I’ve finally finished Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age, and just… wow. I saw in Twitter that George Clooney might be making a mini-series out of this book, which would be spectacular.
The idea that nanotechnology could connect folks in an almost literal collective mind was an appealing theme in this book. Or, more accurately, the idea is about the ability to use human brains as a computing grid for enormous computations.
Now that would be social software. 
I loved that book – as with most of Neal Stephenson’s work I would have liked to read more – the ideas were good.
Probably Stephenson’s best work. But given what you do for a living, you simply MUST read Snow Crash.
Oh Nathan, already have. Loved it muchly, as I did Cryptonomicon. Blogged sparsely about both, though…
I’ve yet to re-tackle the Baroque Series. Need to be mentally prepped for second attempt at Quicksilver.
Yeah, I have the Baroque Series in my truck – for whenever I need something to read. Because it’s not bedside material really; takes a lot to get in and stay in.
I have a suggestion for a book you might like. Whether or not one agrees with the ideas he proposes, I do think he brings interesting ideas to the table. Kind of a nonfiction theoretical version of Diamond Age.
The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology By Ray Kurzweil
http://books.google.com/books?id=88U6hdUi6D0C&dq=Ray+Kurzweil&hl=en
Sharon, thanks for the recommendation! And yeah, you’re right. Next time I tackle the Baroque Series, I can’t do it in bed. That’s probably what discouraged me the first time.