Caseorganic at 13:56, 25 August 2026

2026-08-25T13:56:37Z

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	~~{{stub}}~~		===Biography===
			Howard Rheingold (b. 7 July 1947) is a pioneering technology writer, critic and educator who wrote about digital culture and online social interaction before most of it existed.

	~~==Biography==~~		Rheingold graduated from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, in 1968. He spent time as an editor at the ''Whole Earth Review'' before serving as editor in chief of ''The Millennium Whole Earth Catalog'', and was founding executive editor of ''HotWired'' in 1994. He was an early participant in [[The WELL]], one of the first online communities, where he saw the power of digital networks to create meaningful human connection. He has taught at UC Berkeley's School of Information and at Stanford University, where he mentored a generation of digital thinkers while developing frameworks for understanding online collaboration.
	~~Howard~~ Rheingold ~~is a pioneering technology writer~~, ~~critic~~, and ~~educator wrote about~~ digital ~~culture~~ and online ~~social interaction~~.

	~~Rheingold was born in 1947~~ and ~~graduated~~ from ~~Reed College in Portland~~, ~~Oregon~~, ~~in 1968~~. ~~He spent some time as an editor at~~ the ~~Whole Earth Review before serving as editor in chief~~ of the ~~Millennium Whole Earth Catalog~~.		===Key Works===
			'''''Tools for Thought'' (1985)''' provided one of the first accessible histories of computers and their potential for augmenting human intelligence, running from Babbage and Boole through Turing, von Neumann, Licklider, Engelbart and the Xerox PARC generation. Its organising claim — that the significant history of computing is the history of augmenting the mind rather than of automating arithmetic — was unfashionable when written and is now standard.

	~~His 1985 book~~ "~~Tools for Thought~~" ~~provided one of~~ the ~~first accessible histories of computers~~ and ~~their potential~~ for ~~augmenting human intelligence~~.		'''''The Virtual Community'' (1993)''' recognised the social potential of computer networks before most others did. Rheingold defined virtual communities as "social aggregations that emerge from the Net when enough people carry on those public discussions long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of personal relationships in cyberspace." The book is grounded in his own years on the WELL and is unusual for treating birth, illness and death in an online community as its central evidence.

	~~Rheingold recognized~~ the ~~social potential~~ of ~~computer networks before most others. In his 1993 book "The Virtual Community"~~ , ~~he defined virtual communities~~ as ~~"social aggregations that emerge from~~ the ~~Internet when enough people carry on public discussions long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of personal relationships in cyberspace~~."		'''''Smart Mobs'' (2002)''' described how mobile communications would enable new forms of collective action, predicting phenomena including flash mobs and mobile-coordinated political protest. Written before smartphones, it identified the combination of mobility, always-on connection and reputation systems as the decisive one.

	~~His book "~~Smart ~~Mobs"~~ (~~2002~~) ~~described how mobile communications would enable new forms of collective action~~, ~~predicting phenomena like flash mobs and digital activism. At UC Berkeley's School of Information and Stanford University~~, ~~he mentored a generation of digital thinkers while developing new frameworks for understanding online~~ collaboration.		'''''Net Smart'' (2012)''' turned to literacy: attention, crap detection, participation, collaboration and network awareness as teachable skills rather than dispositions.

	Rheingold work has been ~~both~~ enthusiastic about technology's potential to connect people, while thoughtfully examining its drawbacks ~~and challenges~~. This ~~nuanced approach~~, ~~combined~~ with ~~his~~ accessible writing style, helped make complex ideas about digital culture comprehensible to general audiences.		===Approach===
			Rheingold's work has been enthusiastic about technology's potential to connect people while thoughtfully examining its drawbacks. This combination, with an accessible writing style, helped make complex ideas about digital culture comprehensible to general audiences. Throughout his career he has advocated using technology to enhance human connection and democratic participation rather than diminish them — a position he has held consistently enough that the shifts around him are easier to see against it.

	~~Throughout his career~~, he ~~has consistently advocated for using technology to enhance human connection~~ and ~~democratic participation rather than diminish them~~. ~~Rheingold was~~ an ~~early participant in The WELL~~, ~~one~~ of the ~~first online communities. The~~ WELL ~~was one of~~ the ~~places~~ where ~~he saw power of~~ digital ~~networks~~ to ~~create meaningful human connections.~~		===Relevance to Cyborg Anthropology===
			Rheingold is the most useful primary source on the period in which the assumptions of network culture were formed, because he was both a participant and its most careful reporter. ''The Virtual Community'' in particular is a first-hand ethnography of an online community written before the vocabulary for such a thing existed, and reading it alongside Fred Turner's ''[[From Counterculture to Cyberculture: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network, and the Rise of Digital Utopianism\|From Counterculture to Cyberculture]]'' — which places Rheingold and the WELL inside a longer history — is the fastest available education in where digital utopianism came from.

			===Further Reading===
			* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tools_for_Thought ''Tools for Thought''] (1985)
			* [https://direct.mit.edu/books/book/2147/ ''The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier''] (1993; MIT Press edition 2000)
			* ''Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution'' (2002)
			* ''Net Smart: How to Thrive Online'' (2012)

			===Related Reading===
			* [[From Counterculture to Cyberculture: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network, and the Rise of Digital Utopianism]]
			* [[The WELL]]
			* [[Ward Cunningham]]
			* [[Sherry Turkle]]
			* [[Mobile technologies]]

	~~==Further Reading==~~
	* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tools_for_Thought Tools for Thought] (Book)
	* [https://direct.mit.edu/books/book/2147/The-Virtual-CommunityHomesteading-on-the The Virtual Community] (Book)
	[[Category:People]]		[[Category:People]]
			[[Category:Cyberspace]]
			[[Category:Information Society]]
			[[Category:Computing History]]

Caseorganic: Created the page!

2025-02-17T23:15:09Z

Created the page!

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:15, 17 February 2025
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	{{stub}}		{{stub}}

			==Biography==
			Howard Rheingold is a pioneering technology writer, critic, and educator wrote about digital culture and online social interaction.

			Rheingold was born in 1947 and graduated from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, in 1968. He spent some time as an editor at the Whole Earth Review before serving as editor in chief of the Millennium Whole Earth Catalog.

			His 1985 book "Tools for Thought" provided one of the first accessible histories of computers and their potential for augmenting human intelligence.

			Rheingold recognized the social potential of computer networks before most others. In his 1993 book "The Virtual Community" , he defined virtual communities as "social aggregations that emerge from the Internet when enough people carry on public discussions long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of personal relationships in cyberspace."

			His book "Smart Mobs" (2002) described how mobile communications would enable new forms of collective action, predicting phenomena like flash mobs and digital activism. At UC Berkeley's School of Information and Stanford University, he mentored a generation of digital thinkers while developing new frameworks for understanding online collaboration.

			Rheingold work has been both enthusiastic about technology's potential to connect people, while thoughtfully examining its drawbacks and challenges. This nuanced approach, combined with his accessible writing style, helped make complex ideas about digital culture comprehensible to general audiences.

			Throughout his career, he has consistently advocated for using technology to enhance human connection and democratic participation rather than diminish them. Rheingold was an early participant in The WELL, one of the first online communities. The WELL was one of the places where he saw power of digital networks to create meaningful human connections.

			==Further Reading==
			* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tools_for_Thought Tools for Thought] (Book)
			* [https://direct.mit.edu/books/book/2147/The-Virtual-CommunityHomesteading-on-the The Virtual Community] (Book)
	[[Category:People]]		[[Category:People]]

Caseorganic at 05:25, 16 January 2011

2011-01-16T05:25:36Z

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	[[Category:People]]		[[Category:People]]

Caseorganic: Created page with 'Category:People'

2010-05-11T05:32:03Z

Created page with 'Category:People'

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[[Category:People]]

Howard Rheingold - Revision history

Caseorganic at 13:56, 25 August 2026

Caseorganic: Created the page!

Caseorganic at 05:25, 16 January 2011

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