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Starting in the United States in the summer of 2003 and then spreading around the world, flash mobbing is when a crowd converges at a specific time and place, usually organised through the Internet, to participate in apparent random acts and then dissipate once complete.
Recently
On Monday 13 October 2003, a flash mob took place at the site of the David Blaine stunt beneath the Tower Bridge in London. This was the start of the final week of magician Blaine's stunt, which sees him encased in a Perspex box for 44 days without any food, and hundreds of participants met at the South Bank by the Tower Bridge at 19:44.
For one minute, the "flash mobbers" set off their mobile phone ringtones at the loudest setting, and then for the next minute the group stopped their ringtones and chanted "what goes up, must come down". The flash mobbers then created a cacophony of laughter while holding an item of food in the air, and then separated to bring the area back to its usual calm.
In August 2003, a flash mob gathered at an Oxfam charity shop in Birmingham. The group stripped off their clothes and waved them above their heads while singing Give it Away by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and donated their clothes to the store. This event was described as being "the world's first altruistic mob".
Earlier in the same month, a flash mob event took place at the London Eye In London, where an estimated one hundred people gathered and waved bananas clockwise in the air in order to celebrate the Millennium Wheel. These two events followed the first flash mob in England, which occurred at a Central London store and involved about 500 people speaking without use of the letter "O".
Origins
The firstever flash mob was organised in Manhattan in May 2003, by an underground group called the "Mob Project". The first attempt was unsuccessful after the targeted retail store was tipped off about the plan for about fifty people to gather. The first successful flash mob assembled in June 2003 at Macy's department store. Organisers avoided such problems during the second flash mob by sending participants to preliminary staging areas – in four pre-arranged Manhattan bars – where they were given further instructions about the ultimate event and location just before the event began.
Over 100 people converged upon the 9th 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 mod, about 200 people flooded the lobby/mezzanine of the Hyatt hotel in synchronised applause for about 15 seconds, and next a shoe boutique in Soho was invaded with participants pretending to be tourists on a bus trip.
For partial origin of the name, see also: Flash crowd, Smart mob
Around the world
Flash mob events quickly spread to Asia, and by August 2003 to Europe, Latin America and Australia. The first flash mob in India took place on 04 October 2003 outside a shopping centre. A group of 70 people gathered, talking loudly about stock prices and then dancing for a few minutes. More flash mob events were planned for Mumbai, but the police there introduced strict security restrictions in response to bomb blasts that occured around the time. Police permission would have needed to be sought before a gathering of more than five people could take place.
Usage and effects
Flash mobs started as pointless stunts, but the concept has already developed for the benefit of political and social agendas. For example, a group of gay and lesbian people in Detroit targeted a "straight restaurant" in reaction to reported homophobia there. Flash mobbing utilises the efficiency of communicating information on websites and by email, and protestors can use the "on and off" concept to swarm political events just like that restaurant.
A social phenomenon, flash mob gatherings are so well orchestrated by use of the Internet that the predetermined act will shock people. The creator of flash mobbing, known only as Bill, summarises the concept: "a mob, for no reason." The activity sounds amusing and surreal, but it also sounds like it could frighten people who are not aware of what is taking place. For example, members of the public may perceive danger and think that a terrorist act is occurring.
Other forms of flash mob activity
Flash mob computing is a temporary supercomputer made when a large group of people get together and tie computers together for a single purpose or event.
See also: Direct action, Critical Mass
References
External links
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