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| ] in downtown ], are designed to surprise passers-by.]] | |||
| A '''flash mob''' (or '''flashmob''')<ref>{{Cite journal | date = 9 February 2009 | journal = ] | title = Facebook flashmob shuts down station | url = http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/02/09/uk.station.flashmob/index.html}}</ref> is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a ], perform an unusual and sometimes seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, artistic expression.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/uk/newsid_3876000/3876685.stm|title=Va-va-voom is in the dictionary |publisher=]|date=8 July 2004|accessdate=2010-05-05}}</ref><ref name="COED" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14509831|title=Mixed feelings over Philadelphia's flash-mob curfew|publisher=]|date=12 August 2011}}</ref> Flash mobs are organized via ], ], or ]s.<ref name="wallstreet" /><ref name="nationalpost" /><ref name="fibre" /><ref>Carey, James. Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society (New York: Unwin Hyman, 1989).</ref><ref name="abc" /><ref name="cnn3">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/08/04/flash.mob/|title='Flash mob' craze spreads|author=Sandra Shmueli|publisher=]|date=Friday, August 8, 2003}}</ref> | |||
| It is worth noting that the key factors that distinguish a flash-mob and any other performance in a public place are: | |||
| 1. Organization: Flash-mobs are open social organizations, usually mobilised in virtual circles or through social networking. A performance is usually coordinated and led in a closed group, who practice together to achieve synchronisation in advance of the performance. | |||
| 2. Participation: As the name indicates, a flash-mob must both be open to, and involve, members of the common public, whilst a performance may be merely limited to a specific practised group participation. | |||
| 3. Motive: The motive for participation in a flash-mob is much similar to the motive behind authoring an article on Misplaced Pages. The participants are primarily motived to collaborate and co-create, without deriving any firm benefits, monetary or otherwise, from it. A performance on the other hand is carried out with foreseeable benefits in mind, ranging from recognition to monetary incentives. | |||
| The term, coined in 2003, is generally not applied to events and performances organized for the purposes of politics (such as ]), ], ] that involve ] firms, or paid professionals.<ref name="fibre" /><ref name="manifesto">{{cite web|url=http://aglomerarispontane.weblog.ro/2004-12-05/20168/Manifestul-Aglomerarilor-Spontane---A-Flashmob-Manifesto.html|title=Manifestul Aglomerarilor Spontane / A Flashmob Manifesto|date=December 5, 2004|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071012195306/http://aglomerarispontane.weblog.ro/2004-12-05/20168/Manifestul-Aglomerarilor-Spontane---A-Flashmob-Manifesto.html|archivedate=October 12, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/911773--failed-choral-flash-mob-may-not-have-qualified-for-term|title=Failed choral 'flash mob' may not have qualified for term|publisher=]|author= Ed Fletcher|date=23 December 2010|accessdate=2010-12-30}}</ref> In these cases of a planned purpose for the social activity in question, the term ]s is often applied instead. | |||
| ==Origins== | |||
| ===First flash mob=== | |||
| One of the first flash mobs was created in ] in May 2003, by ], senior editor of '']''.<ref name="fibre" /><ref name="cnn3" /> The first attempt was unsuccessful after the targeted retail store was tipped off about the plan for people to gather.<ref name="time">{{cite journal | first = Lauren | last = Goldstein | title = The Mob Rules | date = 10 August 2003 | journal = ] (18 April 2003 issue) | url =http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,474547,00.html | accessdate = 2007-03-14 | volume = 162 | issue = 7 | issn = 0040-781X | oclc = 1767509 }}</ref> Wasik avoided such problems during the second flash mob, which occurred on June 3, 2003, at ] department store, 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.<ref name="Wasik">{{cite journal | first = Bill | last = Wasik | title = My Crowd, or, Phase 5: A report from the inventor of the flash mob | url = http://www.harpers.org/media/pages/2006/03/pdf/HarpersMagazine-2006-03-0080963.pdf | format = Subscription | journal = ] | pages = 56–66 | month = March | year = 2006 | accessdate = 2007-02-02 | issn = 0017-789X | oclc = 4532730 }}</ref> | |||
| More than 130 people converged upon the ninth floor rug department of the store, gathering around an 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.<ref>Bedell, Doug. "E-mail Communication Facilitates New 'Flash Mob' Phenomenon", Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, 23 July (2003)</ref> Subsequently, 200 people flooded the lobby and mezzanine of the ] hotel in synchronized applause for about 15 seconds, and a shoe boutique in ] was invaded by participants pretending to be tourists on a bus trip.<ref name="cnn3" /> | |||
| Wasik claimed that he created flash mobs as a social experiment designed to poke fun at ] and to highlight the cultural atmosphere of ] and of wanting to be an insider or part of "the next big thing".<ref name="cnn3" /> '']'' wrote, "It may have backfired on him ... may instead have ended up giving conformity a vehicle that allowed it to appear nonconforming."<ref name="VCS">{{cite news|url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=f4b1b51f-1340-46b3-8c14-97405c63b5fe|title=Waterfight in Stanley Park, but are flash mobs starting to lose their edge?|publisher=]|last=McMartin|first=Pete|date= July 12, 2008|accessdate=2008-07-14}}</ref> In another interview he said "the mobs started as a kind of playful social experiment meant to encourage spontaneity and big gatherings to temporarily take over commercial and public areas simply to show that they could".<ref name="FMR" /> | |||
| ===Precedents and precursors=== | |||
| In 19th-century ], 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 19th-century 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.<ref>{{cite web | title = The Flash Mob | url = http://www.femalefactory.com.au/FFRG/convicts.htm#Flash | work = Cascades Female Factory Historic Site | publisher = Female Factory Historic Site Ltd. | accessdate = 2007-10-23 }}</ref> | |||
| An early literary example can be found in a famous German novel for children by ]. At the end of ] (1929) the protagonist captures a thief by organizing a large crowd of children through a kind of self-organized intelligence service. The mob of children first drives the thief into a corner and then keeps him from escaping. | |||
| In 1973, the story "]" by ] described a concept similar to flash mobs.<ref>Nold, Christian. "Legible Mob" (2003): p.23. http://www.softhook.com/legible.htm.</ref> With the invention of popular and very inexpensive ], an argument at a shopping mall—which happens to be covered by a news crew—quickly swells into a riot. In the story, broadcast coverage attracts 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 happen. Commenting on the social impact of such mobs, one character (articulating the police view) says, "We call them flash crowds, and we watch for them." In related short stories, they are named as a prime location for illegal activities (such as pickpocketing and looting) to take place. | |||
| Flash mobs began as a form of ].<ref name="time" /> While they started as an apolitical act, flash mobs may share superficial similarities to political ]. Flash mobs can be seen as a specialized form of ],<ref name="fibre">{{cite news| url= http://journal.fibreculture.org/issue6/issue6_nicholson.html| author=Judith A. Nicholson|title=Flash! Mobs in the Age of Mobile Connectivity|publisher=Fibreculture Publications/Open Humanities Press|accessdate=2009-07-15}}</ref> a term and concept proposed by author ] in his 2002 book '']''.<ref name="cnn2">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/03/03/timep.smart.mobs.tm/| title=Day of the smart mobs|author=Chris Taylor|date=Monday, March 3, 2003|publisher=]}}</ref> | |||
| ==Use of the term== | |||
| The first documented use of the term ''flash mob'' as it is understood today was in 2003 in a ] entry posted in the aftermath of Wasik's event.<ref name="Wasik"/><ref name=wordspy /><ref name="cheesebikini">{{cite web | url = http://www.cheesebikini.com/2003/06/16/flash-mobs-take-manhattan/ | title = Flash Mobs Take Manhattan | author = Savage, Sean | date = 16 June 2003 | accessdate = 2007-03-14 | work = cheesebikini }}</ref> The term was inspired by the earlier term '']''.<ref name=wordspy >{{cite web | url = http://www.wordspy.com/words/flashmob.asp | title = flash mob | first = Paul | last = McFedries | authorlink = Paul McFedries | publisher = Logophilia Limited | work = WordSpy.com | date = 14 July 2003 | accessdate = 2006-03-14 }}</ref> | |||
| Flash mob was added to the 11th edition of the ] on 8 July 2004 where it noted it as an "unusual and pointless act" separating it from other forms of smart mobs such as types of performance, protests, and other gatherings.<ref name="COED">{{cite web|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0972977#m_en_gb0972977|title=defintion of flash mob from Oxford English Dictionaries Online|publisher=]|date=8 July 2004|accessdate=2010-05-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/3876017.stm|title=Henry inspires English dictionary|publisher=]|date=8 July 2004|accessdate=2010-05-09}}</ref> Also recognized noun derivatives are flash mobber and flash mobbing.<ref name="COED" /> '']'' defines ''flash mob'' as "a group of people who organize on the Internet and then quickly assemble in a public place, do something bizarre, and disperse."<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | |||
| | encyclopedia = Webster's New Millennium Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.6) | |||
| | title = flash mob | |||
| | url = http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/flash%20mob | |||
| | accessdate = 2007-04-27 | |||
| }}</ref> This definition is consistent with the original use of the term; however, both news media and promoters have subsequently used the term to refer to any form of smart mob, including political protests;<ref>{{cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3496030.stm | title = Putin protest by flash mob | work = ] | date = 28 February 2004 | accessdate = 2007-05-03 }}</ref> a collaborative Internet ] attack;<ref>{{cite news | first = Steven | last = Musil | title = This week in Web threats: The Internet is always good for a little fear and loathing | url = http://news.com.com/This+week+in+Web+threats/2100-7349_3-5572700.html | work = CNET News | publisher = ] | date = 11 February 2005 | accessdate = 2007-05-03 }}</ref> a collaborative ] demonstration;<ref>{{cite news | first = Celeste | last = Biever | title = A Flash mob to attempt supercomputing feat | url = http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4826 | work = ] | id = ] {{ISSN search link|0262-4079}} {{oclc|2378350}} | date = 29 March 2004}}</ref> and promotional appearances by pop musicians.<ref>{{cite news | first = Elysa | last = Gardner | title = Avril Lavigne, in the flesh, at 'flash mob' appearances | url = http://www.mywire.com/pubs/USATODAY/2004/02/27/384917?extID=10051 | work = ] | date = 27 February 2004 | accessdate = 2007-05-03 }}</ref> The press has also used the term ''flash mob'' to refer to a practice in China where groups of shoppers arrange online to meet at a store in order to drive a collective bargain.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/FindDealsOnline/ChinasNewShoppingCrazeTeamBuying.aspx | title = China's new shopping craze: 'Team buying' | work = Christian Science Monitor | date = 5 December 2007 | accessdate = 2008-02-12 }}</ref> | |||
| ==Notable flash mobs== | |||
| <!-- Please note the definition above of flash mobs, particularly "pointless act" and "disperse quickly", before adding any internationally lasting events. See WP:NOTNEWS and WP:RECENTISM --> | |||
| ===Silent disco=== | |||
| Another example of a well known flash mob was the April 2006 ] in London. At various ] stations, people gathered with their portable music devices, and at a set time began dancing to their music.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/life/story.html?id=31d5d74c-b67a-4114-9b95-a7b06fc226aa&p=1|title='Silent raves' the next wave|publisher=Canwest Publishing Inc|date=Monday, April 28, 2008|accessdate=2009-01-25}}</ref> It was reported that more than 4,000 people participated at ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://en.epochtimes.com/news/8-4-12/69052.html|title=Pillow Fighters Transform London into 'Urban Playground'|publisher=Epoch Times|date=April 12, 2008|accessdate=2009-01-25}}</ref> This had an impact on the regular service of the system enough for the city's police to begin crowd control and slowly clear people.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/3638997/Dancing-to-the-music-of-a-virtual-world.html|title=Dancing to the music of a virtual world|publisher=The Telegraph UK|date=1 January 2009|accessdate=2009-01-25 | location=London | first=Sam | last=Leith}}</ref> Since 2006, there have been several flash mobs in the London Underground, including subsequent silent discos comparable in size.<ref name="abc">{{cite news|url=http://www.abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=4758736&page=1|title=Time Freezes in Central London|publisher=]|date=April 30, 2008 |accessdate=2009-01-25}}</ref> | |||
| ===Worldwide Pillow Fight Day=== | |||
| Worldwide Pillow Fight Day (or International Pillow Fight Day) was a ] that took place on March 22, 2008. Over 25 cities around the globe participated in the first "international flash mob", which was the world's largest flash mob to date.<ref name="nationalpost">{{cite news|url=http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/theampersand/archive/2008/03/21/let-the-feathers-fly.aspx|last=Fitzgerald|first=Sean D.|title=International Pillow Fight Day: Let the feathers fly!|publisher=]|date=21 March 2008|accessdate=2008-05-19}}</ref> According to '']'', more than 5,000 participated in New York City, overtaking London's 2006 ] gathering as the largest recorded flash mob.<ref name="wallstreet">{{cite web|url=http://s.wsj.net/article/SB120814163599712081.html|title=Students Unleash A Pillow Fight On Manhattan|publisher=]|last=Athavaley|first=Anjali|date=15 April 2008|accessdate=2008-05-19}}</ref> Word spread via social networking sites, including ], ], private ], public forums, personal websites, as well as by word of mouth, text messaging, and email. Participating cities included ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].<ref name="VCS" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://pillowfightday.com/2008.php|title=World Wide Pillow Fight Day|publisher=Newmindspace|accessdate=2010-04-14}}</ref> | |||
| ===Mumbai, India=== | |||
| In a symbolic event on 27<sup>th</sup> November 2011, a day after India observed the third anniversary of 26/11, 200 dancers were seen grooving to the 'Rang De Basanti' song on the platform of ], ]. This was a tribute to all the innocent people who were killed during the terrorist attack on ], specifically at the very same railway station. After this event, similar flash mobs have occurred in major cities like Delhi, Chennai and Kochi. | |||
| ==Legal incidents== | |||
| Legal actions have been taken in other countries to stem flash mobs for reasons other than violence such as the disruption of business and service. The city of ], Germany has stopped flash mobs by strictly enforcing the already existing law of requiring a permit to use any public space for an event.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.thelocal.de/society/20090728-20875.html|title=Flash mobs banned in Braunschweig|date=28 July 2009 | publisher=The Local Europe|accessdate=2010-12-30}}</ref> | |||
| In the United Kingdom, a number of flash mobs have been stopped over concerns for public health and safety.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-world/2008/05/19/videos-police-step-in-to-prevent-facebook-flash-mob-events-115875-20423056/|title=Videos: Police step in to prevent Facebook flash mob events|author=Robert Leigh|publisher=]|date=2008-05-19|accessdate=2010-12-30}}</ref> The ] have urged flash mob organizers to "refrain from holding such events <nowiki>]<nowiki>]</nowiki> at railway stations".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7913034.stm|title=Rail police criticise flash mobs|publisher=]| author=| date=26 February 2009|accessdate=2010-12-30}}</ref> | |||
| In the United States, in 2009 and 2010, the city of ] experienced a wave of crimes that either started with the intent or led to the destruction of private property, rioting, violence, and personal injury.<ref name="FMR">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/us/25mobs.html|title=Mobs Are Born as Word Grows by Text Message|author=Ian Urbina|date=March 24, 2010|publisher=]| accessdate= 2010-12-30}}</ref> As a result, police used ] to disperse crowds and arrests were made.<ref>http://chattarati.com/neighborhoods/utc/2009/4/23/updated-police-officers-use-pepper-spray-utc-stude/ Retrieved December 30, 2009</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.dailypress.com/news/norfolk/wtkr-flash-mob-odu,0,5968562.story| title=Flash mob takes Old Dominion University campus by surprise| author= Maegan Smith 247-4751| date= December 11, 2009| work=The Newport News Daily Press}}</ref> These events were often referred to as “flash robs,” “flash mob crimes,” or “flash mob violence.”<ref>{{cite web|last=Lawyers.com|title=Flash Mobs Step From Dancing to Crimes|url=http://criminal.lawyers.com/Criminal-Law-Basics/Flash-Mobs-Step-From-Dancing-to-Crimes.html}}</ref> Organizers of innocuous legal flash mobs consider “flash mob crime” and similar terms inaccurate and damaging to the reputation of flash mobs.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lawyers.com|title=Flash Mobs Step From Dancing to Crimes|url=http://criminal.lawyers.com/Criminal-Law-Basics/Flash-Mobs-Step-From-Dancing-to-Crimes.html|accessdate=19 August 2011}}</ref> | |||
| Lawmakers and lobbyists in Philadelphia are considering different tactics to counter these groups such as extending curfew hours, limiting the hours of school bus passes, and holding parents more legally accountable for the actions of their children.<ref name="FMR" /> Bill Wasik has expressed "surprise by the new focus of some of the gatherings" and called it "terrible that these Philly mobs have turned violent".<ref name="FMR" /> | |||
| Similar incidents of violence occurred during the summer of 2011 in Philadelphia, Maryland, Cleveland, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Ottawa.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/08/16/maryland.flash.mob/ | work=CNN | title='Flash mob' robs Maryland 7-Eleven in less than a minute, police say | date=2011-08-17}}</ref><ref></ref> In Philadelphia the new incidents drew harsh condemnation from mayor ] and resulted in curfews being imposed in two local districts.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://johnkingusa.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/11/flash-mob-violence-on-u-s-streets/?iref=allsearch | work=CNN | title='Flash-mob' violence on U.S. streets – John King USA}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/12/on-the-radar-meteor-shower-flash-mob-curfew-custody-death/?iref=allsearch | work=CNN | title=On the Radar: Meteor shower, flash-mob curfew, custody death – This Just In}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203752604576643422390552158.html|title='Flash Robs' Vex Retailers|accessdate=24 October 2011}}</ref> | |||
| "The illegal and violent component is also not unlike ordinary crimes where a group of people do something illegal," said Mark Leary, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University. "What social media adds is the ability to recruit such a large group of people, that individuals who would not rob a store or riot on their own feel freer to misbehave without being identified."<ref>{{cite web|last=Leary|first=Mark|title=Why People Take Part in Violent Flash Mobs|url=http://today.duke.edu/2011/08/tip-flash-mobs|publisher=Duke University News and Communications|accessdate=September 6, 2011}}</ref> | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{Reflist|2}} | |||
| ==Further reading== | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Agar|first=Jon|title=Constant Touch: A Global History of the Mobile Phone|publisher= Icon| location= Cambridge|year=2003}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Carey|first=James|title=Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society|publisher=Unwin Hyman|location=New York|year=1989}} | |||
| *{{cite news|url=http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3134559.stm| title=Smart mob storms London|date=8 August 2003|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=2009-08-11}} | |||
| *{{cite news|title=From 9/11 to 3/11|last=Dickey|first=Christopher|date=22 March 2004|work= Newsweek| pages= 27–28}} | |||
| *{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2004/mar/25/spain.newmedia|title=A 21st century protest| last=Losowsky|first=Andrew|date=25 March 2004|work=The Guardian|accessdate=2010-10-03 | location=London}} | |||
| *{{cite news|title=Whoever Said August was a Dull Month?|last=Melloan|first=George|date=12 August 2003|work= Wall Street Journal|pages=A13}} | |||
| *{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/08/04/flash.mob/|title=Flash mob craze spreads |last= Shmueli|first= Sandra|date=8 August 2003|work=CNN.com/Technology|publisher=CNN|accessdate=2009-08-11}} | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| {{Commons category|Flash mobs}} | |||
| *{{YouTube|GXXpJE_DSrg|Flashmob Dance Jakarta}} | |||
| * from kablam.tv | |||
| * - Wired News | |||
| * | |||
| {{Guerrilla theatre}} | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Flash Mob}} | |||
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Revision as of 17:51, 20 December 2011
i took an arrow in the knee