Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution

Fine overview. Better than "Crowdsourcing," even if they explore slightly different subjects - the premises are pretty similar. I am frustrated that a discussion of technology and how it impacts humans can ignore the work of Neil Postman. But perhaps that relates to a lot of what books in this genre reiterate - the growing knowledge, expanding ideas, flourishing so-called knowledge culture. That pervasive idea gives the permission slip not to know it all. But, it still bothers me.

Great Read
Howard [http://www.rheingold.com]Rheingold explains why technology matters and what it means for human relationships. A bit thick on sociology at moments, but all in all he does an excellent job of distilling the academic speak to why it's important. Great book.

his is an important book, especially for anybody interested in the future of mass communications, politics and/or our society. Rheingold talks about how portable devices, pervasive connectivity and increasingly powerful hand-held computing is leading to the creation of virtual communities tied together by their devices and not by their physical proximity. Remember Moore's Law applies to hand-held phone/computers. Most of his examples are not in the US. Rheingold makes the point that we are far behind in this country in having the kind of infra-structure that supports pervasive portable computing.

Despite being printed in 2002, Rheingold's book is timely today as we look at what is happening to print journalism. Why subscribe to a paper newspaper when the technology to get information in your portable device is here, is improving, is more timely and is more compelling than print?

One of the things that really is apparent to me as I read this book, and do things like text message my friends, is that there is a mobile generational digital divide based not on incomes, but on age. Many of my older (my age) friends who consider themselves very tech literate just do not seem to get this technology and the social implications of it. Could this be because our socialization skills were developed in a pre-silicon era? We have already seen pedagogical implications of mobile technology in students using the collaboration capabilities of portable picture capable devices to cheat on exams. Rheingold over and over makes the point that we need to not think of portable devices as cell phones, he says we need to think of them as remote controls for life. In my opinion when you mix portable devices with RSS enabled software as a way to deliver podcasts, you have a killer way to deliver instruction.

In my opinion we hold the future of journalism, the future of education, the future of social interaction in our society; in the palm of our hands.

This is a geek must read book. It rambles a bit, but worth the effort

When this book was published, I was in 8th grade and 100mb zip drives were the hottest technology to enter my school. This book was written Facebook was invented, before wikipedia became important, and while 'wireless internet' was still a geek fantasy. Upon seeing the publication date, I wondered how much weight this book could hold considering the rapid recent advances.

So after reading the wonderfully concise book of 210 pages I was amazed to find that Rheingold had seemed to have taken the best elements from Neuromancer, Friedman, and computing history to make a manifesto for the social implications of internet and mobile technology. Proof of this book's prescience and relevance exist in the fact that I am publishing this review to an open forum, without monetary gain on multiple online social networks. Proof of this book's prescience is that YOU are reading this review. All of these things were theories or isolated subcultures when he wrote his book, now they are the reality.

This book provides an excellent theoretical basis for the rise of social networks and why they are becoming powerful. From the tragedy of the commons to game theory Rheingold ties in many fields without becoming too basic or general. The only flaws that I found in the book seem unavoidable. The chapter on 802.11b seems moot because, well, it happened. Many of his ideas on ubiquitous computing sound like a list of soundbites from graduate CS students at my university. But despite these flaws, and despite its age, this book is still better than some of its modern companions at explaining how technology is changing our society.

Mark this one MUST READ
This book is so jam-packed with insights into human behavior on the Internet and related technological advances, that you might miss the main point, which is crucial.

Even before the Web, Rheingold sensed the importance of social interaction in his experiences with the online community at the Well. He explored the implications of new kinds of behavior and relationships on the Internet in his seminal book The Virtual Community.

Now that much of what he foresaw has become reality, he looks ahead at the changes likely to transform our world -- socially, business-wise, and politically -- in the next wave, based on wireless communication. Technology makes it possible that wireless person-to-person interaction, without central control, and with very inexpensive access available to all could change our world even more profoundly than the Internet has.

After bombarding the reader with one inspiring anecdote after another, hammering home that the Internet is essentially a social rather than a technological phenomenon, the author tempts us with hints and foreshadowings of the many different ways in which wireless technology might take us to a higher stage, where once again, almost magically, the value of a network increases with the number of people involved, where the sharing of a common resource adds value to that resource while benefitting all.

But, he warns, a battle looms with the disinfotainment mega-companies that seek to control telecommunications.

While Rheingold doesn't make this connection, I couldn't help but think of the old battle between "interactive TV" and Internet. A handful of megacompanies invested millions in pilot projects to hardwire communities to which they could pump in entertainment, shopping, etc. They were willing to spend so much because once in place they thought that they would have unique access to those customers for years to come. Then the Internet upended those plans, providing people with thousands of choices, and freeing them from any central control.

Now those same companies and their look-alikes have invested billions of dollars to license large chunks of the electro-magnetic spectrum for their exclusive use; and they once again intend to control the marketplace.

But in little cracks in the regulatory framework interesting innovations have made it possible for swarms of cooperating individuals to forward wireless traffic from one to another, like the early days of the Internet, by-passing any central control and connecting just about anyone to a new world of information and social interaction.

Naturally, these companies are lobbying hard for changes in laws and regulations that would block such grass-roots activity, just as movie companies are lobbying now for legislation that would block the copying of movies, and as a side effect would stymie the natural development of computer technology.

Let's hope, that as in the case of the Internet, anarchy prevails over central control, that a new realm of massive cooperation opens up, bringing with it increased freedom, greater wealth, and better chances for personal fulfillment for all.
This book is a must-read. Read it now while you and your friends can still make a difference in the outcome.

This book takes a look at the increasing popularity of mobile "pervasive" technologies and explores what the implications might be.

Do you know the impetus for the invention of eBay? A husband invented it because his wife collected Pez dispensers and wanted to exchange with others. Now they are billionaires. READ THE BOOK for more tidbits like this ;)

This book really opens your eyes to how technology is changing our society and the way we relate to people. It was such a fun read. The kind of information that would make for good conversation at a party or a social gathering.

This is a must read if you text message, e-mail etc. on your mobile device. The author accurately, and in an almost visionary way, describes how communication technologies are changing social interaction - for millenials ...