Comments

1 - Danny

Mon, Aug 4, 2003
@ 09:50

How do I get into one of these mobs?

2 - bill

Tue, Aug 5, 2003
@ 05:00

On Flash Mobs. I think there is a unique opportunity here to turn this innocent fun phenomenon into a powerful tool. I live in Tennesse so I can’t participate in a NY Flash mob. I can’t show up at a SOHO shoe shop and then leave. But I think there is a way to get the whole country involved and do some good.

Let’s say the majority of us don’t like the fact that the RIAA is suing 13 year olds for downloading music on the web. So we get the word out that we are going to do a consumer reverse “Flash Mob.” For example, no one in the entire U.S. should visit a Music store for the whole month of October 2003. I mean someone not in the “know” would walk into any given music shop and they would hear crickets. Sales would be so low that month they would not even register. We would let the RIAA know that we were not pleased with their actions and they had better change or we will do a 3 month deal next time. This is just an example of how we could collectively bring this country’s purchasing power to bear on company’s that are price gouging its consumers. There are obviously going to be some issues we all could not agree on, like say the war on Iraq. Someone might say next month don’t eat at McDonalds to protest the war.

Well that won’t work because half the people were for the war or supported it. So it would have to be an issue that affects us all and that the majority could agree on. Perhaps if there was a way to vote on the best issue presented, then the issue with the most votes would be the one we picked to do.

Don’t focus on the dumb examples I gave, think of the concept of true majority rule here. We all connect as a nation (any nation) via the web and help effect true change.

There needs to be a Flash Mob web site with message boards so everyone can come and check out what is the next issue that we are going to let the country know they had better fix.

Just my idea to use this mass movement of people coming together for a common good.

3 - gilwen

Tue, Aug 5, 2003
@ 12:11

In response to Bill - I agree that flash mobs (or the reverse) would be a valuable political tool, and could make a difference in our society. However, I also think that they are making more of a difference currently than they could if they were made political.

Today, flash mobs are a strange and random way for people to feel that they are part of something - they’re weird, they’re amusing, and they’re a lot of fun. Also, flash mobs don’t make a world-shaking difference: they’re just a funky sort of event that people can be part of for the sake of being a part of it.

If flash mobs became political, they would lose their appeal. They would not provide a venue for people with odd senses of humor to create a spectacal, rather they would provide a venue for the politically active to protest and voice their views on current events. If this happened, flash mobs might as well not exist: the concepts of sit-ins, boycotts, and other passive protests are worn out in America, what with the civil rights movement, the womens’ movement, and the current gay rights movement. Don’t get the wrong impression here: I whole-heartedly support the ideas behind each of these movements. However, I believe that flash mobs are almost a parody of such protests. As I said previously, they make a very small difference, if any, in the bigger political picture. If we (as a nation) attempt to make them a form of political protest, we will not only be beating a dead horse by using yet another form of protest when we already have more than we need, but we will also be denying our fellow American people their random “innocent fun.”

4 - Howard Rheingold

Tue, Aug 5, 2003
@ 12:22

However, the general idea of using Internet and mobile communications for political organizing is alive and well. Ultimately, winning elections is the most important collective action that people can take in (what’s left of) a democracy. From Karl Rove to Howard Dean, the use of smart mob technologies and methodologies in the electoral process is just getting started. Think of how Korean youth treated a get-out-the-vote campaign as a kind of smart mob. Just use the search feature on this site to find primary sources for any of the phenomena I’ve mentioned.

5 - chuckrandel

Mon, Sep 8, 2003
@ 13:21

I’m up for Flash Mobbing and Boycotting record Stores until the RIAA stops their nonsense! MPEGS sound awful and the only reason I downloaded any tunes was to preview them to see if I really wanted to add that particular artist to my library. If so, I’d go out and buy the album. The majors put out so much crap today that that I am simply not willing to put out $15 for one or two marginally acceptable tunes. And, I’m not willing to put up with listening to the Radio or TV (because of all the additional crap they put out) on the chance of being able to hear something worthwhile.

And, I’m no 13 year old. I’m 57 and into Jazz and Computer Music. So… let me know where to show up and picket or how to join a flash mob interested in picketing in my neighborhood.

6 - chuckrandel

Mon, Sep 8, 2003
@ 13:21

I’m up for Flash Mobbing and Boycotting record Stores until the RIAA stops their nonsense! MPEGS sound awful and the only reason I downloaded any tunes was to preview them to see if I really wanted to add that particular artist to my library. If so, I’d go out and buy the album. The majors put out so much crap today that that I am simply not willing to put out $15 for one or two marginally acceptable tunes. And, I’m not willing to put up with listening to the Radio or TV (because of all the additional crap they put out) on the chance of being able to hear something worthwhile.

And, I’m no 13 year old. I’m 57 and into Jazz and Computer Music. So… let me know where to show up and picket or how to join a flash mob interested in picketing in my neighborhood.