Flash and smart mobs

A flash mob is a spontaneously organized public gathering facilitated by ubiquitous mobile communications (see espe-cially texting and instant messaging). The earliest flash mobs were a mixture of whimsy and social experiment. The first reported example, coordinated by Bill Wasik, senior editor of Harper’s Magazine, occurred in June 2003 when a hundred people suddenly showed up on the ninth floor of Macy’s in New York City, claiming to be shopping for a “love rug.”

Smart Mobs

Smart mobs are similar in organization to flash mobs but tend to be more purposeful and enduring forms of social organization. The phenomenon was first described by How-ard Rheingold in his book Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution (see Rheingold, Howard). Rheingold describes several examples of smart mobs, including teenage “thumb tribes” in Tokyo and Helsinki, Finland (named for their use of tiny thumb-operated keyboards on cell phones). Their typical activities included organizing impromptu raves or converging on rock stars or other celebrities.

Smart mobs took on a more political bent in 1999 with spontaneously organized, fast-moving antiglobalization protests in Seattle. Police had considerable difficulty con-taining the protests, their communications and coordina-tion capabilities not being equal to the task.

Another political smart mob occurred in 2001 when protesters in the Philippines used text messaging to orga-nize demonstrations against the government of President Joseph Estrada. The protests grew rapidly, and Estrada was soon forced from office (see political activism and the Internet). Smart mob techniques were also used start-ing in 2003 to coordinate protests against the Iraq War. As wireless communication continues to become ubiquitous, aspects of smart mob organization can be expected to turn up in future mass movements.

Even as the term has faded from public use, flash mobs have continued to flourish, appealing to a desire to have fun while striking out against an overly regimented consumer society. The term urban playground movement has also been used for the promotion of such gatherings.