Prof. Rheingold,

I'm interested in hearing whether you think disruptive networks/events help to increase the possibility of social change by their nature. You've said that it's about "literacy" rather than technology, but even once that literacy is achieved, does the message have to be of a particular type, or is the medium (as it were) enough?

It strikes me that a lot of disruptive events -- flash mobs, electronic civil disobedience, temporary autonomous zones, etc. -- are a kind of prefigurative approach (challenging hegemony by creating an alternative form of existence) rooted in direct democracy. But I'm not sure if that's just because the left (or radicals, or populists) are the ones who mostly adopt these tactics, or if it's inherent to their nature. Could a flash mob be regressive and authoritarian? (Or is that just a riot squad?)