Recently a number of techniques have been developed that stimulate people to act towards specificobjectives. These include persuasive technologies, gamification, user experiences, and various methods andtools used in open-source and other communities to encourage and organize participation. After surveyingvarious examples of such applications, we generalize these approaches by proposing a new theoreticalframework. The basic concept is a mobilization system, defined as an ICT environment that motivates andcoordinates the actions of people, so as to increase their focus and commitment, while minimizing distraction,hesitation and procrastination. We then analyze the fundamental mechanisms of (individual) motivation and(collective) coordination, starting from Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of flow and the mechanism of stigmergy.The basic requirements are clear goals in line with real needs, immediate and rich feedback, challenges inbalance with the user’s skill levels, and a shared workspace in which all tasks and results are registered forevery contributor to see. We conclude our review of mobilization systems by pointing out their potentialdangers, such as addiction and political or commercial exploitation, as well as their potential benefits, indomains such as work, health, education and research