In Smart Mobs, Howard Rheingold introduces the concept of smart mobs, a form of self-structuring social organization through technology-mediated, intelligent emergent behavior. According to Rheingold, smart mobs are an indication of the evolving communication technologies that will empower the people. These growing technologies 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 pervasive computing are also changing the ways in which people organize and share information.
A smart mob is a group that behaves intelligently or efficiently because of its exponentially increasing network links. This network enables people to connect to information and others, allowing a form of social coordination. One reason for the rise of smart mobs is the ever decreasing cost of increasingly powerful microprocessors which have allowed them to permeate throughout society — they are embedded in everything from boxes to clothes. Depending on how the technology is used, smart mobs may be beneficial or detrimental to society. Rheingold warns of the use of the technology by some to create a society similar to the one seen in George Orwell’s 1984 or by terrorists for their malicious purposes.
The Smart Mob blog details a new, real-life example of Smart Mobs in Lojo. Shorthand for locative journalism, LoJo is the name of a project launched by a team of Northwestern University graduate students to study the intersection of journalism and emerging location-based technologies.
These students are developing a multi-platform project that depicts how Chicago might change (economically, environmentally and socially) if it wins the 2016 Olympic bid. Through their project, the LoJo team hopes to create interactive and informative mobile experiences that push innovation in journalism.
As they learn how location-based technology and place-based narratives can enrich a journalistic experience, the LOJOCONNECT.COM blog documents their progress and provide opportunities for others to engage in the discovery process.
Using the bouquet of emerging mobile and location-based technologies (from GPS-enabled mobile phones to interactive online maps), locative storytelling provides multi-media content that enhances a user’s connection to a given place. At its best, this kind of interactive media gives users increased entry points, and more control over, any given story, thereby enabling deeper and more vibrant experiences.
