The most beautiful flash mob in the world. Flash mob on the Internet: what is it and why is it needed?
With the advent of the new millennium, society began to unusual phenomenon-flash mob. Literally, “flash mob” translates as “instant crowd,” but in essence it is a pre-prepared action in which large group of people. It is usually carried out in public place, where those gathered perform actions according to a pre-developed scenario.
Observers of a flash mob may have mixed feelings: surprise, joy, interest and even a desire to join what is happening. Nowadays, a lot of flash mobs are held every year. Which of them became the most unusual and memorable?
The most famous flash mobs in the world
1. “The first pancake is lumpy.” The very first flash mob was supposed to take place on June 3, 2003 in New York, but the organizers were prevented by police officers who learned about it in advance. After 2 weeks, the action still took place, because the participants learned about the time and place of its holding shortly before the start.
About 200 people gathered at the famous Macy's department store. They went to the department where they sold the most expensive carpet, told the surprised sellers that they all lived in a commune on the outskirts of the city and would like to buy this “rug of love.” Reaction of store employees was very controversial.Since then, flash mobs of all kinds have spread across America and other countries.
2. “Optical illusion.” This flash mob took place in a New York subway car. 15 pairs of twins in identical outfits sat opposite each other. The partners' movements were exactly identical. It seemed that ordinary passengers were sitting on one side, and a reflective mirror was installed on the other.
Not all observers could withstand such a psychological optical illusion. Someone showed interest and filmed what was happening, while others, on the contrary, left before the desired station.
3. “The sea is agitated once...”. It was an ordinary day in March 2007, the supermarket in Manchester (England) was operating as usual. Suddenly, 50 customers froze in place, motionless. After 4 minutes they continued to move as usual.
Not everyone who was in the same store understood what happened. But the security guards, who were monitoring the situation using surveillance cameras, were extremely puzzled by what happened.
4. "Mr. Mandela, you will not die this week." In honor of the famous human rights activist and former president South Africa, who died in 1999, Woolworthsfood store employees interrupted their work /
Together with the church choir, they soulfully sang the song “Gospel Flash Mob”, which aroused admiration and applause from the visitors.
5. "Stop time". This is one of the most famous flash mobs which is carried out everywhere. Its essence is simple: participants freeze in the middle of some action in order to achieve the effect of stopping time. A crowd or even one person can participate in such an action.
A video featuring the participation of her entire campaign headquarters in the “Stop Time” flash mob gained great popularity on the Internet.
6. “To a gift horse...”. The initiator of one of the most interesting psychological flash mobs in the world was American comedian Jimmy Kimmel. From the TV screen, he invited parents to make fun of their children and wrap them in beautiful wrapping as Christmas gifts. various items, which children definitely would not want to receive for Christmas.
Many parents supported the idea and gave their children “amazing” things like a stick of sausage, a pack of pasta or a roll of toilet paper. Some received a doll instead of the expected car, and others received toy tools instead of the desired Barbie. Some moms and dads filmed their children's reactions, and the videos then broke popularity records on YouTube.
7. “Music connected us”. The most positive flash mobs are music and dance ones. They always make you smile and give good mood to others. For example, on the morning of April 20, 2009 in London, a hundred girls in tight dark swimsuits came out to Piccadilly Circus. They all performed a synchronized dance to the hit song “Single Ladies.” The action not only caused a sensation among passers-by, but also stopped the movement of cars passing by.
That same year, on August 29, 14,000 residents of Mexico City, dressed in zombie costumes, performed a dance from the video for the legendary “Thriller.”
The most famous flash mobs in Russia
In Russia, activists do not lag behind foreign mobbers and organize their own flash mobs, which also become widely known.
1. “A smile will make the day brighter”. In 2008, on a September day, 9,000 residents of Chelyabinsk gathered on Republic Square with a common goal. Putting it on outerwear yellow color, they lined up in such a way that, looking at everything that was happening from above, one could see a large smiley face with a diameter of 75 m.
This "smiling face", made up of townspeople, was addressed to . The picture of what was happening was captured by the QuickBird satellite, as a result of which it ended up on Google maps.
2. “Pillow battles”. Who didn't play pillow fight as a child? What happens when the fun of youth develops into an adult flash mob? It turns out to be a planned action called “Pillow Battles”!
At the signal, the participants take out pillows, and a life-or-death fight begins. Down and feathers are flying everywhere. Participants receive a strong adrenaline rush, and observers are seriously surprised. Nowadays there are even special clubs for holding such flash mobs.
3. “Pouring water”. Flash mobs are common now, especially in the hot season, when people pour water on each other en masse. Everyone is happy, happy and not hot. But such actions sometimes also have a social component. In 2014, a special campaign called the “Ice Bucket Challenge” was carried out in Russia, America and some European countries. Its goal was to attract public attention to people with a serious disease - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
I thought about writing a post with my thoughts, etc. I almost wrote half of it, but then I didn’t like something and erased it all. I decided to post a quote from Wikipedia and my question.
Quote now - the question will be at the end of the post.
Flashmob(read as flash mob, from the English flash mob - flash - flash; instant, moment; mob - crowd, translated as “flash of the crowd” or as “instant crowd”)
This is a pre-planned mass action in which a large group of people (mobbers) suddenly appears in a public place, for several minutes people with a serious look perform pre-agreed actions of absurd content (scenario) and then simultaneously quickly disperse in different directions, as if nothing had happened. never happened. It is a type of smartmob.
Psychological principle flash mob is that mobbers create an incomprehensible, absurd situation, but behave in it as if it is quite normal and natural for them: serious faces, no one laughs, everyone is of sound mind, sober and sane.
A flash mob is a performance designed for casual spectators (Fomich) who have mixed feelings: complete misunderstanding, interest, and even a feeling of their own insanity.
The ideology of the classic flash mob adheres to the principle “flash mob is outside of religion, outside of politics, outside of economics,” that is, a flash mob cannot be used for selfish purposes.
Flash mob rules
The flash mob movement is based on the fact that flash mob actions have standard rules. Their most important points:
* Apparent spontaneity of action. Prohibition of gathering or attracting attention on the spot before the action, simultaneous start and end of the action by its participants.
* One should get the impression that mobbers are random passers-by like everyone else. Ideally, the participants in the action should not be acquaintances or somehow intersect in real life.
* The script should bring absurdity and mystery to what is happening.
* Exactly following the script.
* Do not cause an aggressive reaction from random viewers. Do not break laws, do not show any political preferences. Do not litter.
* Do everything with a serious look and being of sound mind. Be sober and sane.
* After the action, you need to immediately disperse from the scene in different directions, without giving the appearance that something unusual has happened.To avoid conflicts with law enforcement officials, there are also the following recommendations:
* Have your ID with you.
* If you are nevertheless detained by law enforcement officers, you are responsible for yourself. No one will vouch for you. Deny that you participated in a pre-planned action: you accidentally ended up in this place and just decided to do something. Participation in unauthorized mass actions is, as a rule, punishable by law.Details of the rules may vary, which is preliminarily specified in the promotion script.
Flash mob scenarios
The ideal scenario should be absurd, mysterious, not very noticeable and in no case cause laughter. Mobbers should not violate laws and moral principles. They just have to do something meaningless, but as if it makes sense. As a result, casual viewers (Fomich) take this as a serious situation in which there is some meaning, and try to find it. They experience a feeling of interest, anxiety, misunderstanding, or even a sense of their own insanity. The script should not cross the line beyond which it becomes funny, but this happens extremely rarely.
Examples of flash mob scenarios, about the goals of the flash mob, about the history of its occurrence, terms, etc. You can read it on Wikipedia.
I have one idea, but it’s interesting to know your opinion on this question: “ Is a flash mob possible on the Internet?«
Note:
Flash mob (read as flash mob, from the English flash mob - flash - flash; moment, moment; mob - crowd, translated as “flash of the crowd” or “instant crowd”) is a pre-planned mass action in which a large group of people ( mobbers) suddenly appear in a public place, for several minutes they perform pre-agreed actions of absurd content (scenario) and then at the same time quickly disperse in different directions, as if nothing had happened.
A flash mob is almost impossible without the Internet, because... It is through the Network that the preparation and coordination of actions takes place.
The first attempts to describe flash mob-like actions can be found in the books of science fiction writer Larry Niven, which were published back in the 60s of the last century. The idea of bringing people together, which the author wrote about, is very similar to a modern flash mob.
In October 2002, sociologist Howard Reingold’s book “The Smart Crowd: The Next Social Revolution” was published, in which the author wrote about the potential of a crowd capable of gathering in a couple of hours using modern digital technologies (e-mail, sms, etc.) . Many flashmobbers in the West consider him the “founding father” of the entire movement, but this is not entirely true. Firstly, Reingold wrote not about a flash mob, but about a smart mob - this is different concepts. Secondly, he did not set himself the goal of organizing any movement or community. This idea came to the creator of the website FlockSmart.com - a successful 28-year-old computer scientist from San Francisco, Rob Zazueta - after he read Reingold's book.
It is generally accepted that the first flashmobber action took place in June 2003 in New York, because the first attempt to create a flash mob failed, the police learned about the action scheduled for July 3, 2003. The organizers avoided this problem when holding the second flash mob, which took place on June 17, 2003. More than 100 people surrounded a huge Oriental rug in a Macy's store and began to assure the puzzled salespeople that they urgently needed a $10,000 “love rug” for their “community.” After this incident, “instant crowds” began appear in different parts of the world almost every day.
The first European flash mob was planned to be held in London, but its preparation dragged on for almost a month. Meanwhile, Rome organized and carried out its own action - it became the first in Europe. On July 24, about 200 people entered the bookstore and began asking salespeople for non-existent books for several minutes, then they applauded the store's patient employees and went off to “go about their business.”
The first Ukrainian flash mob took place on August 16, 2003. Kyiv mobbers planned to meet at the iron palm tree in the Globus on Maidan Nezalezhnosti, but information about the impending mob was leaked to the press and on television. Therefore, further preparations for the mob took place in strict secrecy. Participants up to last moment did not know what they had to do: they received instructions only 40 minutes before the start of the event. About 70 people bought a lollipop at the appointed hour and went to look at the windows. Then everyone crowded around the stall and began pestering the sellers with the question: “How many of these sweets do you need to eat to gain seven kilograms?”
The flash mob reached the Internet. The scenario is often the same: at the agreed time, mobbers enter the chat, say hello, remain mysteriously silent for several minutes, then politely say goodbye and leave. With enough mobbers, chat regulars get a slight shock.
1. Sweden, Stockholm. Flash mob in memory of Michael Jackson
2. Russia, Moscow. Another flash mob dedicated to Jackson. "Thriller", 08/29/2009
3. Russia, Moscow, flash mob in the Metropolis shopping center
4. Great Britain, Manchester, March 14, 2007. In the supermarket, about fifty people froze at the same time.
5. America, California. Ninja flash mob
6. “Naked flash mob of protest in Germany. Social flash mob against the introduction of “Undressing” scanners at airports.
7. Another “Naked Flash Mob” organized by Spencer Tunick on the eve of the gay pride parade in Sydney.
8. Flash mob “Ukraine, be silent!”, held on May 17, 2010. Participants protested against the Ukrainian authorities’ oppression of the people’s right to peaceful rallies, and in support of social activists in Russia, who are being persecuted by the authorities for peaceful protests.
9. Probably the most touching flash mob is “Free Hugs.” Official video
10. Free hugs in Moscow
11. Motor rally of the “Blue Bucket Society”
12. Dreamflash in Moscow
13. Pillow fight. New York, 2007
14. Zombie mob in Toronto, 2006
15. And here’s how the zombie mob went in Kyiv
16. Chernigov. Flash mob "Pillows"
17. Flash mob at a concert organized by Oprah Winfrey - the largest flash mob in the world. About 21,000 people took part in it. By the way, he is listed in the Guinness Book of Records
18. Spectacular flash mob in the hostel
19. Flash mob in the New York metro.
20. Traditional winter flash mob called No Pants Subway Ride. Hundreds of inhabitants New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles at the same time they go down to the subway, where they temporarily get rid of their pants and travel in their underwear.
21. Shocking Japanese flash mob
22. Switzerland. Flash mob of suicide bombers. Residents of Zurich witnessed the unexpected deaths of numerous event participants. Activists of the organization mingled with ordinary residents of the city, and then fell dead to the ground, thus depicting death due to a disaster from nuclear contamination.
23. Song flash mob in 156 countries
24. Flash mob with webcam
25. Israel. Very beautiful dance flash mob on the beach
26. Flash mob in a cafe
27. Ukraine, Kyiv. Book flash mob. More than 300 people read books at the same time, sitting on the dividing strip of the Maidan
28. Flash mob Water battle in the summer of 2010. in Moscow. Several hundred people came out to fight the heat, several hundred people armed with last word splashing equipment - bottles of water, water pistols and machine guns, as well as simply buckets and pans - in general, everything that can be splashed, poured and doused with.
29. Flash mob organized by Jamie Oliver
30. Flash mob with dancing pregnant women in London
Our rating includes hundreds of lonely Beyonces in Piccadilly Circus, gigantic emoticons and the Internet Bee-Challenge, which forced girls to flash their bare breasts. What collective ventures have settled in the neighborhood?
Who organized the first flash mob and how?
When sociologist Howard Reingold published Smart Crowds: The Next Social Revolution in 2002, he had no idea that the idea of using the Internet to organize oneself would become so popular. In the summer of 2003, Rob Zazueta, having developed flocksmart.com, decided to begin chronicling the “instant crowd” (this is how flash mob is translated from English).Although the first event, scheduled for June 3, was disrupted by the New York police, people liked the idea. On June 17, 2003, two hundred activists gathered at the exclusive Macy's carpet and told the sellers amazing story. A pitiful story about people living in a warehouse somewhere on the outskirts of New York and looking for the “rug of Love” shook the whole world. Very soon, flash mobs organized through LiveJournal took place in Moscow, Dnepropetrovsk, Kyiv, Odessa and St. Petersburg.
The planet was captured by flash mob euphoria. Competing in ingenuity and passing the baton to each other, active earthlings surprised their passive brothers who followed life through the media.
Top most famous flash mobs
In just a couple of months, the classic promotions, designed not to cause rejection or laughter, have had several subtypes. Socio-mobs engaged in political influence on the masses, advertising mobs - promoting the necessary goods and services, and extreme mobs - demonstrating hooligan “stuff”. The people began to collectively sing, dance, draw or simply smile. 
Optical illusion
15 pairs of twins, identical as two peas in a pod, staged a small psychological attack on the New York subway. Having perfected their movements to the smallest detail and dressed in identical outfits, the guys sat opposite each other in the carriages. Portraying ordinary passengers, they copied each other's movements down to the smallest detail. 
It is not surprising that their unlucky compartment neighbors, tired of looking at the simultaneously raised hands and turned over pages of newspapers, disembarked ahead of time.
The sea is agitated once...
In March 2007, 50 English flash mobbers said a little hello to the cameras that provided security in one of the supermarkets in Manchester. At the pre-agreed time, the activists who were making purchases froze in place, as if by magic. magic wand. After standing for four minutes, the “sea figures” came to life and, as if nothing had happened, continued to move towards the cash register. 
It's amazing that ordinary people who found themselves in the same store did not notice anything remarkable.
Mr Mandela, you will not die this week
“Heroes never leave,” decided the employees of the Woolworthsfood store and honored the great fighter for human rights with an unusual flash mob. Right in the middle of the working day, they sang with the vociferous church choir and stopped working. The composition “Gospel Flash Mob”, performed out of tune but with soul, shocked the visitors to tears. It is no wonder that the memorable action was captured on video and caused a storm of applause.Company of lonely Beyonce
On April 20, 2009, the usual rhythm of the morning London rushing to work was disrupted by deafening music. To the rhythms of the hit “Single Ladies”, which broke all records on the radio charts, a whole hundred girls jumped out onto the square. The ladies, throwing off their cloaks and flaunting tight tights, twirled their bodies and swung their legs. All traffic in the area was paralyzed: pedestrians, cyclists and bus drivers gaped at the unusual performance. It turns out that this dance flash mob was intended to draw attention to a prank free tickets to the Beyonce concert and had a commercial basis. The world, sucked into a dizzying whirlpool of flash mobs, can only envy the scope and imagination inherent in our domestic mobbers.A smile will brighten the day
On September 14, 2008, residents of Dmitry Medvedev were captured by the QuickBird satellite and appeared on Google maps. 
Unfortunately, the weather that day was clearly not in good spirits: due to the piercing cold, the participants in the good-natured flash mob were forced to retreat to their homes.
Pillow battles
The popularity of children's fun, which has grown into a classic flash mob, is on truly cosmic proportions. Activists, hiding pillows in their bosoms, start a real war at the sound signal. A fierce fight, drowning in fluff and feathers, can end in a matter of seconds or last for hours. Special clubs have been created for fans of pillow fights, and flash mobs, which are regularly held in Moscow, Ufa and St. Petersburg, are so noisy that they are not without arrests. 
Lower my bra
This virtual flash mob, which occupied the Odnoklassniki and VKontakte networks, is very much loved by the male half of Russian society. Ladies who are not particularly modest take their bras off from where they are supposed to be and put them over their eyes. So they replenish the population of the erotic swarm of large bees or dragonflies. Unfortunately or fortunately, 85% of girls who participated in online surveys reacted negatively to BeeChallenge. Giraffe in the avatar - a memorable flash mob on VKontakteThe Americans, inspired by the idea, wrapped everything they could find in colorful packaging: light bulbs and canned food, toilet paper and a sausage stick. The children's dissatisfaction knew no bounds. Girls who received dolls instead fire truck, banged their heads against the wall, and the boys, who fished out the Barbie doll, swore at the innocent Santa in vain. Collective torture of immature psyches has become the leader of YouTube.
Not only flash mobs, but also other events are grandiose. There is an article on the uznayvse website about the biggest and grandest concerts.
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