How to Create a Smart Mob: Understanding a Social Network Capital

This paper explores the creation of smart mobs and their ability to gain knowledge, social capital, and expand individual authority through participation. The evolution of smart mobs through computer-mediated communications has extended and expanded the traditional realm of individual influence and authority. In the decade since Rheingold identified smart mobs, this type of behavior has continued to grow and expand, influencing social, political and economic domains. But what makes or breaks a smart mob? Researchers in the last decade have tried unsuccessfully to identify their key components. This paper offers a “recipe” for creating smart mobs, by discovering the must-have characteristics that are necessary for their success: Desire for Communication; Affordable Communication Devices; Opportunities for Instantaneous Communication; Shared Goal; and Small Time Frame. In conclusion we propose that the future of effective smart mobs can be based on a template that has been successfully implemented since 2008, and that as individuals gain authority through the vehicle of smart mobs, governments will have to re-define their role in response to the collective action facilitated by smart mobs.