Want to know what books Owen Williams recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Owen Williams's favorite book recommendations of all time.
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A linguistically informed look at how our digital world is transforming the English language.
Language is humanity's most spectacular open-source project, and the internet is making our language change faster and in more interesting ways than ever before. Internet conversations are structured by the shape of our apps and platforms, from the grammar of status updates to the protocols of comments and @replies. Linguistically inventive online communities spread new slang and jargon with dizzying speed. What's more, social media is a vast laboratory of unedited, unfiltered... more A linguistically informed look at how our digital world is transforming the English language.
Language is humanity's most spectacular open-source project, and the internet is making our language change faster and in more interesting ways than ever before. Internet conversations are structured by the shape of our apps and platforms, from the grammar of status updates to the protocols of comments and @replies. Linguistically inventive online communities spread new slang and jargon with dizzying speed. What's more, social media is a vast laboratory of unedited, unfiltered words where we can watch language evolve in real time.
Even the most absurd-looking slang has genuine patterns behind it. Internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch explores the deep forces that shape human language and influence the way we communicate with one another. She explains how your first social internet experience influences whether you prefer "LOL" or "lol," why ~sparkly tildes~ succeeded where centuries of proposals for irony punctuation had failed, what emoji have in common with physical gestures, and how the artfully disarrayed language of animal memes like lolcats and doggo made them more likely to spread.
Because Internet is essential reading for anyone who's ever puzzled over how to punctuate a text message or wondered where memes come from. It's the perfect book for understanding how the internet is changing the English language, why that's a good thing, and what our online interactions reveal about who we are. less 
Laura Helmuth@audubonsociety @asher_elbein @NicoSGonzalez @JasonWardNY If you enjoy how birb and floof and snek and other fun words and fonts and linguistic cleverness spreads through social media, you'll love @GretchenAMcC and her book Because Internet https://t.co/wyzMUECeft (Source)
Owen Williamsif you like words, and are curious about how the lexicon of the internet grows and evolves language itself, i can't recommend 'Because Internet' enough, it's such a great book and you should buy it https://t.co/8XroyXUgLI (Source)
Andy Baio"Because Internet" is out today! @GretchenAMcC's book is an insightful look at how the internet is changing language, and I love it. Highly recommended! https://t.co/vWVR1fRJyF (Source)
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