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August 5, 2003
smart mobs
The latest technological phenomenon to get the attention of the New York Times is "mobbing." An announcement spreads around blogs, listservs, and bulletin boards: everyone is supposed to show up at a particular time and place to do some particular, but random, thing, like asking a Macy's sales clerk for a "love rug" or shouting "Yes, Yes!" Thanks to the viral nature of the Internet, the idea spreads and people actually show up.
Are smart mobs "The
Next Social Revolution?" as Howard Rheingold is arguing? They
certainly fit the current ideal for social organizations: completely
decentralized, with
minimal costs of entry and exit, no hierarchy, and no rules. I have
absorbed so much conventional social theory that I'm very skeptical
about this ideal. I assume that the creation of public goods is difficult
and requires a solution to the classic free-rider problem (namely: people
won't contribute much of value if the good is enjoyed by everyone else).
Destroying stuff is much easier. Therefore, I would guess that the new
phenomenon of "smart mobs" will be used much more effectively
to destroy than to create. People may show up to shout "yes, yes!"
(which is funny and costs nothing), but they won't use "smart mob"
methods for real constructive action. I also assume that one of the
trickiest parts of social organization is finding ways to make actors
appropriately accountable. I don't see how a smart mob can be forced
to answer for its behavior. However, all this could be wrong. (I'm very
"twentieth century.")
August 5, 2003 12:30 PM | category: Internet and public issues | Comments