Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution

by Howard Rheingold

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Technology, Internet, Sociology, Cultural, Business, Design

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Aloha! I'm always excited to interact with readers. I'm new to Goodreads but will do my best to check in from time to time. A great deal of info and resources, articles, videos, can be found on my website, which I will list here.

I'm 65 and live in Marin County, California -- just north of the Golden Gate -- and when I'm not writing (and when weather permits, when I am writing) I'm usually to be found in my garden.

I've been a writer my entire adult life, starting at age 23, although I do a lot of other things, teaching at Stanford among them.

Judy and I have been together for 45 years! Married for 35 of those years. We have a grown daughter and two dogs that we pamper.

Reviews

[Jonathan Mckay · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Misti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great way to introduce people to the programs and ideas possible with today's technology. Even though Rheingold wrote this foray into the world of Scandinavian and Japanese text messaging back in 2002, it appears the US still hasn't entirely caught up with them and a lot of the points he makes are as prevalent today as they were more than half a decade ago (a feat, considering the rapid progression of today's technology by old-timey standards).

Ultimately, I walked away from this book with a lot of new, creative ideas that were kicked into gear by a few things the author mentioned. I enjoy reading about some of the clever adaptations utilized by phone companies in other countries to make users more likely to utilize their cell phones for practically every aspect of their lives. And reading of other people's cleverness made me try to think more cleverly too.

Again, there's really not much to this book, as it's non-fiction and it's basically an in-depth search into the history of phones and their usage to spread messages quickly and efficiently. All the same, I'd rather read this over Pinker's "Stuff of Thought" any day.

[Richard Seltzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Earl Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the one that got me into Moblogs - mobile blogs - and I landed on Textamerica. It's now defunct, although I was able to find a lot of my friends from there and reconnect on Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram - all of these are connected to the ideas that Rheingold writes about in this book.

Smart mobs. Flash Mobs. Social networking. All of it is so fascinatingly covered - and pretty accurately - 10 years after he wrote this.

Read this book to get a great feel for where things were headed when not to many people were even that sure about what could be headed there. Read it to see where theing may yet go, too. Rheingold is brilliant and accessible at the same time.

Personal note: one time I read a tweet from the author that he was going to be at the Philadelphia airport for a long layover, and was inviting anyone that wanted to come and hang out with him for a while to do just that. Man, if I could have shifted the appointment that I had that day!

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book (published in 2003!) now was pretty cool because it casts some perspective/context on nascent mobile tech and just how rapidly phones have developed in the past few years. An interesting read if you're interested in how these technologies could be leveraged for social change (both good and bad), especially when the mobile phone becomes the preferred or sole internet access/communication tool of choice. *Also, I want to be Howard Rheingold when I grow up. His research seems infinitely cool.

[CTEP]

This book examines the ways in which mobile technologies are drastically changing the ways that people interact with each other and as a result new forms of communication are possible that have never been imagined. Rheingold looks at both the positive and negative effects of this but overall feels sees that people are ultimately creating communities with mobile technologies. In this book he is speaking about more than just cell phones, but also mobile internet through cell phones. Rheingold writes of this this instant and portable access to information networks created by people as being very democratic. He provides examples of political events/protests where people are able to send critical information to each other about obstacles, police action, etc through the use of text messages. More than a tool for political use, he looks at the changing practices of culture. For example the ways that talking on the a phone for a kid used to be something that was moderated by parents. But now kids have their phones with them at all times and parents may not even be aware of who their kids are talking to. Also Rheigold acknowledges that it is not truly independence as mobile technologies are owned by major corporations and allow for easy surveillance which potentially encroaches on civil liberties. One of the most interesting portions was where Rheingold looks at psychological studies of cooperation among productive societies. He speaks with someone (I'm forgetting their name) about the theory of common goods, being things that all benefit from, regardless of whether they contribute to it. These can be tangible items like public television or irrigation systems, or intangible such as judicial systems or peer-to-peer networks. His point is that when people are given creative tools to communicate and cooperate with each other, that they will naturally find ways to form positive empowering relationships.

There is also a website/blog based on the book at www.smartmobs.com

How does it relate to my CTEP experience?
I find our work to be very interesting in the sense that we are performing a very important role community, but the effects of it we don't always directly see. Technology can be such an illusive thing, and sometimes after only coordinating with people via email I wonder if I am actually communicating with them. Exchanging information in the form of text has a completely different feeling than physically interacting with someone. This book helped me realize that, yes although communication through technology is different, it is in no way better or worse, but if anything, allows new opportunities. Technology's role in society is really in its infancy and I am excited to be on the forefront of something that is really changing the way our world functions. Most importantly, making it so these changes are seen and understood by all, and not just a select few with enough money or education.

Would I recommend this book to other CTEP members?
Most definitely. Although at certain points I think this book writes in a style that feels inaccessible. However it is interdisciplinary enough to cover a lot of different perspectives, so you are likely to find something that you find really interesting. Also, this book was written in 2002, and was way ahead of its time. Everything Rheingold writes still feels relevant today.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me just start by saying that this book is somewhat dated. This book was published before smartphones really became a thing (the original iPhone is from 2007; this book is from 2002) and before FaceBook (founded in 2004). Just so we're clear on just how far back we're looking.

It may be nearly 20 years old but many of the warnings (about surveillance and lack of privacy) have been borne out in the years since.

For those of us who deal with open source software, we're familiar with terms like "free riders" (people who don't contribute to a community / project but are only too happy to benefit from it) and "the tragedy of the commons" (when there's a largely-unregulated commons from which anyone can profit, and handful will exploit it to the detriment of the majority). This book mentions those, in-depth. It also gets into exactly how the "tragedy" was originally avoided. And how it can be avoided today.

Yes, there's a lot of talk about flip phones (those were the new hotness at the time) and how companies like Japan's DoCoMo were enabling the growth of a market (and a movement) and others were trying to wall it off. It was made plainly obvious that organic markets are much more likely to actually go somewhere, do something, than walled gardens.

One of the points made is that a lot of the people using all kinds of services on flip phones were actually using Internet services, but they didn't perceive it as Internet services. In that era, the Internet was this thing where you had to sit down at a PC, dial in over a modem, do all these "formal" steps to get connected and do anything. Using such services on a cellphone was anything but formal.

As someone who worked tech support at a dial-up ISP, there's a tremendous ring of truth to that. When I got to work in the afternoon, my office machines were all Internet-connected without needing to go through the ritual of dialing-in. Using Internet services became, for me, far less formal. And that feels the same as using my smartphone (and other, always-connected machines at home) today.

As texting and other ultra-portable text-based comms evolved, the very notion / concept of being "present" for something changed. You could hang with your friends without being in their proximate vicinity. You could "take part" in some social event without being there, physically. I'm seeing this, to a tremendous degree today. I may be sitting at home, with a laptop, but I'm taking part in what's going on at my office. Or I may be doing so with a smartphone or tablet.

Another point that's made in the book is that some systems are organized from the top (usually with some rigid implementation and some vision as to how they will be used) and some are organized from the bottom (a bunch of people "got together" and thought "ya know, it would be really cool / useful if we could ..."). The top-down approaches mentioned in the book ... pretty sure they've all died off. Many of the bottom-up approaches are still going strong.

While the book, and a lot of the narrative, may be somewhat dated, there are some timeless lessons in this book for those who are willing to wade through it.

[Mika Auramo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Howard Rheingoldin Mobiilijoukot olikin mielenkiintoista luettavaa. Vuonna 2003 kirjoitettu mobiilikulttuurin mullistusta ja muutosta sen seurannaisvaikutuksia käsittelevä kirja osuu monissa kohdin oikeaan, mutta monta muuta tulevaisuuden skenaariota jäikin toteutumatta.

Kahdeksaan lukuun jaoteltu kirja johdattelee lukijansa kännyköiden maailmaan ja langattomien verkostojen myötä uudenlaisiin yhteistyömahdollisuuksiin ja sosiaaliseen kanssakäymiseen. Jo kirjan nimi tarkoittaa sitä, että ei enää tarvita niinkään kasvokkaista kohtaamista, sillä samat yhteistoiminnalliset tehtävät, joita varten piti ennen kokoontua fyysisesti yhteen, hoidetaan nyt etätyöskennellen ja ongelmitta. Sen sijaan ongelmia muodostuu helposti, kun reaaliaikainen tiedonvälitys ja propaganda voi valjastaa helposti samaiset joukot lynkkausporukoiksi.

Marko Ahtisaaren esipuheen jälkeen lähdetään yhteistyön teknologioihin. Sitä seuraavat esineiden ja asusteiden internet, yksityisyyden menettäminen maineen menettäminen ja lopulta takertuminen mobiiliverkkoihin: se on monelle vankila, josta ei voikaan paeta.

Kirjassa Suomi on vahvasti edustettuna, ja kirjailija kävi täällä ihmettelemässä mobiilikulttuuria ja haastattelemassa Risto Linturia ja muutamia start up -yrittäjiä. IRC ja Linus Torvalds myös mainitaan. Lukemista haittasi melkoisesti melko jäsentymätön esitystapa, johon kuului omat konkreettiset havainnot mobiilikulttuurin kehittymisestä ja sen abstrahoiminen käyttämällä paikoin aika hajanaisia haastatteluja ja niiden kommentteja omien päätelmien tukemisessa.

Monissa kohdin kirjoittaja on osunut oikeaan, jos ajatellaan tätä päivää ja kirjoittamisajankohtaa, varsinkin sosiaalisten verkostojen voiman erittelyssä ja mahdollisuuksissa. Vertaisverkot ovatkin monille suvereenisti mobiilijoukkoihin asemoituneiden ihmisten kesken sitä mobiilia yhteistyön alkemiaa.

[L. Farmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is some deep thinking introspection right here. Recommend.

[Ari Stillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is surprisingly still relevant if nothing else as a portal into the recent past from which imaginaries of possible futures were projected.

[Ashwin Ramaswamy · Rating 4 out of 5]

prescient in many places.
rambles at times.
worth a read

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Srav Chag · Rating 1 out of 5]

Outdated, obvious analysis that fails to delve into the philosophical or functional meaning of social technology. Totally missed its opportunity. There is no reason to dedicate 3 pages to describing what a blog is. You are better off with Ray Kurzweil's book or any book on complex adaptive systems.

[Sonia Lavadinho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un livre que j'ai malheureusement lu trop tard pour qu'il me soit aussi prophétique qu'il le promettait...
Le plus drôle des faits que j'ai retenu, c'est le fait qu'en 2002, l'on appelait encore le WiFi par son autre nom, le standard "802.11b". Le mot est tellement rentré dans les moeurs depuis que l'on a de la peine à imaginer qu'à une époque pas si lointaine, la stabilité de cette désignation n'était pas assurée...
L'histoire de la naissance du WiFi, racontée à la page 136 et suivantes, vaut le détour...
Un livre à lire pour ceux qui s'intéressent à l'évolution de la technologie mobile, ses usages et ses appropriations.

[mcburton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Remember the Flash Mob craze? This is a nice exploration of the phenomenon, its technological origins and implications for the future. While perhaps not as relevant or "hot" as it once was, the thoughts on technologically inspired social phenomena (txt messaged organized resistance) are still interesting. The ubiquitous wireless future is not here and will likely not be a reflection of Rheingold's musings, but this is still an entertaining read.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 ;)

[Rahim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just reread this... Still amazing to me how Rheingold predicted and identified the extent to which social media exactly like Twitter, facebook, etc would change our world. This was written in 2002! I don't think half the stuff really sank in when I read it in 2003... Would like to read what he is writing about now!

[Matt Bigelow · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Jb · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 ...

[Megan Mcdowell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book leans a bit toward the techno-utopian side of things, but is easy and entertaining to read. Rheingold focuses on specific ways technology is drastically changing (for the better) the ways in which we communicate, but glosses over the possible negatives.

[Andrea]

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.

[lohee]

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[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting premise.

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good book, but perhaps I'm too close to the subject. I found it a little bit of a thin broth.

[Mfalco65 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rheingold always manages to stay at the cutting edge of emergent media and the exciting developments in the realm of digital collaboration.

[Scallet]

about mobile net,pervasive computing,and reputation system

[Steven Farmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book -- you must read.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important book in understanding the origins of participatory culture.

[Rui Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent book on the digital society with various examples on the telecommuting, Internet and so on. It was published in 2002, but can be viewed as a forecast for the current social networks trend.