FLASH MOBS

Have you heard about "Flash Mobs" yet? Either had I, that is, until Christoph tipped me off to their existence. New Yorkers recently used e-mail to coordinate a huge, instant gathering of people, i.e., a Flash Mob, around a particular rug in a New York City Macey's rug department. Participants were instructed to tell inquisitive salesmen that they all lived together in a warehouse in Queens, and that they were considering purchasing the cloth for use as a "Love Rug" back at the warehouse. After exactly ten minutes the crowd completely dissipated. And there you have it... you've just learned everything there is to know about Flash Mobs.

Thus far I've been able to ascertain that the infrastructure exists for organized Flash Mobs in New York, San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Tokyo, and there's even a Yahoo! group devoted to Flash Mob devotees and their instantaneous formation.

Anyone got any bright ideas for where and under what circumstances future Flash Mobs could be held? Leave a comment below!

Haha! That sounds really funny. I saw some pictures of flash mobs the other day at satanslaundromat.com--I think it'll be cool to have one in a city that's not as big as the ones you've mentioned.

I love this idea! :)
Not sure where/what to suggest. Maybe everyone should show up at the Cookie shop at Castleton Square Mall and demand that one REALLY huge cookie be made. :)

It's like the office workers planning for the 11:00 construction man with the Diet Coke. And the Austin Powers scene where he is noticed and everyone throngs to him. If America were a more perfect union, we could vote by Flash Mob. Cool, huh?

I like Doug's idea. Hmmm...wait... we should all show up at Galyan's and demand immediate wall climbing for all.

Why focus on retailers? I say walk into a college auditorium and demand to take a test on the subject. Walk into a news station and offer up REAL news. Flash mobs seem a bit Tyler Durden to me.

Sorry wall climbing is out as I am afraid I'd be beat by some 7 year old girl. :)
How about we go to Starbucks all looking for an available table. After ten minutes EVERYONE would give up and leave in disgust.

Heard about them yesterday on Q95 of all places. They put it down, saying "it was nice to see internet geeks getting together", and something about terrorism. Ticked me off. Anyway,
You would need to consider parking, someplace that had enough parking, I would think downtown would be out, at least for the next week cause of the race. And who says we had to say anything. One FM just showed up and clapped for ten minutes I think. Gonna think about this one today :-)

This is silly....I first learned about "Flash Mobs" at 10:55pm,....it is now 1:26am and I'm still reading and learning about them....It seems fun.

New York had people gather in a park and make bird noises...

Another City (forget) had people gather in a mall and walk like robots for 5 minutes and then disperse,.....gather again in a store and watch Lord of the Rings and ask for popcorn...

San Francisco had hundreds of people show up at an intersection....cross....and then spin as they cross....for 10 minutes. The pictures of this one are the BEST. New York was lame.

So,..the question is...is Indy ready for this? How will the IPD respond? Will people get out of control and carried away?

Idea.....hundreds of people gather "spontaneously" in front of Emmis Building downtown, blank stare into the radio booth during a live broadcast,.....stay for a few minutes,...clap and give a loud cheer lasting two minutes after a certain amount of time,...and then disperse. How do you think the radio station will respond to that?

Another Idea...hundreds of people gather at a certain spot sometime in the late afternoon on the day of the "Sky Concert"...all the guys start walking around posing as if they are in a bodybuilding contest,...all the women walk around like they are in a beauty contest....and then disperse after a certain time back to whereever they were before the start time. Can you imagine what that would look like as an empty place suddenly becomes full for a few minutes,...draws alot of people's attention to watch....and then suddenly people leave?

Is there a future for this?

Whatever it is, I'm in. Sounds fun. Anyone interested in organizing it? Wish I could, but I just don't have that kind of time on my hands. I'll be keeping this page in my favorites to find out if anything happens.

It's sounds like the best Flash Mob is totally silly. It shouldn't target a store or try to make any kind of statement. It should be off the wall and inexplicable to bystanders.

An idea: Everyone gather at the Circle and at a precise time start pointing to the sky saying things like, "Is that a bird?" "Looks like a plane to me." Then, after exactly one minute form a line at the door to Starbucks (without going in) for five minutes. Then, eveyone leaves without a word.

There is a site called flocksmart.com .....log in there and wait for something to happen...

other ideas..

What would happen if everyone flushed the toilet at the same time?

What would happen if we all went to the RCA DOME and flushed at the same time?

What would happen if we all went to the state fair and gathered somewhere around a door to some place, ...made alot of noise ...and when someone askes what is going on ...well...Britney Spears is here (or some other superstar who wouldn't know that Indiana had a state fair). Rumors would start..then leave...and wait and watch rumors go around....and see if the news media picks up on the rumors...

...just some other thoughts.