Today is the day I'll finally send off a review of Howard Rheingold's book, Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution.
Slow reader that I am, I've been amazed all summer at how up to date
the book is, given the time lag of researching and writing a "dead
tree" publication, and the fact that I didn't get the invitation to
write a review until a year after the book came out.
As for Rheingold's jump start -- I've admired his skill at seeing the
"next new thing" coming for almost 20 years, when he wrote one of the
first discussions of social uses of the Internet. This time, he noticed
some of the new uses of digital communication gaining popularity in
Asia and Scandinavia a few years ago, and Smart Mobs (not to be confused with "flashmobs") was the result . For a journalism perspective, he also contributed a thoughtful Online Journalism Review article this summer:
"Now that access to the means of production and distribution is no longer a barrier, the most important remaining ingredient of a truly democratized electronic newsgathering is neither a kind of hardware nor a variety of software, but a species of literacy -- widespread knowledge of how to use these tools to produce news stories that are attention-getting, non-trivial, and credible.
"Journalism, if it is to deserve the name, is not about the quality of the camera, but about the journalist's intuition, integrity, courage, inquisitiveness, analytic and expressive capabilities, and above all, the trust the journalist has earned among readers.
"Good journalists discern compelling stories in events, cultivate and mobilize networks of sources, double check and triple check facts, develop reputations that can only be won by getting the story right week after week, year after year."
As a more general supplement to the book, Howard's own (group) weblog
helps keep things up to date, but now the mainstream media have
relevant stories regularly, including this batch from today's news
aggregator:
Dean Fans Plan Flashmob Based on Doonesbury Riff. This week's Doonesbury
comic strip mentioned flashmobs as "a fad that's almost over," then
suggested that a flashmob of Dean supporers surround the Seattle Space
Needle on Saturday... perhaps shouting "Sharpton, Sharpton.." (not
"Dean, Dean...") to fit the absurdist theme of such gatherings. Now,
uh-oh, it looks like some Dean supporters are actually signing up...
Flash Mobs Get a Dash of Danger.
As more spontaneous mobs crop up worldwide, some find their harmless
absurdity met by the strong arm of authority. Others add political
agendas. But, most flash mobs remain dedicated to the irrelevant and
the wacky. [Wired News]
Jamming device aims at camera phones.
Iceberg Systems' product, now in testing, could automatically switch
off camera phones to protect industrial secrets and private areas. [CNET News.com]
Big Brother's in the House.
They can track you through your cell phone, so why not your DVD player?
Microchips planted in electronics, computers and other household
objects will alert the cops to any sudden change in location, which
might suggest theft. [Wired News]
Snap a Photo and Ship It While Chatting by Phone.
The digital cameras on telephones are not just point-and-shoot numbers
these days, and the VX6000 from LG is a case in point: it comes with
zoom control and three different picture resolutions. Chatty
shutterbugs can also add color and special effects to their photos and
then e-mail them by way of a picture-messaging service recently started
by Verizon Wireless. By J.d. Biersdorfer. [New York Times: Technology]
Dear Campaign Diary: Seizing the Day, Online.
A bar owner, a software engineer, an at-home mother and a governors
wife are campaigning in the California recall election -- largely using
online diaries. By Michael Falcone. [New York Times: Technology]
IF
YOU SEE ONLY ONE VIDEO THIS YEAR OF A WILD BEAR BEING SHOT WITH A
TRANQUILIZER DART AND FALLING ONTO A TRAMPOLINE AND BOUNCING WAY UP
INTO THE... [Dave Barry's Blog]
OK, that last one isn't really about Smart Mobs or new digital communication tools, but it does make a point about the Web's ability to deliver some pretty silly video.
1:59:39 PM 
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