From Tokyo to Helsinki, Manhattan to Manila, Howard Rheingold
takes us on a journey around the world for a preview of the next
techno-cultural shift-a shift he predicts will be as dramatic as
the widespread adoption of the PC in the 1980s and the Internet in
the 1990s. The coming wave, says Rheingold, is the result of
super-efficient mobile communications-cellular phones, personal
digital assistants, and wireless-paging and Internet-access devices
that will allow us to connect with anyone, anywhere, anytime.From
the amusing ("Lovegetty" devices in Japan that light up when a
person with the right date-potential characteristics appears in the
vicinity) to the extraordinary (the overthrow of a repressive
regime in the Philippines by political activists who mobilized by
forwarding text messages via cell phones), Rheingold gives examples
of the fundamentally new ways in which people are already engaging
in group or collective action. He also considers the dark side of
this phenomenon, such as the coordination of terrorist cells,
threats to privacy, and the ability to incite violent
behavior.Applying insights from sociology, artificial intelligence,
engineering, and anthropology, Rheingold offers a penetrating
perspective on the brave new convergence of pop culture,
cutting-edge technology, and social activism. At the same time, he
reminds us that, as with other technological revolutions, the real
impact of mobile communications will come not from the technology
itself but from how people use it, resist it, adapt to it, and
ultimately use it to transform themselves, their communities, and
their institutions.