Flash Mobs: An introduction – Reading One

After attending the first lecture for IM2 and reading the article ‘FCJ-030 Flash! Mobs in the Age of Mobile Connectivity’ by Judith A. Nicholson I developed a deeper understanding of the Flash Mob concept that I discovered on YouTube quite a few years ago.

Some of the key points from Seth’s lecture…

• An SMP (social media producer) plays an integral role in media teams and on most television shows . They must have a good understanding of ethics and must say the right thing at the right time.
• Our tasks is to plan and host a participatory event and the end result will be a prototype of an interactive documentary, rather than a finished outcome.
• Think about the prompt.
• We must document the process of creating the event online. These processes that we document will become the content for our interactive documentary.
• Our group must carefully consider the demographic, time and location as well as the modes of social media that will be used to promote the event if we want success!

One example that appealed to me was ‘Conduct Us’ by Improv Everywhere. I like the way in which the members of the public got involved on their own accord, rather than being approached and asked individually. The set up was inviting, and once one person got involved, others joined in. I thought it was a playful idea that made the individual feel as though they power to control the situation, despite the orchestra being very well rehearsed and in control.

Some of the aspects I liked about the 2013 IM2 events…

• Illuminate Tibet: Effective name and logo, relevant interviews, nicely made video on Vimeo & a compilation of related tweets, images, videos and news reports to establish the issue at hand.
• Work Your Quirks: Highly active Facebook page, Instagram account and Twitter account, a video showing the problem solving techniques used in their meetings and free food (to attract the crowd).
• R U OK Bubbles: Locations list on their Storify page that helped them choose the most appropriate venue for their event.
• Used to Be: Nice WordPress site and imagery as well as a creative Prezi project timeline.
• Birthday Attention: Creative and entertaining Zeega site.
• Zen for Ten: Catchy title.

The aspects that can be used for my group’s project…

• Film the event well with a multi-cam set up (wide shots, mid-shots and someone moving around capturing close ups) and good quality sound recording equipment to help put together a high quality interactive documentary.
• Document interesting and relevant articles relating to the event.
• Document inspirational Flash Mobs.
• Define age group, the time of day and the location (taking into consideration the weather).
• List all of the potential negative outcomes and discuss backup plans.

My brainstorming so far…

• Raising awareness for a serious political/social issue.
• Develop a catchy title and logo for the event.
• Invite friend and family.
• The event must be fun and easy for the public to get involved. Perhaps we will give away free food or a momento to attract the public.
• Choose the demographic based on the activity. Who do we want participating?
• Choose our location, date and time based on the demographic.
• Promote the event on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Don’t forget the hashtag.
• Film the event well.
• Provide participants with a slip of paper with the details for the interactive documentary.

Potential issues to raise awareness… (these are all extremely broad)

• Close the Gap
• Climate Change
• Use Your Manners
• Remove the stigma associated with mental illness

Here are some of the key points of interest from the article…

• The Flash Mobbers: The Participants
• The Moberators: The Organisers
• In 2003, cities across the world experienced flash mobs, with the very first account held in New York City.
• The concept utilised ‘…three types of mobile communicating: mobile texting, targeted mobbing and public performing’ (J. Nicholson, 2005).
• These events proved a huge shift in the use of mobile communication.
• With the huge number of technological devices at the hands of the public, these events were often reported (recorded and uploaded online) more than the number of those that participated.
• The popularity of these events prompted a website to form that was dedicated to promoting upcoming flash mobs in cities world-wide.
• The flash mob concept is believed to have formed after the success of mobile phone communication in the organisation of the anti-globalisation activist movements against WTO in the late 1990s.
• Mobile phones were also integrated into the participatory nature of the performances, proving the importance of these devices in the lives of the public.
• Criticisms surrounding the introduction of the mobile phones included concern over ‘…the value and appropriateness of the practice in various public and semi-public spaces such as schools, cinemas, hospitals, restaurants, cars, public transit vehicles and places of worship’ (J. Nicholson, 2005).
• Telephone conversations were no longer private with mobile phones accessible in public spaces, which caused offense to some.
• The lines between work and leisure were blurred when mobile phones were adopted for both aspects of an individual’s life. Governments introduced laws against the use of the devices in certain situations such as cars.
• These concerns prompted an opinion that ‘…a technology [the mobile phone] with such potential to empower the individual has turned into an irritating clique-machine for the hipster sheep?’ (Tom, 2003). They began disrupting real life conversations.
• Although mobile phones initially offered individuals the ability to communicate one-to-one, messages started being forwarded to others allowing immediate sharing of information from one individual to many. This allowed public gatherings to be organised quickly and with ease.
• Political unrest in the Philippines in 2001 saw the organisation of protests which eventuated in the president to resign, proving the power of mobile communication.
• Mobile communication has also been utilised by government bodies to spread information instantly and also serves as a device for individual political or or commercial purposes.
• ‘Mobile privatisation’ or ‘private mobilisation (Williams, 1992; 1974).
• ‘shaped by specific social, political and economic conditions in existence in particular places’ (J. Nicholson, 2005).
• ‘Repeated flash mobbing credo was ‘the power of many, in the pursuit of nothing’ (Tom, 2003)’.
• Flash mobs can be identified by their lack of leader and lack of targeted issue or political goal.
• ‘Flash mobbing is defined in the latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘a public gathering of complete strangers, organized via internet or mobile phone, who perform a pointless act and then disperse again’ (Bill, 2004)’
• They are for fun, they are leaderless, they result in quick disposal and exist in places where public gatherings do not usually occur.
• The term mob changed meaning after the French Revolution.
• The mob mentality concept developed by crowd theorists describes a group that are the opposite of the smart mobs.
• Proven to be a brilliant marketing tool.
• Flash mobs leave members of the public feeling empowered, they have the power to create something moving, just for fun without governments and corporations.