Democracy is not just voting for your leaders; it's really premised upon ordinary citizens understanding the issues. Howard Rheingold More Quotes by Howard Rheingold More Quotes From Howard Rheingold Markets are as old as the crossroads. But capitalism, as we know it, is only a few hundred years old, enabled by cooperative arrangements and technologies, such as the joint-stock ownership company, shared liability insurance, double-entry bookkeeping. Howard Rheingold joints technology years Humans are humans because we are able to communicate with each other and to organize to do things together that we can't do individually. Howard Rheingold communicate able together One of the things we know now that we didn't know then, is that revolutions are very painful to a lot of people. And that at the stage that we have evolved to now, a revolution would be extremely painful. Howard Rheingold revolution would-be people Its not a global village, but we're in a highly interconnected globe. Howard Rheingold global-village globes village Communication media enabled collective action on new scales, at new rates, among new groups of people, multiplied the power available to civilizations and enabled new forms of social interaction. The alphabet enabled empire and monotheism, the printing press enabled science and revolution, the telephone enabled bureaucracy and globalization, the internet enabled virtual communities and electronic markets, the mobile telephone enabled smart mobs and tribes of info-nomads. Howard Rheingold smart communication media Knowing of how to make use of online tools without being overloaded with too much information is, like it or not, an essential ingredient to personal success in the twenty-first century. Howard Rheingold too-much-information ingredients knowing Every big company has some little guy who is an enthusiast off in the corner working on technology. In Japan, it is integrated into their high-level strategy. They see it as a communication medium, because for them, just the words - and this is the problem that they have with Americans - just the words they say to you is not the complete message. Their facial expressions, their body language, there is a lot of context. Also, their written language doesn't translate to keyboards well. Howard Rheingold japan communication technology Whenever a technology enables people to organize at a pace that wasn't before possible, new kinds of politics emerge. Howard Rheingold technology pace people If, like many others, you are concerned social media is making people and cultures shallow, I propose we teach more people how to swim and together explore the deeper end of the pool. Howard Rheingold media swim people Mobile communications and pervasive computing technologies, together with social contracts that were never possible before, are already beginning to change the way people meet, mate, work, war, buy, sell, govern and create. Howard Rheingold communication technology war The manufacturing and packaging of homogeneous experience is what politics in America is about. Howard Rheingold packaging homogeneous america Technology no longer consists just of hardware or software or even services, but of communities. Increasingly, community is a part of technology, a driver of technology, and an emergent effect of technology. Howard Rheingold software technology community A lot of people use collaborative technologies badly, then abandon them. They aren't 'plug-and-play.' The invisible part is the social skill necessary to use them. Howard Rheingold technology skills play People's social networks do not consist only of people they see face to face. In fact, social networks have been extending because of artificial media since the printing press and the telephone. Howard Rheingold media faces people Essentially pursuit of happiness is saying, everything's allowed until we come down on it. Howard Rheingold pursuit pursuit-of-happiness We must take responsibility for educating ourselves. Being part of a 'smart mob' doesn't guarantee that you're a responsible participant or collaborator. Howard Rheingold guarantees-that smart responsibility One thing we didn't know in 1996 is that it's very, very difficult, if not impossible, to sustain a culture with online advertising. Howard Rheingold advertising impossible culture I think e-mail petitions are an illusion. It gives people the illusion that they're participating in some meaningful political action. Howard Rheingold meaningful people thinking I guess music in general is the transportation business. Howard Rheingold transportation We are moving rapidly into a world in which the spying machinery is built into every object we encounter. Howard Rheingold encounters world moving
