More objects and devices are connected to digital networks than ever before. Things – from your phone to your car, from the heating to the lights in your house – have gathered the ability to sense their environments and create information about what is happening. Things have become media, able to both generate and communicate information. This has become known as ′the internet of things′. In this accessible introduction, Graham Meikle and Mercedes Bunz observe its promises of convenience and the breaking of new frontiers in communication. They also raise urgent questions regarding ubiquitous surveillance and information security, as well as the transformation of intimate personal information into commercial data.
Discussing the internet of things from a media and communication perspective, this book is an important resource for courses analysing the internet and society, and essential reading for anyone who wants to better understand the rapidly changing roles of our networked lives.