tdink techie: flash mobs
Art, Activism or Annoyance?

"Bill" called it "the explicable mob" but the term flash mob was later coined by a blogger who was inspired by Larry Niven's   sci-fi short "Flash Crowd."

The basis and inspiration   to flash mobs can also be found in Stanley Milgrim's experiments on obedience to authority, Shepard Fairey's Obey Giant campaign, and the Reclaim the Streets and Critical Mass events that still happen today although flash mobs were not initially intended to impact society in such a way.   "Bill" says "The nature of public space in America today has changed."   And indeed it has.   People are in search of a public space they once owned, but now belongs to corporate America.

Fairey posted Obey stickers in random places to try to reawaken people's sense of wonder about their environments.   These events have no meaning so people think and look hard to find one.

  "Bill" says "what made [flash mobs] a compelling idea was that you were disrupting the flow of people in a city."   While most mobbers get an email about the event, some people stop and get involved spontaneously.

Howard Rheingold, author of Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution says "All mobs have the potential for danger.   The same technique of using the internet and mobile phones to organize collective action was used to bring down the Estrada Regime in the Philippines and to tip the Korean election toward the ultimate winner, President Roh."