Summary of Whiplash

Joi Ito and Jeff Howe

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Rating

8 Overall

9 Applicability

7 Innovation

8 Style

Recommendation

For a sweeping consideration of how digital technologies are changing the entire world, this report is surprisingly personal. MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito and Wired contributing editor Jeff Howe weave in examples from history, the headlines and their families. While some of this material is familiar – many digital age experts discuss crowdsourcing, blurred disciplinary boundaries, and so on – much of it is new and future-oriented. The resulting synthesis is rich and useful. Ito and Howe offer a valuable set of nine principles and related advice for organizations dealing with Digital Age connectivity and technological growth. getAbstract recommends their overview of ever-changing change as an open door for anyone trying to understand the ramifications of the Digital Age – today and tomorrow.

In this summary, you will learn

How technological progress changes the world,
What nine new principles govern today’s digital world with an eye toward the future and
How to apply these principles in your organization.

About the Authors

Joi Ito is director of the MIT Media Lab. Jeff Howe coordinates Northeastern University’s Media Innovation program and is a contributing editor at Wired.

Summary

The Changed World

In December 1895, the Lumière brothers unveiled their invention – the moving picture. Their film clip was less than a minute long, but its novelty thrilled the viewing public. One observer wrote, “Each scene passes accompanied by tempestuous applause.” Though the Lumières’ discovery was revolutionary, they misunderstood its nature. In 1900, they announced that cinema had no future.