Howard Rheingold On Our Mobile World 49
Roland Piquepaille writes "Howard Rheingold is the well-known author of "Smart Mobs" and many other books describing the evolution of our societies. His last book predicted the transformation of our society into a mobile one. Four years later, his forecast is more than confirmed. As one of the futurologists who can detect the emerging technology trends behind our daily lives, I wanted to know what Howard was thinking in 2006. He was kind enough to agree for an interview which was conducted by e-mail in mid-June. We discuss the importance of mobile technology, blogs, the changing climate, and the future of surveillance" From the article: "The power of the technologies packed into mobile devices continues to multiply, the diffusion of devices to all parts of the world and socioeconomic strata broadens, the spread of knowledge about how to use technologies to organize political, economic, social, cultural collective action quickens. It is in the convergence of the technical, cognitive, and social forces generates that the real power of smart mobs -- for both constructive and destructive."
Re:Fuck Piquepaille (Score:1, Troll)
Just Criticism (Score:4, Insightful)
Secondly if that quote is representative of the article as a whole then I say stay far far away from TFA on this one, since that 4 line quote translates to: Technology will make things change faster, and online communities will become more important. Since that is what he predicted originally it doesn't seem like he has anything new to say. (except perhaps to add more buzzwords into the fray)
Re:Just Criticism (Score:2, Informative)
horse (Score:1, Funny)
Re:horse (Score:2)
Worse, it's mobile crap.
Re:Just Criticism (Score:1)
http://www.cynicalbastards.com/ubs/index.html [cynicalbastards.com]
Although this bit only rates a 4.24 on the Wankometer:
http://www.cynicalbastards.com/wankometer/ [cynicalbastards.com]
Obviously not an honours student.
KFG
You're not as smart as you think you are (Score:2)
While buzzword-laden, "I'm concentrating on continuing to catalyze an interdisciplinary study of cooperation and collective action" does not translate into "I'm still studying collective action."
The correct translation is "I'm encouraging people to study collective action using interdisciplinary methods." Leaving out" interdisciplinary" distorts the meaning, and you flat out miss the fact that he's talking about "catalyzing" such study more than doing it himself.
Re:Just Criticism (Score:1)
Re:Just Criticism (Score:2)
Even 4 years ago these kinds of predictions were not visionary at all. Everyone could see the mobile lifestyle approaching. It was visionary when Neal Stephenson wrote about it in Snow Crash a decade before this guy did.
Well known? (Score:1)
Never heard of it.
For that matter, never heard of him. Probably 'cause I don't care.
Re:Well known? (Score:1)
Nope, never heard of 'em.
Slashdot does it again! (Score:3, Insightful)
Slashdot shows its support for Roland Piquepaille by sending its hoards to his advertising based site.
When will those slashdot fools learn?
Re:Slashdot does it again! (Score:1)
Is this how websites die?
Slashdot "hordes", not "hoards" (Score:1)
My predictions (Score:2, Funny)
Who here is sick of "futurologists" (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Who here is sick of "futurologists" (Score:1)
Does "M" mean anything to you?
It could be a person, living, dead or as yet unborn. Maybe a pet of someone living, dead or as yet unborn. Perhaps someone called "Mister," or "Miss," or "Meathead." Maybe you're into semiotics and recognize it as a . .
If "M" doesn't mean anything to you I've got lots more guesses. I'll be here all night, but I'll try to be long gone w
Re:Who here is sick of "futurologists" (Score:1)
You missed the call by about 2 decades.
The other end of the stick (Score:3, Informative)
Whatever happened to... the smartphone?
A few years ago an American business consultant and author published a very silly book called 'Smart Mobs' - which even predicted that phone-toting nerds would be at the vanguard of social upheaval.
But something funny happened on the way to this digital nirvana. Perhaps the signs were there from the start: 'Smart Mobs' couldn't find a UK publisher. A website of the same name continues, however, apparently staffed by volunteers, and making its ghostly way across the web like a latter day Marie Celeste. Alas the site still has a category called "How To Recognize The Future When It Lands On You.
Re:The other end of the stick (Score:3, Interesting)
Here's one counter argument: the Blackberry. It's basically a smartphone. The missing piece was not networks, price, features, etc. It was focus. The Blackberry demonstrates how to make a successful smartphone: you package useful technology in a usable and simple form. It does not have to be cheap.
I'm also using a Nokia E70, my third 'seagull' Nokia. And to my own surprise, I'm surfing the net with it. I bought it because I like writing notes on the fly. But it has bui
Think like (Score:5, Funny)
The student replied, "Here's an orange."
The professor was outraged. "No! No! Think like a lawyer!"
The student then replied, "Okay. I'd tell him `I hereby give and convey to you all and singular, my estate and interests, rights, claim, title, claim and advantages of and in, said orange, together with all its rind, juice, pulp, and seeds, and all rights and advantages with full power to bite, cut, freeze and otherwise eat, the same, or give the same away with and without the pulp, juice, rind and seeds, anything herein before or hereinafter or in any deed, or deeds, instruments of whatever nature or kind whatsoever to the contrary in anywise notwithstanding...'"
In another classroom, professor asked his best student. "If you have to predict impact of technology on society, how would you go?"
He said "There will be more features in mobile"
The professor was outraged. "No! No! Think like a Howard Rheingold!"
The student then replied,"Okay. The power of the technologies packed into mobile devices continues to multiply, the diffusion of devices to all parts of the world and socioeconomic strata broadens, the spread of knowledge about how to use technologies to organize political, economic, social, cultural collective action quickens. It is in the convergence of the technical, cognitive, and social forces generates that the real power of smart mobs -- for both constructive and destructive"
Re:Think like (Score:2)
font (Score:2)
Go to your preferences [slashdot.org] and try selecting "simple design". Some of the graphics misalign, but otherwsie its much more legible, IMHO.
Shotgun Futurology (Score:3, Informative)
The future is always easy to predict, only the details seems to go wrong.
Yes, people will continue to get more and more interconnected, as every phone turns into a full-on mobile computer/camera complete with infinite memory, as social life moves more and more into the virtual world. Yes, the old patterns of mass movement to work will end as oil continues to cost more and more. No, electric cars won't solve anything. Yes, Japan will produce life-like robots but it'll be small firms in the US and France that produce the bots that finally make it into every home, and they'll be toys, tools, avatars, and for some people, friends. Yes, nuclear power will make a big comeback. No, it won't power our cars. Yes, China and India are going to become information superpowers. No, they won't toppled the US from its throne. Yes, there will be a lot of war in the future, and a lot of it will be fragmented, because just as mobile phones disrupt the traditional social forms, they also disrupt fighting. "Smart armies"? Give them all Blackberries. Yes, there will be a nuclear terrorist attack. No, it won't be in New York or Washington, but probably in Delhi or Tehran. Yes, Linux will take Windows off the desktop, but really not in the way you'd expect. No, no-one will care when it happens. Yes, there will be a black US president one day. No, she won't be a republican.
The future is not so hard to predict - just look at all the domains where people are competing hardest to innovate, then assume ten years of progress, slower than you'd expect but more profound than you'd believe possible, and then see how people would use those changes to improve and simplify their lives.
It does not take buzzwords.
Re:Shotgun Futurology (Score:1)
You forgot the part where we are all wiped out by the Avian Flu!!
Re:Shotgun Futurology (Score:2)
He wears stupid hats in his author photos, too.
Re:Shotgun Futurology (Score:2)
And Bruce Sterling wrote about "Smart Mobs" back in 1998. See the beginning of the novel "Distraction".
Rheingold is making a living with a throwaway detail from a Sterling novel.
And just to RTFA a bit:
Anything
People United Through Mobile Technology (Score:1)
I'm thinking that something like this is already happening with our culture of mobile technology. People are all being "plugged-in" to one vast social network. Each person is there own individual node, capabal of creating, obtaining, and processing data, which they will pass on to their peers, i.e., other nodes. Every node is connected to every other node by th
Smart Mobs, eh? (Score:1)
Not so fast (Score:2)
I live on Bainbridge Island, across Puget Sound from the wonderfully techie city of Seattle. The distance is eight miles. The island is populated with a lot of really wealthy, successful, and in a lot of cases, technical people. (I'm only technical!) I had Verizon Wireless when I moved here from Texas, and a quick check of thei
Re:Not so fast (Score:1)
Verizon has probably already looked at the situation and realized it's not
on a sort of a side note (Score:1)
Thanks Roland (Score:2)