Begin forwarded message:
From: Kimi Wei <kim@thewei.com>
Date: March 12, 2009 10:12:02 AM EDT
To: Dave Farber <dave@farber.net>
Subject: The "Social Nervous System"
http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/09/internet-innovations-hive-technology-breakthroughs-innovations.html?feed=rss_technology
The Rise Of The Social Nervous System
... the Internet is, at bottom, a communications network, and communication is the foundation of society, business and government. When you scale up communications, you change the world. ...
Emergency Response
The Mumbai attacks showcased the use of Twitter as a real-time, peer-to-peer information service. Throughout the event, people twittered the movement of the attackers. The police were on the service admonishing people not to disclose their own movements. Though there was criticism of whether or not the details were accurate (the BBC was criticized for integrating Twitter into its reporting), the larger point is that this real-time communication system influenced the physical behavior on the ground in Mumbai. This is a key point about the social nervous system: It coordinates (and sometimes directs) physical activity in the world.
The Mumbai attacks showcased the use of Twitter as a real-time, peer-to-peer information service. Throughout the event, people twittered the movement of the attackers. The police were on the service admonishing people not to disclose their own movements. Though there was criticism of whether or not the details were accurate (the BBC was criticized for integrating Twitter into its reporting), the larger point is that this real-time communication system influenced the physical behavior on the ground in Mumbai. This is a key point about the social nervous system: It coordinates (and sometimes directs) physical activity in the world.
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