Flash mobbing

[James Neill - UC]

I just had a call from a newspaper journalist wanting me to comment on
the social psychology of flash mobbing. I didn't really know what it
is, but it sounded interesting, so I went along for the ride. Now I'm
intrigued, so feel free to suggest any interesting resources:
http://7125-6666.blogspot.com/2007/10/flash-mobbing.html

[rgrozdanic]

i remember reading about them in 03 and 04 and being utterly enchanted - the idea of 200 people suddenly appearing in front of the statue of queen victoria and her dog (outside the queen victoria building in sydney), barking loudly for 2 minutes and then disappearing again struck me as a total "senseless act of beauty".  i envied the shoppers and pedestrians, lost in thought, going about their business and then suddenly witnessing something like that - something that wasn't "art" or a political act in the strict sense but simply a bunch of pranksters doing something like that for the sheer delight of it.  am still enchanted by the idea but haven't heard anything about the phenomena since then apart from those senseless acts of stupidity at cronulla towards the end of 05 which i expect were also a flash mobbing of sorts given that mobile phones played such a large part.  (i think the queen victoria one was organised by sydmob - haven't really followed it since - maybe you could contact them?)

let us know what you discover about it from a social psychology perspective.  if anything, i'd label it a sort of participatory art form - like the modern version of "happenings" from the 60s.

r

[rgrozdanic]

btw, flashmobs sound like WAY more fun than twitter.... i think twitter is totally lame (or maybe i'm just doing it wrong :-))

actually, now i think of it, they may be sort of related - twitter puts the individual and their mundane moments at the centre of something where as flashmobs have no centre and use the mundane to transcend something

dunno - just thinking out loud - sorry folks

r

[alexanderhayes]

> i think twitter is totally lame <

You would. Anything that resembles a conversation is a bit of a
challenge hey ?

This so reminds me of EDNA forums.

On Oct 16, 10:00 pm, rgrozdanic <rgrozda...@gmail.com> wrote:
> btw, flashmobs sound like WAY more fun than twitter.... i think twitter is
> totally lame (or maybe i'm just doing it wrong :-))
>
> actually, now i think of it, they may be sort of related - twitter puts the
> individual and their mundane moments at the centre of something where as
> flashmobs have no centre and use the mundane to transcend something
>
> dunno - just thinking out loud - sorry folks
>
> r
>

> On 10/16/07, rgrozdanic <rgrozda...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > i remember reading about them<http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/28/1059244525328.html>in 03 and 04 and being utterly enchanted - the idea of 200 people suddenly

> > appearing in front of the statue of queen victoria and her dog (outside the
> > queen victoria building in sydney), barking loudly for 2 minutes and then
> > disappearing again struck me as a total "senseless act of beauty". i envied
> > the shoppers and pedestrians, lost in thought, going about their business
> > and then suddenly witnessing something like that - something that wasn't
> > "art" or a political act in the strict sense but simply a bunch of
> > pranksters doing something like that for the sheer delight of it. am still
> > enchanted by the idea but haven't heard anything about the phenomena since
> > then apart from those senseless acts of stupidity at cronulla towards the
> > end of 05 which i expect were also a flash mobbing of sorts given that
> > mobile phones played such a large part. (i think the queen victoria one was

> > organised by sydmob <http://www.sydmob.com/> - haven't really followed it

> > since - maybe you could contact them?)
>
> > let us know what you discover about it from a social psychology
> > perspective. if anything, i'd label it a sort of participatory art form -
> > like the modern version of "happenings" from the 60s.
>
> > r
>

[Leigh Blackall]

Seems similar to more political versions of "mobbing" like:

Reclaim the Streets see the Great M2 RTS of 1996 in the UK
Rave parties particularly the warehouse breakins.
Empty Show see the Williamtown show in Melbourne 2001

These type of events defined my 20s. Flash mobbing (first I've heard of it) depresses me a bit.

http://learnonline.wordpress.com

[Leigh Blackall]

More empty shows.

Situationalism

--
--
Leigh Blackall
+64(0)21736539
skype - leigh_blackall
http://learnonline.wordpress.com

[rgrozdanic]

On 10/16/07, alexanderhayes <alexander...@gmail.com> wrote:

> i think twitter is totally lame <

You would. Anything that resembles a conversation is a bit of a
challenge hey ?

This so reminds me of EDNA forums.

ouch.  check your aim, alex.

r

[Paterson, Anne]

No way Rose – twitter is totally going off – really want to see you and Botts on there! But yes, I think flashmobs are hot too!~

ap

 

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[Janet Hawtin]

On 10/17/07, Paterson, Anne <anne.p...@tafensw.edu.au> wrote:

> No way Rose – twitter is totally going off – really want to see you and
> Botts on there! But yes, I think flashmobs are hot too!~

as a tool twitter can be handy or a channel of white noise
the stuff that gets put into them at any given time for whichever
groups people are in pretty much shape the experience. also whether
youre in a position to spend n time or to have access to it in a jit
kind of way.
some are finding it handy
http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2007/10/twitter-as-just.html

i found it handy for hooking up noel with juan mann

it is a feature/bug that you can follow someone and they cant hear you
if theyre not following you, so it is possible to know the answer to
something and for you not to be able to tell them in that medium. that
feels strange sometimes.

i am more used to irc on freenode for the same kind of self/peer help for geeks.
very similar in terms of its social function, but sorted into channels
around specific purposes which helps re signal to noise. loggable so
often used for minutes of meetings
and is a default back channel at linux conferences much the way
twitter is for other folks.

Janet

[Kylie Rowsell]

Twitter, like any tool, is useful if you have a need for it.

No one 'has' to use anything.

And if someone doesn't find it engaging, or useful to them, it is not
lame.

Just not useful. And not engaging. For them.

Thanks,
Kylie
Training Coordinator
Local Government Training Institute

ph: 4978 4016
www.lgti.com.au - browse training calendar online

-----Original Message-----
From: teachAndL...@googlegroups.com
[mailto:teachAndL...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Janet Hawtin
Sent: Wednesday, 17 October 2007 10:23 AM
To: teachAndL...@googlegroups.com
Subject: :: TALO :: Re: Flash mobbing

On 10/17/07, Paterson, Anne <anne.p...@tafensw.edu.au> wrote:

> No way Rose - twitter is totally going off - really want to see you