For All the People : Redeeming the Broken Promises of Modern Media and Reclaiming Our Civic Life

"Slaby is the Yuval Noah Harari of media. He pointedly outlines the fracture of our culture and democracy while providing hopeful next steps for how we can redesign our systems for a more civically-minded world."
—Megan Kiefer, author of The Third Dimension of Literacy

A leader in digital communication and grassroots political campaigns explains how the internet and modern media have undermined America and how we can reclaim our voices for the good of civic life.

The creators of the internet promised us jetpacks: better experiences, more choices, and deeper relationships.

Built on a diversity of voices, our online freedom was supposed to spark a democratic transformation. But our platforms don’t work for us—we’re the inventory and our outrage fuels a tech revolution optimized for profit, not civic life.

As one of the top digital strategists for Barack Obama’s two presidential campaigns, Michael Slaby saw the beginning of a new kind of national division. What he witnessed would spawn the Tea Party movement, upset the 2016 election, and accelerate the polarization of American civic life.

Slaby presents the four core areas which can be reclaimed to work better for all of us: platforms, government institutions, corporations, and even the users ourselves. Optimistic, future-focused, and deeply passionate, For ALL the People breaks down how we got here, and how we, the users, can work toward a better democracy through tech.

Michael Slaby helped lead Obama for America as chief integration and innovation officer in 2012 where he oversaw all of technology and analytics, and as deputy digital director and chief technology officer in 2008. As a world leader in digital strategy and technology, Slaby has devoted his career to repairing our broken information systems. He currently serves as community director at the media research nonprofit Harmony Labs. Slaby is a graduate of Brown University. He lives in Rhinebeck, New York, with his wife, author Lydia Slaby.