Editing Howard Rheingold

{{short description|American critic, writer, and teacher (born 1947)}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Howard Rheingold
| image       = Howard Rheingold by Christopher Michel 02.jpg
| imagesize   = 
| caption     = Rheingold in 2016
| birth_date  = {{birth date and age|1947|07|07}}
| birth_place = [[Phoenix, Arizona]], US
| alma_mater  = [[Reed College]]
| occupation  = {{hlist | Critic | writer | teacher}}
| spouse      = Judy
| website     = {{official URL}}
}}
'''Howard Rheingold''' (born 1947) is an American critic, writer, and teacher, known for his specialties on the cultural, social and political implications of modern communication [[media studies|media]] such as the [[Internet]], [[mobile telephony]] and [[virtual community|virtual communities]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Silver |first=David |date=2022-07-13 |title=Howard Rheingold |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Howard-Rheingold |access-date=2023-04-28 |publisher=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rheingold |first=Howard Lee |last2=Augustyn |first2=Adam |last3=Curley |first3=Robert |last4=Gregersen |first4=Erik |last5=Hosch |first5=William L. |last6=Lotha |first6=Gloria |last7=Pallardy |first7=Richard |date=2023-03-01 |title=Virtual community |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/virtual-community |access-date=2023-04-28 |publisher=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |language=en}}</ref>

==Biography==
Rheingold was born on July 7, 1947, in [[Phoenix, Arizona]]. He graduated from [[Reed College]] in [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], Oregon, in 1968.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reed.edu/reed_magazine/feb2002/features/what_it_is/what_it_is_index.html|title=Reed Magazine: What It Is, Is Up To Us (1/3)|website=www.reed.edu|access-date=2019-06-21}}</ref> His senior thesis was entitled ''What Life Can Compare with This? Sitting Alone at the Window, I Watch the Flowers Bloom, the Leaves Fall, the Seasons Come and Go''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wolf|first=Gary|title=What It Is, Is Up To Us|url=http://web.reed.edu/reed_magazine/feb2002/features/what_it_is/what_it_is_index.html|publisher=Reed College|access-date=2005-03-18|archive-date=2013-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012045056/http://web.reed.edu/reed_magazine/feb2002/features/what_it_is/what_it_is_index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A lifelong fascination with mind augmentation and its methods led Rheingold to the [[Institute of Noetic Sciences]] and [[Xerox PARC]]. There he worked on and wrote about the earliest personal computers. This led to his writing ''[[Tools for Thought]]'' in 1985, a history of the people behind the personal computer. Around that time he first logged on to [[The WELL]] – an influential early online community. He explored the experience in his seminal book, ''[[The Virtual Community]]''.

Also in 1985, Rheingold coauthored ''[[Out of the Inner Circle|Out of the Inner Circle: A Hacker's Guide to Computer Security]]'' with former [[hacker (computer security)|hacker]] [[Bill Landreth]]. In 1991, he published ''Virtual Reality: Exploring the Brave New Technologies of Artificial Experience and Interactive Worlds from Cyberspace to [[Teledildonics]]''.

After a stint editing the ''[[Whole Earth Review]]'', Rheingold served as editor in chief of the ''Millennium [[Whole Earth Catalog]]''. Shortly thereafter, he was hired on as founding executive editor of ''[[HotWired]]'', one of the first commercial content web sites published in 1994 by ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' magazine. Rheingold left ''HotWired'' and soon founded Electric Minds in 1996 to chronicle and promote the growth of community online. Despite accolades, the site was sold and scaled back in 1997.

In 1998, he created his next virtual community, Brainstorms, which, as of 2024, is a successful private webconferencing community for knowledgeable, intellectual, civil, and future-thinking adults from all over the world.  
[[File:Howard Rheingold by Christopher Michel 01.jpg|thumb|right|Rheingold in Mill Valley]]
In 2002, Rheingold published ''[[Smart Mobs]]'', exploring the potential for technology to augment [[collective intelligence]]. Shortly thereafter, in conjunction with the [[Institute for the Future]], Rheingold launched an effort to develop a broad-based literacy of cooperation.

In 2008, Rheingold became the first research fellow at the Institute for the Future, with which he had long been affiliated.<ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.iftf.org/node/2285
 |title       = Howard Rheingold is First IFTF Research Fellow
 |publisher   = www.iftf.org
 |access-date  = 2009-08-11
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20081202062739/http://www.iftf.org/node/2285
 |archive-date = 2008-12-02
}}</ref>

Rheingold is a visiting lecturer in [[Stanford University]]'s Department of Communication where he has taught courses such as "Digital Journalism", "Virtual Communities and Social Media", and "Social Media Literacies".<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://explorecourses.stanford.edu/instructor/howardr
|title=Faculty: Howard Rheingold
|publisher=explorecourses.stanford.edu
|access-date=2019-09-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.stanford.edu/dept/registrar/bulletin/62083.htm
 |title       = Graduate courses in Communications
 |publisher   = www.stanford.edu
 |access-date  = 2009-08-11
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080916035837/http://www.stanford.edu/dept/registrar/bulletin/62083.htm
 |archive-date = 2008-09-16
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url         = https://explorecourses.stanford.edu/search?view=academicYear&page=0&academicYear=20142015&q=Rheingold
 |title       = Stanford University Explore Courses: Rheingold
 |publisher   = explorecourses.stanford.edu
 |access-date  = 2019-09-10
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20190910040400/https://explorecourses.stanford.edu/search?view=academicYear&page=0&academicYear=20142015&q=Rheingold
 |archive-date = 2019-09-10
}}</ref> He is a former lecturer in [[UC Berkeley]]'s School of Information where he taught "Virtual Communities and Social Media" and "Participatory Media/Collective Action".<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/howardrheingold
|title=Howard Rheingold – School of Information
|publisher=www.ischool.berkeley.edu
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909095848/http://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/howardrheingold
|archive-date=2016-09-09
|access-date=2009-08-11}}</ref> He has been a frequent contributor to the Connected Learning Alliance blog on topics ranging from new media literacy to learning innovation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Howard Rheingold – Connected Learning Alliance |url=https://clalliance.org/person/howard-rheingold/ |website=clalliance.org |access-date=2019-09-10}}</ref>

Rheingold lives in [[Mill Valley, California]], with his wife Judy and daughter Mamie. In an entry on his video blog, he provides a tour of the converted garage that became a "dream office" and an "externalization of [his] mind" where Rheingold absorbs information, writes, and creates art.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://vlog.rheingold.com/index.php/site/video/howards-dream-office/
|title=Howard Rheingold's Vlog
|publisher=vlog.rheingold.com
|access-date=2009-08-11
|archive-date=2019-06-09
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190609042245/http://vlog.rheingold.com/index.php/site/video/howards-dream-office/
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>

He contributed the essay "Participative Pedagogy for a Literacy of Literacies" to the [[Freesouls]] book project.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rheingold |first=Howard |url=https://freesouls.cc/essays/03-howard-rheingold-participative-pedagogy-for-a-literacy-of-literacies.html |title=Participative Pedagogy for a Literacy of Literacies |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903215940/https://freesouls.cc/essays/03-howard-rheingold-participative-pedagogy-for-a-literacy-of-literacies.html |archive-date=2018-09-03 |access-date=2019-09-10}}</ref>

==Selected bibliography==
{{lacking ISBN|section}}
*''Talking Tech: A conversational Guide to Science and Technology'', with Howard Levine (1982)
*''Higher Creativity: Liberating the Unconscious for Breakthrough Insight'', with [[Willis Harman]] (1984)
*''[[Tools for Thought|Tools for Thought: The History and Future of Mind-Expanding Technology]]'' ([http://www.rheingold.com/texts/tft/ free in HTML form]) (1985)
*''[[Out of the Inner Circle]]'', with [[Bill Landreth]] (1985)
*''They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases'' (1988)
*''The Cognitive Connection: Thought and Language in Man and Machine'', with Howard Levine (1987)
*''Excursions to the Far Side of the Mind'' (1988)
*''Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming'', with [[Stephen LaBerge]] (1990)
*''Virtual Reality'' (1991)
*''[[The Virtual Community|The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier]]'', ([http://www.rheingold.com/vc/book/intro.html free in HTML form]) (1993) {{ISBN|0-201-60870-7}}
*''Millennium [[Whole Earth Catalog]]: Access to Tools and Ideas for the Twenty-First Century'' (1995)
*''The Heart of the [[WELL (virtual community)|WELL]]'' (1998)
*''The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier'' (2000 reprint with some new material) {{ISBN|0-262-68121-8}}
*''[[Smart Mobs|Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution]]'' (2002)
*''Net Smart: How to Thrive Online'' (2012) {{ISBN|0-262-01745-8}}
*''Mind Amplifier: Can Our Digital Tools Make Us Smarter?'' (2012)

==See also==
* [[Information society]]
* [[Peter Kollock]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
*{{Official website}}
*[https://www.patreon.com/howardrheingold Howard Rheingold's Patreon page] hosting links, videos, paintings, and magical objects of paint & light
*[https://twitter.com/hrheingold  Howard Rheingold's Twitter feed]
*[http://www.smartmobs.com/ Smart Mobs weblog/book site]
*[http://www.ted.com/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html Talk on collaboration] at [[TED (conference)|TED conference]]
*[http://web.reed.edu/reed_magazine/feb2002/features/what_it_is/what_it_is_index.html Reed College Alumni Magazine Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012045056/http://web.reed.edu/reed_magazine/feb2002/features/what_it_is/what_it_is_index.html |date=2013-10-12 }}
*[https://archive.org/details/HowardRheingoldIFTFStanfordHumanitiesLab Howard Rheingold and Andrea Saveri Introduce the Cooperation Project] a 48MB QuickTime movie, hosted by the [[Internet Archive]]
*{{Triangulation|106|Howard Rheingold}}

{{Whole Earth}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rheingold, Howard}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:American online publication editors]]
[[Category:American technology writers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Writers from Phoenix, Arizona]]
[[Category:People from Mill Valley, California]]
[[Category:Reed College alumni]]
[[Category:Stanford University Department of Communication faculty]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley faculty]]
[[Category:Whole Earth Catalog]]
[[Category:Wired (magazine) people]]
[[Category:Xerox people]]