Flash mob
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In modern usage, flash mob describes a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, do something unusual for a brief period of time, and then quickly disperse.
The term has also been applied to distributed flash mobs, which use similar means to coordinate multiple flash mobs in separate locations.
In 1800s Tasmania, the term "flash mob" was used to describe a subculture consisting of female prisoners, based on the term “flash language” for the jargon that these women used. The 1800s Australian term “flash mob” referred to a segment of society, not an event, and showed no other similarities to the modern term “flash mob” or the events it describes.
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[edit] Origins
The first flash mob was organized in Manhattan in May 2003, by Bill Wasik, senior editor of Harper's Magazine. The origins of the flash mobs were unknown until Wasik published an article about his creation in the March 2006 edition of Harper's. The first attempt was unsuccessful after the targeted retail store was tipped off about the plan for people to gather[1]. The first successful flash mob assembled in June 3, 2003 at Macy's department store. Wasik avoided such problems during the second flash mob by sending participants to preliminary staging areas—in four prearranged Manhattan bars—where they received further instructions about the ultimate event and location just before the event began.[2]
More than one hundred people converged upon the ninth floor rug department of Macy's department store, gathering around one particular very expensive rug. Anyone approached by a sales assistant was advised to say that the gatherers lived together in a warehouse on the outskirts of New York, that they were shopping for a Love Rug, and that they made all their purchase decisions as a group. Following this flash mob, about 200 people flooded the lobby and mezzanine of the Hyatt hotel in synchronized applause for about fifteen seconds, and next a shoe boutique in SoHo was invaded by participants pretending to be tourists on a bus trip.
In the article Wasik claimed that he created flash mobs as a social experiment designed to poke fun at hipsters, and highlight the cultural atmosphere of conformity and of wanting to be an insider or part of "the next big thing."
In 1973, the story Flash Crowd by Larry Niven described a concept vaguely similar to flash mobs. It described how, with the invention of popular teleportation, an argument at a shopping mall, which happened to be covered by a news crew, swells into a riot. The broadcast coverage attracted the attention of other people, who use the widely available technology of the teleportation booth to swarm first that event — thus intensifying the riot — and then other events as they happened. In actuality, flash crowds are used to start up and heighten riots. When a riot begins and is televised, others join in, resulting in the participation of millions of people. Commenting on the social impact of such mobs, one character in Niven's story, articulating the police view, says, "We call them flash crowds, and we watch for them." The first recorded use of the now more familiar term "flash mob", was in 2003, and featured in a blog entry posted in the aftermath of Wasik's event[3][4].
The 1998 novel Distraction by Bruce Sterling also features a riot by a flash mob in its opening pages, although the term is not used, and the flash mob riot is only a very peripheral element of the plot.
[edit] Usage and effects
Flash mobs started as pointless stunts, but the concept has already developed for the benefit of political and social agendas. Flash mobbing utilises the efficiency of communicating information on websites and by email, and protesters can similarly use the "on and off" concept to swarm political events.
[edit] Other notable flash mobs
[edit] China
Flash mob activity occurred in the capital Beijing and the government seems to tolerate it when there is no clear breach of the law involved. A typical media report can be found here
In April 2004 thousands of Chinese people took to Shanghai's streets, motivated by mass SMS. Nationalistically-themed messages including "Show your patriotism! Support China!! Protest against the lies of Japan!" were sent. Many emphasised peaceful behaviour. Police ensured that the protest, one of very few officially sanctioned in China in recent years, was orderly and arranged for bus transport to disperse protestors after a few Japanese cars and the windows at the Japanese embassy were attacked. The protests involved Japanese refusal to acknowledge alleged wrongs done to China by Japan during WWII.
[edit] Romania
In December 2004, in Bucharest, Romania, on national television, approximately 70 people stuck duct tape on their mouths and imitated a jogging session. It was a flash mob that many referred to as "Shut Your Mouth And Play Those Ankles," a name referring to the Romanian expression "Do as you are told, do not comment." The statement criticized limits to freedom of speech placed upon journalists on Televiziunea Română, the Romanian National Television. In conjunction with other events, this flash mob prompted changes in the board of the National Television.
[edit] United Kingdom
On 30 November 2006 at 7.18pm, flashmobbers gathered at Paddington station to create what The Evening Standard called the biggest flash mob ever.[5] According to The Evening Standard, the event attracted more than 3,500 people.
[edit] See also
- Critical Mass
- Direct action
- Flash crowd
- Flash mob computing
- Guerrilla gig, live music gathering
- Improv Everywhere, a New York City-based group
- Pillow fight flash mob
- Slashdot effect
- Smart mob
- Stand Alone Complex
- Subway party
- World Jump Day
- World Naked Bike Ride
- Zombie Walk
[edit] External links
- Flash Mob Website - A Flash Mob Bulletin Board
- Aglomerări Spontane — A short flash mob set of rules in Romanian and English.
- Flash Mob .co.uk — The Main UK website that links Flash Mobber's and other Flash Mob sites.
- 'My Name is Bill': A Q&A with the anonymous founder of flash mobs — Extensive, 5000-word interview by journalist Alec Hanley Bemis with the semi-anonymous founder of flash mobs.
- Flashmob Documentary An audio podcast on Flash Mobs
- SydMob - Sydney flashmobbers site
- Simferopol FMob - Simferopol FlashMob (Crimea, Ukraine)
- Flash Mob - Etymological information about the term, from wordspy.com
- Flash Mob Italia - Most visited Italian Flash Mob web site
[edit] References
- ^ Goldstein, Lauren. "The Mob Rules", TIME, TIME, 2003-08-10. Retrieved on March 14, 2007.
- ^ Wasik, Bill (March 2006). "My Crowd, or, Phase 5: A report from the inventor of the flash mob". Harper's Magazine: 56-66. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
- ^ Savage, Sean (2003-06-16). Flash Mobs Take Manhattan. cheesebikini. Retrieved on March 14, 2007.
- ^ flash mob. Word Spy (2003-07-14). Retrieved on March 14, 2006.
- ^ [1]
