Smart mob
Smart mob is a concept introduced by Howard Rheingold in his book Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution.
The smart mob is a new form of social coordination made possible by the usage of modern technology, in particular the Internet and wireless devices (e.g. mobile phones, PDAs). A "smart mob" is a group that, contrary to the usual connotations of "mob", behaves intelligently or efficiently because of its exponentially-increasing network links. Parallels are made to, for instance, slime moulds. It's basically a practical implementation of Collective Intelligence.
According to the author, examples of smart mobs are the street protests organized by the Anti-globalization movement.
Another example is text messages sent in the Philippines that are thought to be partly responsible for the demonstration that ousted former President Joseph Estrada. Examples of such a text message read "Wear black to mourn the death of democracy", "Expect there to be rumbles" and "Go to ESDA". See "The Pager Revolution", an article in TIME magazine.
See also
- Collaborative software
- Collective intelligence
- E-democracy
- Flash mob
- Internet democracy
- Recommendation system
- Virtual community