In the articles by Howard
Rheingold, he discusses how smart mobs are the next social revolution. As he states, “smart mobs consist of
people who are able to act in concert even they don’t know each other” (xii). The way they communicate is through
social media and mobile phones.
Large groups collaborate, share information, and plan to meet up to
achieve some type of goal.
Rheingold argues how successful smart mobs can be when it comes to
protesting and rioting for a specific cause. However a recent fad in out culture, called a flash mob, has
also been possible because of this smart mob mentality. The following video depicts how
unexpected these meetings can be and potentially used in a positive,
entertaining way.
Footloose Flash Mob-Original Recording
This
video took place January 28, 2011 at the Gyle Centre Edinburgh. As seen above, a group of people showed
up out of the crowd in the mall and started dancing to Footloose. This was clearly planned out at a
specific time, for a specific day, by a particular group of people. Judging by the shoppers starting to
gather and the looks on their faces, they were entertained by the surprise show.
Flash mobs tend work off of
the element of surprise that smart mobs can make possible. One
person decides the dance and where it will take place then starts to spread the
word via email, Facebook, or texting.
People are able to act together in a unified matter because of the new
age of social media. The people not included in the mob are unaware of what is about to occur and what point is trying to be put across until the smart mob's plan is already into motion. Smart mobs are
making flash mobs possible. This
collaborative dance effort is a positive example of what a smart mob can
achieve because of online possibilities.
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