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Howard Rheingold
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Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution Hardcover – October 1, 2002

by Howard Rheingold (Author)
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 38 ratings
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From Tokyo to Helsinki, Manhattan to Manila, Howard Rheingold takes us on a journey around the world for a preview of the next techno-cultural shift-a shift he predicts will be as dramatic as the widespread adoption of the PC in the 1980s and the Internet in the 1990s. The coming wave, says Rheingold, is the result of super-efficient mobile communications-cellular phones, personal digital assistants, and wireless-paging and Internet-access devices that will allow us to connect with anyone, anywhere, anytime.From the amusing ("Lovegetty" devices in Japan that light up when a person with the right date-potential characteristics appears in the vicinity) to the extraordinary (the overthrow of a repressive regime in the Philippines by political activists who mobilized by forwarding text messages via cell phones), Rheingold gives examples of the fundamentally new ways in which people are already engaging in group or collective action. He also considers the dark side of this phenomenon, such as the coordination of terrorist cells, threats to privacy, and the ability to incite violent behavior.Applying insights from sociology, artificial intelligence, engineering, and anthropology, Rheingold offers a penetrating perspective on the brave new convergence of pop culture, cutting-edge technology, and social activism. At the same time, he reminds us that, as with other technological revolutions, the real impact of mobile communications will come not from the technology itself but from how people use it, resist it, adapt to it, and ultimately use it to transform themselves, their communities, and their institutions.
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  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Basic Books
  4. Publication date
    October 1, 2002
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0738206083
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0738206080
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The title of this book is a mild pun. People are using smart "mobs" (rhymes with "robes") to become smart "mobs" (rhymes with "robs"), meaning, sophisticated mobile Internet access is allowing people who don't know each other to act in concert. In this timely if at times overenthusiastic survey of wireless communication devices, Rheingold (The Virtual Community) conveys how cell phones, pagers and PDAs are shaping modern culture. He interviewed dozens of people around the world who work and play with these technologies to see how this revolution is manifesting, and his findings are stirring. The concept has caught on among young Japanese, where cliques of teenagers hang out together all day, despite being in different places, by sending and receiving hundreds of iconic text transmissions on their iMode telephones. And demonstrators in Seattle and Manila relied on wireless telephones to coordinate their actions and evade barricades. In major cities, Rheingold says, techno-hipsters can congregate in "WiFi" areas that interact with their wireless devices to let them participate in a virtual social scene. In one amusing example, he tells of upscale prostitutes who can enter their services and prices into their mobile phones, allowing customers to discreetly determine if anyone nearby is selling what they want to buy (a Japanese company, Lovegety, has already adapted this idea to dating). This study of the potential of mobile, always on, fast Internet access nicely serves as a travelogue to the future, showing the possibilities and dangers of communications innovation.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Mobile, wireless, Net-connected devices are now being hawked by the computer and telecom industries, prompting technology author Rheingold to take stock of the incipient revolution. Glimpsing the future in vignettes of wireless users in Helsinki and Tokyo, Rheingold primarily explores the sociology that might characterize a world of "ad-hocracy," in which people cluster temporarily around information of mutual interest. Rheingold describes how consumerism might change when pedestrians, as their mobiles detect stores and restaurants, patch into electronic gossip about an establishment. The location-detection feature of these devices will inevitably breach privacy, which informs Rheingold's somewhat skeptical stance toward this brave new world, and contrasts with the enthusiasm of certain computer scientists he interviews, such as Microsoft's promoter of a wireless urban space pervasively connected to the Internet. The cyber-savvy and socially aware will be interested and undoubtedly concerned by Rheingold's informed report. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books; First Edition (October 1, 2002)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0738206083
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0738206080
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 38 ratings

About the author

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Howard Rheingold

Howard Rheingold

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Howard Rheingold is the author of:

Tools for Thought

The Virtual Community

Smart Mobs

Net Smart

Excursions to the Far Side of the Mind

Mind Amplifier

Was:

editor of Whole Earth Review

editor of The Millennium Whole Earth Catalog

founding executive editor of Hotwired

founder of Electric Minds

Has taught:

Participatory Media and Collective Action (UC Berkeley, SIMS, Fall

2005, 2006, 2007 )

Virtual Community/Social Media (Stanford, Fall 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010; UC Berkeley,

Spring 2008, 2009)

Toward a Literacy of Cooperation (Stanford, Winter, 2005)

Digital Journalism (Stanford University Winter, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 )

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
38 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book engaging and thought-provoking. They appreciate the actual examples and historical context.

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4 customers mention "Readability"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging and thought-provoking. They say it's an excellent read for anyone who lives with technology and social media.

"...For marketers, it's a great read...and a big clue. Anyway, I liked it." Read more

"Well, there isn't much to add to the subject. The book is quite engaging and thought provoking. Yet, it was good for when it was written...." Read more

"Superb book - fast shipping. Very very nice." Read more

"Excellent Read for anyone who lives with their technology and on social media...." Read more

3 customers mention "Thought provoking"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking and interesting. They appreciate the actual examples and historical lessons for young people today.

"...Howard Rheingold brings us a really nice set of actual examples--combined with his own unique insights--that provide the basis for next-generation..." Read more

"...The book is quite engaging and thought provoking. Yet, it was good for when it was written...." Read more

"...Great recent history lesson for young people today." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

J. David Evans
5.0 out of 5 stars Smart Mobs. Smarter Marketers.
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2004
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The cool thing about "Smart Mobs" is that it's really happening. People are behaving in "linked" ways that transcend the obvious demographic definitions of groups we typically think of as "behaving in unison." As technology and the infrastructure arriving with it enable increasingly extemporaneous networks between people, marketers are similarly challenged to reach outside of traditional mass channels. Howard Rheingold brings us a really nice set of actual examples--combined with his own unique insights--that provide the basis for next-generation communications strategies as what had been cohesive groups fragment into a foam of indivduals united (only) by this moments current interest and the task at hand. For marketers, it's a great read...and a big clue. Anyway, I liked it.
6 people found this helpful
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Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
5.0 out of 5 stars Smart mobs, really smart book
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2002
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"Smart mobs" sounds like an oxymoron: after all, what's more impulsive or uncontrolled than a mob? It's typical of Howard Rheingold to throw down such a brightly-colored rhetorical gauntlet, and then to describe how smart mobs are emerging in places as diverse as Tokyo, anti-globalization protests, and virtual communities. Forget images of mobs storming the Bastille, or rioters: smart mobs are a new kind of social organization, made possible by real-time, connective technologies-- cell phones, SMS, pagers, and the Web. If old-fashioned mobs were just giant assemblies of individuals, communications technologies give them nervous systems, the ability to coordinate their actions, to work together, and respond to changes and challenges. Smart mobs are not automatically good or evil. The crowds that brought down Phillipine president Joseph Estrada responded to calls put out via SMS. Anti-globalization protesters have been avidly embraced network technologies. So has Al Qaeda.
Some readers will doubtless find familiar ideas in "Smart Mobs:" for whatever odd reason, 2002 has been The Year of Books About Self-Organizing Social Networks, thanks to writers as different at Steven Johnson ("Emergence") and Mark Taylor ("The Moment of Complexity"). But Rheingold is scrupulous and generous about acknowleding his influences; besides, the real value of his book lies in his own fieldwork, and his reflections on what the smart mob phenomenon will mean for business, politics, and social life. Even if your copy of Wolfram is dog-eared and the spine is weak from re-reading (and let's face it, whose isn't), it's still worth following Rheingold through Shibuya, Helsinki, and the Web...
16 people found this helpful
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Eugene
3.0 out of 5 stars interesting but outdated
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2009
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Well, there isn't much to add to the subject. The book is quite engaging and thought provoking. Yet, it was good for when it was written. Most of the analysis the author puts forth is already commonplace in our current apprehension of technology. To cut the long story short, I got bored after the first few chapters.
One person found this helpful
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teachgeek
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read for anyone who lives with their technology and on social media.
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2013
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Howard Rheingold is a prophet it seems. His research and then conclusions he came up with were great. As I was reading predictions being made by him or people he interviewed, it was eerie. Almost all came true by now. He studies technology from sociology, anthropology, as well as just observation of how people are using the technology. Great recent history lesson for young people today.
One person found this helpful
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Lorne E. Nix
5.0 out of 5 stars Self-organization Student
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2010
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Took a class of "Self-organization in Science, Technology, and Society" (at a highly respected research institution) where this was used as a main reference. I have seen other lectures by Rheingold and have great respect for his work. I would recommend this work as well as African Fractals by Ron Eglash.
2 people found this helpful
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KaGey3
2.0 out of 5 stars Problem/Solution
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2013
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Problem: books written about the Internet now are irrelevant in two years. Look at the age of this book and then... maybe write your own. It will be more relevant.
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Mark Mills
4.0 out of 5 stars The future of games
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2003
Rheingold writes from the perspective of the enthusiast. He is still trying to keep up with the kids and shares their distain for authority. I wonder if Howard ever met an anarchist he didn't like.
So, we get to 'run with the pack' for a while. It seems the kids are constructing a society of self-organizing, ad-hoc networks founded on wearable wireless computers, mediated by privacy protection algorithms. Their networks are always on and location aware. The computer is mutating into a universal remote-control wand and the purpose is having fun.
If it's not fun, the kids don't do it. The kids find their friends via the internet, keep in touch via cell phones and turn the city into a game board with GPS. It is all amazing and new.
What does it mean? It means more "wealth, knowledge and civil society". There will be new forms of "sex, commerce, entertainment and conflict." The danger comes from the adult crowd, the 'big brother' bureaucracies that will want to redirect all this creativity into a straight-jacket.
It seems the decision we have to make involves our use of the 'commons', or in modern parlance, the 'internet'. Will we allow the 'free riders' to sink the ship? Will we allow the fence builders to steal our playground?
To engage in the debate, Rheingold does a good job of teaching enough chaos theory to make sense of the issues. You might get tired of him invoking the prisoner's dilemma and 'swarm intelligence', but they are interesting ideas. It's a bit thin, but the book is rushing through so many gadgets, inventors and theories that I didn't mind.
Personally, I'm not sure there is anything 'new' to be invented about sex and entertainment. The most important exploration is the discovery of self. 'Sex, commerce, entertainment and conflict' may provide ever changing milestones in that journey, but I doubt our experience of despair and wonder are any different than they were 1000 years ago. Would a network of wearable computers help Hamlet make up his mind? Would Hamlet have wanted assistance? Additionally, the reader ought to be aware that the themes elucidated by Rheingold: 1) interconnectedness, 2) compression of time and 3) demassification are commonly used in defense department articles on the 'modern warrior'. It's not all fun and games.
13 people found this helpful
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Sparky Dew
5.0 out of 5 stars Very very nice.
Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2015
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Superb book - fast shipping. Very very nice.
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Areen Salam
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on February 13, 2015
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Great shape and quality. No problems what so ever. Thank u
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Amazonのお客様
5.0 out of 5 stars 新しいコミュニケーション技術が人間・社会にもたらす可能性を鳥瞰する意欲的な一冊
Reviewed in Japan on June 25, 2004
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この原著が書かれ、そして、意欲的な監訳がなされてから、数年が経過し、日本でもブログやモブログやソーシャル・ネットワーキングが盛んになりつつある。
このような仕組みが、人々を力づける。その必然性や意味合いが、改めて認識される。
ゴフマンであったり、あるいは、ボードリヤールであったり、フーコーであったり。そのような社会への洞察の学の成果をケータイでのコミュニケーションの意味合いを解明するために応用する。
バーチャル・コミュニティ以来、一貫して新たなコミュニケーション・サポート・テクノロジーのもたらす意味合いを説く洞察にあふれた著者、監訳者、翻訳者たちの知のフロンティアを共有させてもらえる。
ラインゴールドが今、何に注目しているのか。興味がつきない。
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