Mobs & Collective Activity
O.k., so everybody’s heard about the Flash Mob phenomenon, and if you’ve been following it in the major newspapers et al., then you’ll also have encountered references to Smart Mobs, which are a political version, not yet a phenomenon, but expected at some point, as a result of the same technology and connectedness that has given us it’s precursor. There is a smaller version, however, and it’s been around a while now, called an Art Collective. Evidently, Art Collectives are experiencing a resurgence (although it’s not entirely clear from the article what they actually do). Flash Mobs seem to exist between these two. They have an artistic element and appear to be trending toward a political content. They are absurdist and activist. (You could also say they’re Happenings for the Attention Deficit Disorder generation.) Can we expect Flash to morph into Smart? It seems more likely that they’ll fade away like any other fad, perhaps to have moments of recurrence over the years, like the Art Collectives. But have a look over at Flock Smart, and you might change your mind about that.