Recommended Readings: Online Shopping

In the spirit of a call from Ethan Zuckerman, the director of the MIT Center for Civic Media, for more “wide news” — news that reflects society’s diversity of opinions — we’ve been sending out some recommended readings for each of our events that cut across the spectrum. This month, our topic is “Online Shopping: Friend or Foe?”  We have a few suggested starting points, organized to hopefully offer a variety of angles on this month’s topic.

Please note that these are by no means meant to be thorough, but rather, the readings are merely meant as a place to begin our conversation, as well as a way of showcasing some of the conversations already happening.

Where We Are Now:

• Cyber Monday is on Track for a US Online Shopping Record, CNBC
• Black Friday: Online Neck & Neck with Brick & Mortar [Infographic], Forbes
• How the Growth of E-Commerce is Shifting Retail Jobs, NY Times

Looking Forward:

• After the Retail Apocalypse, Prepare for the Property Tax Meltdown, CityLab
• If You Hate Traffic, Curb Your Love for Online Shopping, Wired
• Amazon’s HQ2 Spectacle Isn’t Just Shameful – It Should Be Illegal, The Atlantic

-Adam Gismondi, @AdamGismondi, Civic Media Researcher for Civic Series