human or corporate. Robots threaten our jobs while algorithms drain our portfolios. But there must be a better response to the lopsided returns of the digital economy than to throw rocks at the shuttle buses carrying Google employees to their jobs, as protesters did in December 2013.

In this groundbreaking book, acclaimed media scholar and technology author Douglas Rushkoff calls on us to abandon the monopolist, winner-takes-all values we are unwittingly embedding into the digital economy and to embrace the more distributed possibilities of these platforms. He shows how we can optimize every aspect of the economy - from central currency and debt to corporations and labor - to create sustainable prosperity for business and people alike.

©2016 Douglas Rushkoff (P)2016 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Douglas Rushkoff is one of today’s most incisive media theorists and a provocative critic of our digital economy. He’s also fun to read.” (Walter Isaacson, president and CEO, The Aspen Institute, and author of The Innovators)

“A brilliant, bomb-hurling critique of the flaws in our digital economy, identifying what has gone wrong and what can be done about it.” (Financial Times)

“A powerful exposé of an underdiscussed downside to the digital revolution.” (Kirkus Reviews)

Thought provoking...

Excellent and thorough presentation on how wealth gets concentrated into the hands of the few, and some interesting ideas on how we can, in our current business and technical climate, begin to unravel this and create more widely held prosperity. Be prepared for a long listen, he covers a lot of ground. Could easily be two books!

I needed this optimism.

What made the experience of listening to Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus the most enjoyable?

After listening to Harari (Homo Deus) which partly fed the paranoid part of my personality, Rushkoff provided a plausible future for humanity that was refreshing and gave a little boost to my faith.

Good book that's better read

There's a lot to digest in this one, so you'll be better off with a book version than audio book

Being a tech villain

Being a tech villain isn't something that happens to you. it's something that you choose.
if google or facebook shits on the world in the pursuit of their profit the people who buy their stock and the people who run the company are at fault.
They made those choices. not everyone has to be a billionaire or to seek it out stupidly. We can be better and aware of the consequences of our actions.

This is something the author is shoving off into the system of capitalism. sure, capitalism is a problem and at fault for some of it.
But the humans who make the choices at the top are responsible for their terrible choices.
Honestly disappointed by the writer and that I bought the book at all.

The reader is whiny enough to fit the personality of the writer. wah wah wah.

Fascinating dive into economics.

Me Rushkoff is well versed in the topic of digital economics and has given insight to its bones and very possibly its future. Very well written and read.

Don't be put off by the title

It's not just about the google bus situation. It goes into detail around the pursuit of growth over a sustainable long term business. Well worth reading.

really good thoughts on how to change business

Nice to see someone's thoughts on how to change the economy or business in general.
very eye opening.
The voice performance could be better. Some parts were very dry.

I liked the book but..

the book was a little over my head for an audio book. I needed to take it slower which was something I didn't really want to do. I loved the stories he used to back up his information.

Eyes opening, magnificent and necessary book

Absolutely amazing book, helped me see the economy from a different, more humanistic perspective, despise technology that monopolises and impoverished us with fancy "disruptor" hype.
Will influence how I think about products I use, way I spend my day, and businesses I want to start. I wish every politician, economist and businessman reads it.

Interesting perspective on late-stage capitalism

Rushkoff avoids the dread "S" and "C" words (for the most part), while giving an interesting take on the problems of a capitalist society in the digital age.