“In Existence I portray — among many aspects of our world 30 years from now — the fluid and skilled use of Smart Mobs, or ad hoc groups of amateur citizens who use rapid access to vast information troves, plus sophisticated analytics tools, to attack and deal with real-time problems more quickly and effectively than even the pros in government or industry. Such effective use of flat, “networked” systems is in (at best) early days.”

— David Brin

Smart mobs are related to the concept of rings and were something I was writing about 15 years ago; small, tightly-knit groups who focus their effort and expertise on mutual development and solving problems in ways that are novel and powerful.