Smart mob

Last updated
Smart mob on the occasion of United Nations Children's Day, Vienna, Austria, November 20, 2010 Vienna 2010-11-20 'Kinderrechte' Smart Mob 044.jpg
Smart mob on the occasion of United Nations Children's Day, Vienna, Austria, November 20, 2010

A smart mob is a group whose coordination and communication abilities have been empowered by digital communication technologies. [1] Smart mobs are particularly known for their ability to mobilize quickly. [1]

Contents

The concept was introduced by Howard Rheingold in his 2002 book Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution . [2] Rheingold defined the smart mob as follows: "Smart mobs consist of people who are able to act in concert even if they don’t know each other... because they carry devices that possess both communication and computing capabilities". [3] In December of that year, the "smart mob" concept was highlighted in the New York Times "Year in Ideas". [4]

Characteristics

These technologies that empower smart mobs include the Internet, computer-mediated communication such as Internet Relay Chat, and wireless devices like mobile phones and personal digital assistants. Methodologies like peer-to-peer networks and ubiquitous computing are also changing the ways in which people organize and share information.[ citation needed ]

Flash mobs are a specific form of smart mob, originally describing a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, do something unusual and pointless for a brief period of time, then quickly disperse. The difference between flash and smart mobs is primarily with regards to their duration: flash mobs disappear quickly, but smart mobs can have a more enduring presence. [2] The term flash mob is claimed to have been inspired by "smart mob". [5]

Smart mobs have begun to have an impact in current events, as mobile phones and text messages have empowered everyone from revolutionaries in Malaysia to individuals protesting the second Iraq War. Individuals who have divergent worldviews and methods have been able to coordinate short-term.[ citation needed ]

A 2009 entry in the Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology noted that the term may be "fading from public use". [2]

Early instances

A forerunner to the idea can be found in the work of anarchist thinker Kropotkin, "fishermen, hunters, travelling merchants, builders, or settled craftsmen came together for a common pursuit." [6]

According to CNN, the first smart mobs were teenage "thumb tribes" in Tokyo and Helsinki who used text messaging on cell phones to organize impromptu raves or to stalk celebrities. For instance, in Tokyo, crowds of teenage fans would assemble seemingly spontaneously at subway stops where a rock musician was rumored to be headed. [7]

However, an even earlier example is the Dîner en blanc phenomenon, which has taken place annually in Paris, France, since 1988, for one night around the end of June. The invited guests wear only white clothes and gather at a chosen spot, knowledge of which they have only a short time beforehand. They bring along food, drink, chairs and a table and the whole group then gathers to have a meal, after which they disperse. The event has been held each year in different places in the centre of Paris. It is not a normal cultural event because it is not advertised and only those who have received an invite attend—information on the chosen location is transferred by text message or more recently Twitter. The number of people attending has grown, in 2011, to over 10,000. [8] Dîner en blanc would be considered a smart mob rather than a flash mob, because the event lasts for several hours.[ citation needed ]

The Professional Contractors Group organised the first smart mob in the UK in 2000 when 700 contractors turned up at The House of Commons to lobby their MP following an email sent out a few days before. [9]

In the days after the U.S. presidential election of 2000, online activist Zack Exley anonymously created a website that allowed people to suggest locations for gatherings to protest for a full recount of the votes in Florida. On the first Saturday after the election, more than 100 significant protests took place—many with thousands of participants—without any traditional organizing effort. Exley wrote in December 2000 that the self-organized protests "demonstrated that a fundamental change is taking place in our national political life. It's not the Internet per se, but the emerging potential for any individual to communicate—for free and anonymously if necessary—with any other individual." [10]

In the Philippines in 2001, a group of protesters organized via text messaging gathered at the EDSA Shrine, the site of the 1986 revolution that overthrew Ferdinand Marcos, to protest the corruption of President Joseph Estrada. The protest grew quickly, and Estrada was soon removed from office. [11]

The Critical Mass bicycling events, dating back to 1992, are also sometimes compared to smart mobs, due to their self-organizing manner of assembly. [12] [13]

Examples

Essentially, the smart mob is a practical implementation of collective intelligence. According to Rheingold, examples of smart mobs are the street protests organized by the anti-globalization movement. The Free State Project has been described in Foreign Policy as an example of potential "smart mob rule". [14] Other examples of smart mobs include:

The comic book Global Frequency , written by Warren Ellis, describes a covert, non-governmental intelligence organization built around a smart mob of people that are called on to provide individual expertise in solving extraordinary crises.[ citation needed ]

David Brin's speculative science fiction novel, Existence ( ISBN   978-0-765-30361-5), similarly posits the use of on-the-fly smart mobs by credible journalists as sources of information and expertise.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SMS</span> Text messaging service component

Short Message Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile phones exchange short text messages, typically transmitted over cellular networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Instant messaging</span> Form of computer communication over the internet or locally

Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of synchronous computer-mediated communication involving the immediate (real-time) transmission of messages between two or more parties over the Internet or another computer network. Originally involving simple text message exchanges, modern IM applications and services tend to also feature the exchange of multimedia, emojis, file transfer, VoIP, and video chat capabilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guerrilla marketing</span> Unconventional advertising strategy

Guerrilla marketing is an advertisement strategy in which a company uses surprise and/or unconventional interactions in order to promote a product or service. It is a type of publicity. The term was popularized by Jay Conrad Levinson's 1984 book Guerrilla Marketing.

Technological convergence is the tendency for technologies that were originally unrelated to become more closely integrated and even unified as they develop and advance. For example, watches, telephones, television, computers, and social media platforms began as separate and mostly unrelated technologies, but have converged in many ways into an interrelated telecommunication, media, and technology industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flash mob</span> Form of sudden public performance

A flash mob is a group of people that assembles suddenly in a public place, performs for a brief time, then quickly disperses, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and/or artistic expression. Flash mobs may be organized via telecommunications, social media, or viral emails.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Text messaging</span> Act of typing and sending a brief, digital message

Text messaging, or simply texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile phones, tablet computers, smartwatches, desktops/laptops, or another type of compatible computer. Text messages may be sent over a cellular network or may also be sent via satellite or Internet connection.

A guerrilla gig is a type of concert performed in a non-traditional setting or arranged in an unusual fashion. It became associated with punk rock, and noise rock bands in UK and the United States during the early to mid-2000s. Bands who perform at such events are sometimes referred to as "guerrilla rockers".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pillow fight flash mob</span> Social phenomenon of pillow fighting

A pillow fight flash mob is a social phenomenon of flash mobbing and shares many characteristics of a culture jam.

<i>Smart Mobs</i> 2002 book by Howard Rheingold

Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution is a book by Howard Rheingold dealing with the social, economic and political changes implicated by developing technology. The book covers subjects from text-messaging culture to wireless Internet developments to the impact of the web on the marketplace. The author highlights the many ways in which technology alters and impacts the way in which people live and think.

Hardbass or hard bass is a subgenre of pumping house that originated in Saint Petersburg, Russia during the late 1990s, drawing inspiration from bouncy techno, hardstyle, as well as local Russian influences. Hardbass is characterized by its fast tempo, donks, distinctive basslines, distorted sounds, heavy kicks and occasional chants or rapping. In several European countries, so-called "hardbass scenes" have sprung up, which are events related to the genre that involve multiple people dancing in public while masked, sometimes with moshing involved.

mylo (Sony) Handheld Internet wi-fi device, 2006–2010

Mylo, standing for "My Life Online", is a pocket-sized handheld device created and marketed by Sony for instant messaging and other Internet-based communications like browsing Internet web sites using the Opera web browser, and playback and sharing of media files. Debuting in 2006, Mylo had a screen which slid up to reveal a QWERTY keyboard. Using Wi-Fi instead of cellular networks — reducing connectivity costs by avoiding the necessity of using GSM, CDMA or 3G cellular networks which would usually be used for devices of this size and functionality — the Mylo was targeted to the 18–24 age group. A revised model was released in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile social network</span> Social networking on mobile devices

Mobile social networking is social networking where individuals with similar interests converse and connect with one another through their mobile phone and/or tablet. Much like web-based social networking, mobile social networking occurs in virtual communities.

A mobile campaign is a campaign, usually marketing, advertising, or public relations-related, through which organizations contact their audience through SMS. This form of campaigning allows organizations to reach out and establish relationships with an audience in a more individualized, intimate way. The foundational function of mobile campaigns is regularly referred to as mobile marketing. A campaign's goal can have varied consumer consumption objectives including flashing, informing or engaging. Mobile campaigns have developed from the periphery of advertising to being an integral part of an effective marketing strategy. Online advertising is the second largest advertising spend at $113 billion, next to television's $196.5 billion. Near the introduction of mobile campaigns, they were primarily created to boost the impact of primary campaigns. A good example of one of the first mobile campaigns is the viewer voting system employed in American Idol. Using the American Idol example, the primary campaign was television, and the engagement was mobile, “watch this show, and text to vote”. In 2012, there were over 131 million votes in a single night, setting the world mobile voting record. With over 90% of Americans having cell phones, and there being over 6.8 billion cell phones in circulation globally versus 2.4 billion with internet access, mobile campaigns are evolving to be the way of the future in advertising and consumer engagement.

Participatory culture, an opposing concept to consumer culture, is a culture in which private individuals do not act as consumers only, but also as contributors or producers (prosumers). The term is most often applied to the production or creation of some type of published media.

Cell phone novels, or mobile phone novels, were literary works originally written on a cellular phone via text messaging. This type of literature originated in Japan, where it became a popular literary genre. However, its popularity also spread to other countries internationally, especially to China, United States, Germany, Italy and South Africa. Chapters usually consist of about 70–100 words each due to character limitations on cell phones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SMS language</span> Abbreviated slang used in text messaging

Short Message Service (SMS) language, textism, or textese is the abbreviated language and slang commonly used in the late 1990s and early 2000s with mobile phone text messaging, and occasionally through Internet-based communication such as email and instant messaging.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile phone</span> Portable device to make telephone calls using a radio link

A mobile phone, or cell phone, is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones. This radio frequency link connects to the switching systems of a mobile phone operator, providing access to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Modern mobile telephony relies on a cellular network architecture, which is why mobile phones are often referred to as 'cell phones' in North America.

Crowd manipulation is the intentional or unwitting use of techniques based on the principles of crowd psychology to engage, control, or influence the desires of a crowd in order to direct its behavior toward a specific action. This practice is common to religion, politics and business and can facilitate the approval or disapproval or indifference to a person, policy, or product. The ethicality of crowd manipulation is commonly questioned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harlem Shake (meme)</span> Internet meme

The Harlem Shake is an Internet meme in the form of a video in which a group of people dance to a short excerpt from the song "Harlem Shake". The meme became viral in early February 2013, with thousands of "Harlem Shake" videos being made and uploaded to YouTube every day at the height of its popularity.

Smartphone ad hoc networks are wireless ad hoc networks that use smartphones. Once embedded with ad hoc networking technology, a group of smartphones in close proximity can together create an ad hoc network. Smart phone ad hoc networks use the existing hardware in commercially available smartphones to create peer-to-peer networks without relying on cellular carrier networks, wireless access points, or traditional network infrastructure. Wi-Fi SPANs use the mechanism behind Wi-Fi ad-hoc mode, which allows phones to talk directly among each other, through a transparent neighbor and route discovery mechanism. SPANs differ from traditional hub and spoke networks, such as Wi-Fi Direct, in that they support multi-hop routing and relays and there is no notion of a group leader, so peers can join and leave at will without destroying the network.

References

  1. 1 2 R. Harper; L. Palen; A. Taylor (30 March 2006). The Inside Text: Social, Cultural and Design Perspectives on SMS. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 290. ISBN   978-1-4020-3060-4.
  2. 1 2 3 Harry Henderson (2009). Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology. Infobase Publishing. p. 198. ISBN   978-1-4381-1003-5.
  3. Howard Rheingold (1 March 2007). Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution. Basic Books. p. 12. ISBN   978-0-465-00439-3.
  4. Thompson, Clive (2002-12-15). "The Year in Ideas: Smart Mobs". New York Times.
  5. wordspy.com Archived 2006-03-15 at the Wayback Machine , flash mob
  6. Kropotkin, Peter (1989). Mutual Aid. Montreal: Black Rose Books. ISBN   978-0-921689-26-3.
  7. Taylor, Chris. "CNN.com - Day of the smart mobs - Mar. 3, 2003". www.cnn.com. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
  8. essen-und-trinken.de, Le Diner Blanc: weißes Dinner in Paris. [<gs id="a0c64f95-2c36-4271-a2a7-520486d6f119" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="80c0748f-83bb-4c1f-8f79-29d42597507e" class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark">in</gs> German]
  9. "PCG 2: Fighting IR35 in Parliament". IPSE. Retrieved 2017-07-25.[ permanent dead link ]
  10. "Organizing Online" Mother Jones, December 2000
  11. "Day of the smart mobs", CNN
  12. "Dadaist lunacy or the future of protest?" Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine , Social Issues Research Center
  13. "Flash! Mobs in the Age of Mobile Connectivity" Fibreculture Journal, issue 6
  14. McGirk, James (May–June 2003). "Smart Mob Rule". Foreign Policy. p. 92.
  15. "Shop affronts". The Economist.
  16. "'Crop Mob' volunteers help small farms in North Carolina". Los Angeles Times. 2010-03-10. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
  17. "70,000 U2 fans form huge Polish flag to Cold War anthem - Music". Archived from the original on 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  18. Emily Dugan, Louise Fitzgerald (3 March 2013). "A brief history of the Harlem Shake". The Independent.
  19. World News (12 May 2016). "How the Harlem Shake is being used to push for change in Egypt". NBC News.
  20. http://www.demos.co.uk/files/File/networklogic15rheingold.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]