The Promise of Second Life: Amber Atherton on the rise (and fall) of virtual communities

EPISODE 1463: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of THE RISE OF VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES, Amber Atherton about the rise of virtual communities like the WELL, Second Life, Flickr, Reddit and Discord.

Entrepreneur and investor Amber Atherton grew up obsessed with the aesthetics of the early internet. A full-blown y2k baby, she religiously designed Dollz and taught herself HTML, creating mini worlds of her own to capture the many facets of her teen spirit. Born in Hong Kong, raised in London and now living in San Francisco, Amber turned her love of creating digital connections into a Y-funded company which built online communities around brands. Her first book The Rise of Virtual Communities is the result of 20 years of passion for tech that brings people together, nostalgia for the early days of the internet and an unrelenting urge to find out what might happen next…

Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.