Synopsis
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.
Synopsis
How the convergence of mobile communi cations and computing is driving the next social r evolution-transforming the ways in which people me et, mate, work, buy, sell, govern, and create When Howard Rheingold sneaks off down a n untrodden trail, everyone else follows. He is al ways onto something marvelous no one has seen befo re. An ever-considerate guide, he navigates this n ew world with ease, compassion, and grace, and giv es you the inside story, with no punches pulled. T ech talk? Howard could get your mother to understa nd. From Tokyo to Helsinki, Manhatta n to Manila, Howard Rheingold takes us on a journe y around the world for a preview of the next techn o-cultural shift-a shift he predicts will be as dr amatic as the widespread adoption of the PC in the 1980s and the Internet in the 1990s. The coming w ave, says Rheingold, is the result of super-effici ent mobile communications-cellular phones, persona l digital assistants, and wireless-paging and Inte rnet-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 characterist ics appears in the vicinity) to the extraordinary (the overthrow of a repressive regime in the Phili ppines by political activists who mobilized by for warding text messages via cell phones), Rheingold gives examples of the fundamentally new ways in wh ich people are already engaging in group or collec tive action. He also considers the dark side of th is phenomenon, such as the coordination of terrori st cells, threats to privacy, and the ability to i ncite violent behavior.Applying insights from sociology, artificial intelligence, engineering, a nd anthropology, Rheingold offers a penetrating pe rspective on the brave new convergence of pop cult ure, cutting-edge technology, and social activism. At the same time, he reminds us that, as with oth er technological revolutions, the real impact of m obile communications will come not from the techno logy itself but from how people use it, resist it, adapt to it, and ultimately use it to transform t hemselves, their communities, and their institutio ns.
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