Flash+Mob+Research

[|When the mob is the message..] This article begins by referring to a specific flash mob in Sydney, Australia. During this flash mob (in which it sounds that about 2,000 people were involved), everyone just froze, no matter what they were in the middle of doing. This flash mob was purely for fun, it had no cause or reason for being done. The reason why McCabe wrote about this is because she is curious as to why, if social media gives us the opportunity to get 2,000 people together, aren't the flash mobs doing what they do for a cause? Why just freeze and stay perfectly still for three minutes? Why don't the participants do flash mobs that will promote things like (the examples she gave) trying to cure cancer, or saving whales, or other ideals the participants may share? McCapre proposes the question, "if 2,000 people out of 42,000 people invited could turn up to do nothing at 12:40 pm on a Tuesday, what if you used this power to muster hundreds of thousands for greater goods?"(McCabe) This article is very intriguing in that it pointed out how flash mobs are becoming so popular, and although the participants may have fun doing these random acts, that they could be used for so much better things. For anyone that is researching flash mobs and how they are or are not related to promoting a cause, this would be a great eye-opening article to give someone some starting ideas and questions for their research on the flash mobs and their causes.

Works Cited McCabe, Kathy. "When the mob is the message." The Daily Telegraph 26 June 2008, 4-City, Features:33.

-Monica Carroll  http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s913314.htm

Flash mobs: a new social phenomenon by Giles Hewitt talks about flash mobs sweeping threw United States even making its way around the world. Hewitt talks about how flash mobs started, are organized and the controversy behind it. Flash mobs started by a “shadowy figure known only as Bill, he started by emailing about 50 friends to gather at a retail store in downtown Manhattan” unfortunately the store was tipped off so the flash mob didnt end up going on. The controversy that is being talked about in this article is, could flash mobs end up causing riots? One person was quoted in the article saying that, “It seems to me that while this is all fun, harmless and interesting for now, that it is just a matter of time before a fight breaks out and the mob becomes a riot." The figure behind the flash mobs, Bill, said that “he intends to wind up the project before it gets out of hand”. Hewitt goes on saying the flash mobs have already taken on a life of its own, people around the United Stats are already organizing their own “mobs”.

I found this whole article interesting and really informational. It gave me an insight on how flash mobs started, and the craze behind it. I would like to know more about how to get into a “mob”.

--Lauren Keifer

Danny Cruz [|flash mob info] This site gave general background information about flash mobs. It starts off by first stating that flash mobs consist of a large group of peopl who assemlbe suddenly in public space, perform an unsual action for a brief time, then quickly dispers. The term flash mob is generally applied only to getherings organized via social media or viral emails, rather than those performed by public relations or a publicity stunt. The page goes on talking about the origins of flash mobs and the first flash mobs ever attempted. It also states that flash mobs was a type of performing arts used to make political statements. The page also has comments on 'flash crowds' which was done back in the 1970s, which are very simliar to today's flash mobs. It also has links to various well known flash mobs. What i found interesting about this site was that it also had a discussion board where people could post blogs about flash mobs, which might come in handy, though no blogs have yet been posted. At first, flash mobs did rasie a few questions. I did wonder how flash mobs were organized, how the people were notified, and who took charge as to giving instructions on what to do. How do people also go forward on planning a flash mob? One of the things i really found interesting was that flash mobs were once used to make a political statement. Its a peaceful protest that gets more people involved because its fun and exciting. Nothing is really confusing about the article, but just the whole organizing the event might seem confusing. Flash mobs seem pretty simple and straight forward. But in fact, there has to be tons of planning behind the event. This site may be helpful to people tyring to find facts and backgrond information on flash mobs. It contains previous "flash crowds" and their importance. It contains tons of information about flash mobs as of their origin but it also has a blog page.

The article I read was called “Feel the power of mass engagement” by Chantelle Thorley. In this article, the author discusses how flash mobs are being used as marketing tools. She uses several examples of companies such as T-Mobile that are coordinating flash mobs in public places around the world as a marketing campaign. Not only does it make the people who witness it firsthand encounter the brand face-to-face, but they have people film the events and they use the footage in commercials and post them on the internet so the whole world sees what they are doing. The only questions this article might raise for me is why would people want to buy a product just because the brand held an event in a public place, and how could the people who are witnessing it first hand know that it is sponsored by a company when they are not wearing any logos or anything on their clothing. I find the whole concept of using flash mobs as marketing tools interesting. I think it is a very smart and effective way to get publicity. -Jake Tubbs []

[|KrissySmith] [] This site defines and explores the background of flash mobs. The definition this site gives is: “a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then quickly disperse.” Flash mobs began as a form of performance art that started as an apolitical act which may share some superficial similarities to political demonstrations (rallies or protests). The very first flash mob was put together by Bill Wasik, (he was the senior editor of Harper’s Magazine), in Manhattan in May, 2003. Wasik came up with the idea as a social experiment to poke fun at the teenagers and to “highlight the cultural atmosphere of conformity and people wanting to be a part of "the next big thing".” The first attempt was a flop because the retail store that was to be flash mobbed was tipped off about it, but the second attempt, which occurred on June 3, 2003 in a Macy’s department store, was a success. This article then goes on and discusses some literary precedents, which include a book called “Flash Crowd” written by Larry Niven that describes an event very similar to flash mobs. This article also notes two very memorable flash mobs in history so far, Worldwide Pillow Fight Day, and the Silent Disco. Which look something like this: [] (pillow fight!) [] (disco) I find the whole idea of flash mobs very interesting. In fact, I would love to be a part of one! This article is really useful because it has the background information about flash mobs, which I think is important when you’re doing research about something. The only thing I found to be a little confusing was the first flash mob. The way the article explains it confused me but I don’t know it could just be me, haha. Other than that it’s all pretty straight forward and easy to understand. I would like to know more about how flash mobs are put together exactly. I understand that it’s through text, email, etc. but the article never really touches upon that.

[|Flash Mob Craze]

“Flash Mob Craze Spreads” is an article written by Sandra Shmueli about the new and intriguing fad known as flash mobs. A flash mob is a well structured and spontaneous act that is organized through sources of interaction such as the internet, cell phones, online chats and more. The group of strangers gather together in a specific place, perform a random act, and disperse at a planned time. To most these acts are simply known as, “A harmless way to experiment with a new form of technology-enabled collective action,” but others think flash mobs could eventually cause great tradegy because as Rheingold says, “ all mobs have the potential for disaster.” The first known flash mob was performed in downtown Manhattan and organized by the first mobster master mind known as Bill. Bill may have been the first daring person to successfully create a flash mob but now the flourishing acts of flash mobs have spread across the United States to Europe, Singapore and even Australia. While flash mobs are popping up more and more all around the world most think that flash mobs will soon disappear. Many believe flash mobs are just a fad or as Sandra Shmueli says, “So the phenomenon may soon die out just as fast as it was born – in a flash.”  =- Carissa Kellogg 9/11/09 =

From Kim Jaxon: Wikipedia link about Smart Mobs and Flash Mobs: [|Wikipedia Smart Mobs]

From Kim Jaxon: Howard Rheingold wrote a book called //Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution.// Here's a quote and definition of "smart mobs" from an interview Rheingold did with Denis Failly:

**//Howard Rheingold//** **-** "Small and large groups of people use mobile communications and the Internet to organize collective action in new ways, with people they weren't able to organize activity with before, on scales, in places, and at paces that were not possible before. This is happening politically -- the demonstrations that brought down the President of the Philippines and tipped elections in Korea and Spain were self-organized via SMS. It is happening economically (eBay, Google Adsense for bloggers, Amazon shops are examples). It is happening socially with blogs, wikis, myspace, mobile social software." (http://nextmodernitylibrary.blogspirit.com/archive/2006/01/10/les-foules-intelligentes.html)

From Kim Jaxon: Improv Everywhere is a group whose goal is to create public scenes: [|Improv Everywhere]

From Kim Jaxon: This is a link to Rheingold's website, which is based on his book: [|Smart Mobs website]

Learn the lingo: F is for flash mobs, mobilizing your mob

The article explains in detail that a flash mob is "a spontaneous public performance by a group, or mob". It states that a flash mob is anything random that would be organized by a group of people on networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, or Craigslist. Then, once the flash mob has completed their online organized event they would post videos and photos on websites like You Tube or Flickr. The article talks about how flash mobs have been altered by non-profits from a form of artistic event to something that is used to promote social awareness to average people who might not be aware of the issues. To perform an action like this a decade ago would be tough, but internet has given people a way to organize within a small amount a time with very little effort. I think the potential of flash mobs are great, but I think in order for it to reach its full potential the people need to become aware of how they a formed. I think that flash mobs are a great tool for activists to spread the word of what others might not know about. I believe activism can be greatly influenced if more flash mobs were formed, the masses would be affected on a larger scale and become more aware of the issues that are seen by some, but not all. If flash mobs were formed to educate rather than just be used for entertainment, it could give people with similar ideals a sense of solidarity and belonging. Instead of a few zealous people trying to inform the public the people can come together in a flash mob and give the people a voice instead of just being influenced by television programming from a not so diverse group of people just trying to get paid. Flash mobs have great potential, but only if we utilize the multiple possibilities whether it's anything from a social event to promoting the betterment of society as a whole.

-Taylor Marshall 9/11/2009

From Lena Cottam:

In the article [|Flash Mob Rule], the potential for 'flash mobs', or a group of random perhaps unaqcuainted strangers who come together to perform an act in public organized by e-mail, online networks or mobilized texting, to become more and more political is stressed. The author describes the spontanouity and harmless aspects of the beginnings of famous flash mobs, such as the "World Wide Pillow Day" performed in cities around the world in 2006, or the "Silent Disco" enacted in several underground London stations. Then, he glides into the growing political movement of flash mobs, i.e., the "Gallivan" flash mob. Around 100 people played dead in a city plaza with a sign reading "Climate Change Kills" raised behind the spectacle primarily to attract attention from younger people attending the 'Twilight Concert Series Show'. The mob was organized online by an activist group in order to raise awareness on the state of the earth. The article then details the growing power of this phenomenon: organizing acts in a political light to sway the opinions of viewers a certain way online can unite numerous people who never would have had the ability before. In the more detailed and technical article [|Political Texting: SMS and Elections], while mostly involving mobile phones in the power of flash mobs, also delves into the ability to organize collective action in new, cunning ways may be a fundamental change in society and civilization itself made possible by phones, e-mail and internet. The protests in the Phillippines organized primarily by SMS is used as an example for the growing ability of people to connect and make waves in politics through technology. On another note not spoken of: the recent election of Pres. Obama was very technologically involved. I myself am Barack's friend on Facebook, and he is consistently updating and speaking on subjects of all sorts in order to connect better with varied ages and enthicities of people via the internet. The overwhelming power of the connectivity and globalization made possible by the internet is just beginning to make itself known.

_Dalton Stokes_

http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/electronic-publications/stay-free/archives/24/flash-mobs-history.html 

This article is about the creation of the flash mob phenomenon through an interview with the real founder. The anonymous man by the name of “Bill” speaks about how he started the flash mob craze by use of email. He made up the email themobproject@yahoo.com and forwarded himself, along with many others, the idea of a mass get-together. A flash mob is essentially a group of people who anonymously get together at a specific location with prior instructions, perform a scene, and leave peacefully within 10 minutes. Though the first organized mob was broken up by the police, Mob #2 was a success. This simple idea turned out to be more than just people trying to create a funny scene in public, it was a form of expression. “The idea was that the people themselves would become the show, and that just by responding to this random email, they would in a sense, create something” Bill said. It had originally started out exclusively as a “New York thing” but soon grew nation wide as videos came out all over the web. Then Bill was getting emails from mob organizers in L.A. and Chicago wanting to recreate his idea. Once videos of mobs in major US cities popped up on Youtube.com, it became a global craze. Flash mobs were showing up everywhere from Canada to Sweeden- all due to the use of the internet and modern day communication techniques. Not only does this show individual expression but it also exercises citizens' right to peacefully assemble. Perhaps these mobs caught on so fast because of the lack of interest in everyday life. It’s not everyday that 200 people perform a dance in Time Square, but whatever the reason Bill said it best, “things spread for reasons that are unknown to all of us.” I find this whole chain of events quite fascinating because it shows what potential the internet has for interaction in the future. I find it a little confusing how audio speakers are set up in very public places for these dances and routines without anyone being suspicious - either way it is still brilliant. This phenomenon is useful for our research of the internet because it showcases exactly how people interact these days and how we will interact or assemble in the future. - Jake Tubbs []

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5Nl09rh2HQ

The video i just watched was a flash mob tribute to the late Michael Jackson. The flash mob was dancing to one of his hits, Beat it. The flash mob is trying to keep Michael Jackson alive through his music and let the world know that his music still has an impact even though he has passed. The flash mob met up in different locations with a group of about two hundred people schrcronizing in past choreographed Michael Jackson dances.  The questions that i have is how many hours and how much time did the people who were in the video have to take out to learn these dance moves. I find it extremely interesting that the people just show up at certain spots and times and start dancing together as a group.

-Lauren Keifer

This article is an interview for Stay Free! Magazine and it is with Bill Wasik, who was the very first person to start a flash mob. In the nterview he talks about how he got the idea for a flash mob and how he got the first one going. He did it by creating an email address and writing the email to start it and forwarded it to himself, and then he forwarded it to his friends in hopes that it wouldn’t look like Bill started it. He hoped that they would forward this message to all of their friends and the mob would grow. He talks about how the first mob was unsuccessful and how he learned from it to make the second one better. He describes what flash mobs were when he first started them and what they are now and how they have changed to commercial advertisements.  Leah Arreguin In “Flash mobs hit LA, but will they stay long?” an article from the Los Angeles Times, written by Mark Herman the idea of whether flash mobs will end is questioned. The introduction starts by illustrating the performance of a flash mob that took place in West Hollywood, conducted by Christian Meoli. It follows by explaining how it is people participate in flash mobs. From there it gives two more examples that have taken place and have had great success in other parts of the US. Then, Herman includes an interesting point of view that was posted on flashmob.com about using flash mobs for politics. This specific blogger posted “Flash mobs are fun, and they should stay that way, attempts to yoke the flash mob model to political activism will fail"(2). Herman later sets an example of a failed flash mob attempt in the Beverly Center in LA and gives various explanations of why this could have happened. In the end he concludes that in time the mob will have to evolve or simply end. Herman, Mark. “Flash mob hit LA, but will they stay long?” __Los Angeles Times__ September 05, 2009. []