The rise of the platform economy into statelike dominance over the lives of entrepreneurs, users, and workers. The early Internet was a lawless place, populated by scam artists who made buying or selling anything online risky business. Then Amazon, eBay, Upwork, and Apple established secure digital platforms for selling physical goods, crowdsourcing labor, and downloading apps. These tech giants have gone on to rule the Internet like autocrats. How did this happen? How did users and workers become the hapless subjects of online economic empires? The Internet was supposed to liberate us from powerful institutions. In Cloud Empires, digital economy expert Vili Lehdonvirta explores the rise of the platform economy into statelike dominance over our lives and proposes a new way forward. Digital platforms create new marketplaces and prosperity on the Internet, Lehdonvirta explains, but they are ruled by Silicon Valley despots with little or no accountability. Neither workers nor users can “vote with their feet” and find another platform because in most cases there isn’t one. And yet using antitrust law and decentralization to rein in the big tech companies has proven difficult. Lehdonvirta tells the stories of pioneers who helped create—or resist—the new social order established by digital platform companies. The protagonists include the usual suspects—Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Travis Kalanick of Uber, and Bitcoin’s inventor Satoshi Nakamoto—as well as Kristy Milland, labor organizer of Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, and GoFundMe, a crowdfunding platform that has emerged as an ersatz stand-in for the welfare state. Only if we understand digital platforms for what they are—institutions as powerful as the state—can we begin the work of democratizing them.

Where do computer games »happen«? The articles collected in this pioneering volume explore the categories of »space«, »place« and »territory« featuring in most general theories of space to lay the groundwork for the study of spatiality in games. Shifting the focus away from earlier debates on, e.g., the narrative nature of games, this collection proposes, instead, that thorough attention be given to the tension between experienced spaces and narrated places as well as to the mapping of both of these.

This was a continent filled with mysticality, this was a continent that made people's souls tremble, in this place, strength was revered, with powerful strength, you could command the heavens, and those who did not have power, could only be reduced to ants, to be trampled on by others, he, was originally a man with extraordinary talent, yet he lost all his cultivation for no reason, he, was originally a gifted genius, yet he almost lost his life because of offending a villain, he, was humiliated, he, coincidentally obtained the ultimate Cultivation Methods, can't rule over this continent, couldn't he? Whether or not he will be able to reach the summit of the road and command the firmament will all be in the Blood Soul Continent. Carrying your curiosity, follow me into this mysterious continent to explore this exciting story.

An updated look at the United States' precarious position given the recent financial turmoil In The New Empire of Debt, financial writers Bill Bonner and Addison Wiggin return to reveal how the financial crisis that has plagued the United States will soon bring an end to this once great empire. Throughout the book, the authors offer an updated look at the United States' precarious position given the recent financial turmoil, and discuss how government control of the economy and financial system-combined with unfettered deficit spending and gluttonous consumption-has ravaged the business environment, devastated consumer confidence, and pushed the global economy to the brink. Along the way, Bonner and Wiggin cast a wide angle lens that looks back in history and ahead to the coming century: showing how dramatic changes in the economic power of the United States will inevitably impact every American. Reveals the financial realities the United States currently faces and what the ultimate outcome may be Weaves together the worlds of politics, economics, and personal finance in a way that underscores the severity of the situation Addresses the events leading up to the implosion of the U.S. financial system Looks ahead to help you avoid the pitfalls presented by a weaker United States Other titles by Bonner: Empire of Debt, Financial Reckoning Day, and Mobs, Messiahs, and Markets Other titles by Wiggin: I.O.U.S.A., Demise of the Dollar, and Financial Reckoning Day The United States is heading down a difficult path. The New Empire of Debt clearly shows how this has happened and discusses what you can do to overcome the financial challenges that will arise as the situation deteriorates.

Our privacy is besieged by tech companies. Companies can do this because our laws are built on outdated ideas that trap lawmakers, regulators, and courts into wrong assumptions about privacy, resulting in ineffective legal remedies to one of the most pressing concerns of our generation. Drawing on behavioral science, sociology, and economics, Ignacio Cofone challenges existing laws and reform proposals and dispels enduring misconceptions about data-driven interactions. This exploration offers readers a holistic view of why current laws and regulations fail to protect us against corporate digital harms, particularly those created by AI. Cofone then proposes a better response: meaningful accountability for the consequences of corporate data practices, which ultimately entails creating a new type of liability that recognizes the value of privacy.

After fourteen years of bullying, his strong will was forged. Fourteen years later, he would regain his Martial Veins and obtain the Heavenly Treasures, the Heavenly Jade Pendant. From then on, he would rise to greatness. For the sake of his parents, for the sake of the truth, for the sake of his beauties, he had ignited his will to climb to the peak. He had engaged in a fierce struggle with the Heaven's Pride of the Seven Realms, leaving behind one legend after another!

HE ACCIDENTALLY ACQUIRED A MAGICAL SYSTEM,AND HE SOON ACHIEVED TO THE PEAK. Because of his extremely low talent, Zhao Xin was bullied from an early age. On this day, he was beaten by others and fainted. After waking up, he found that he had accidentally bound the asura martial system. With this system, the progress of his martial art practice had become fast. With this system, Zhao Xin's talent and his body as well as his martial arts are the strongest in the world. Since then, those who have bullied him obediently become his admirers. While powerful brings glory to people, it often leads to more dangers. Facing those who are jealous of him and want to defeat him, what would he do to solve them? ☆About the Author☆ Shen Jie Lai De Qie Zi, an online novelist, and his novel Asura Martial System has won many readers' love for its ups and downs storyline and distinctive character.