How Flash Mobs will be Organised

Below, I will explain the process for organising and executing most of our Flash Mobs. These methods are common to most Flash Mob groups around the world and hence they have been tried many times and we know that they work well. However, this doesn't mean that this is the 'only' way to do it, so if you have any suggestions please drop us an email or leave a comment at the bottom of this post.

Please also read these guidelines to ensure our mobs work as well as possible

Once an idea, date, approx location, and approx time has been decided we will post a message both on the website and Facebook to alert everyone of the above details and call for anyone who is interested to email us with an approx head count of those attending. This email must be sent because the next lot of instructions will arrive via email.

The morning of or the night before the event, an email will be sent out with instructions for: where to meet and at what time and what to do to get the rest of the instructions

Mobbers will collect the rest of their instructions by following the emailed directions. These instructions will be VERY specific and must be followed exactly for the mob to work.

This method is effective because there is no way that other people could know beforehand what we are going to attempt. This is especially important if we attempt something within a shop or mall. This could be seen as a disadvantage because Mobbers won't be able to determine if they want to participate in a particular mob before hand, however I think it adds another element to the Mobbing experience as Mobbers won't know what the actual mob is until a short time before it occurs. Obviously Mobbers can choose to not participate once they get the final instructions if they don't want to.

Types of Flash Mobs

Flash Mobs come in many different shapes and sizes and there really is no limit to what can be done in a flash mob. Mobs can be based on scenes from movies or plays, they can simply be a random activity in a normal place or a normal activity in a random place. In the past, Flash Mobs have been organised as a form of protest or to push some political or religious agender, however this is not what the Adelaide Flash Mob is about.

Flash Mobs created by this group are for the express purpose of creating fun and enjoyment for those involved, providing a spectacle for those around us and leaving them bewildered and without explanation so they have a story to go home and tell their families and friends about.

For the very first flash mob more than one hundred people converged upon the ninth floor rug department of Macy's department store, gathering around one particular very expensive rug. Anyone approached by a sales assistant was advised to say that the gatherers lived together in a warehouse on the outskirts of New York, that they were shopping for a Love Rug, and that they made all their purchase decisions as a group.
Following this flash mob, about 200 people flooded the lobby and mezzanine of the Hyatt hotel in synchronized applause for about fifteen seconds, and next a shoe boutique in SoHo was invaded by participants pretending to be tourists on a bus trip.

Check out these youtube vids for some examples of Flash Mobs:

Abercrombie Dance Party
Liverpool Street Station
Paddington Dance Party
Look North

Pillow fights are a popular Flash Mob theme:
Flash Mob 1
Flash Mob 2
Flash Mob 3

Worship the Sock Man
Musical Bumps
Car Cheering
Domino Day
Killer Bees
Tango Flash Mob
Poke Flash Mob
Water Fight

Flash Mobs have been utilised in some commercials:
Chicken Flash Mob
Coke Commercial
Bang: Xbox Commercial

Heres some more Flash Mobs based on the Xbox commercial above:
Bang
Ninja Battle

Below are some links to videos of 'missions' carried out by the NYC based group 'Improv Everywhere. Some of their 'missions' have certain Mobbing similarities, however the group was started well before the first Flash Mob occured and what they do can be best described as a sort of street theatre. Having said this, their missions have basically the same objectives of Flash Mobs: Have fun & Create a Spectacle. I would encourage you to check out some of their videos, and if you find them interesting then read their mission reports on their website, very entertaining, and I have to warn you: very addictive.
Slo-Mo Home Depot
Look Up More
Best Buy

Drop us an email if you're interested in putting together an Adelaide Based group based on Improv Everywhere. Some ideas that I particularly want to try out are 'No pants on the train,' and our own version of an MP3 Experiment- perhaps in the Fringe. The group could also recruit people from the 'Adelaide Flash Mob' pool of names to carry out larger missions that have Mobbing similarities.

Another idea thats out there is a sort of highly organised Flash Mob mainly for 'freaking out' people and filming it like a sort of hidden camera show. This is an example of what I mean, and is something that would definitely by fun to try:
100 Person Mob

Check out this link for the method for organising and executing Flash Mobs.

Mailing List Details

We have also set up and E-Mailing list for those who don't have facebook and who want to receive information about upcoming mobs. If you want to sign up to our mailing list then simply send an email to the address below with the words 'let me in' in the subject line. We promise that we won't spam you or sell you email address to any evil corporations so don't worry about that. Remember, the more people we get the better, so invite all your friends to join in too. You can find an example of an email to send them at this link.

Email: adelflashmob (at) hotmail (dot) com

Email- to recruit friends

Note: this is an email that you can send to friends to recruit them for 'The Adelaide Flash Mob.' Flash Mob's work much better with a lot of people, we are hoping to get as many interested people as possible so please invite as many friends as possible on facebook and send this email to those friends who don't have facebook. However, we do not support the 'spamming' so please don't send such an email to people you don't know or people you know won't by interested. Thanks

Email:

G'day,

You are receiving this email because a friend thought you might be interested in a new social activity known as as 'Flash Mob.' Wikipedia defines a flash mob as 'a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, do something unusual for a brief period of time, then quickly disperse.' Basically it is an extremely random activity organised over the internet for generating fun in the ultimate 'inside joke' and bewildering innocent bystanders.

Now, the bad news is that flash mobbing has spread everywhere around the world, except Adelaide, and has resulted in many mobs taking place and many people, except Adelaidians, being involved and having fun. The good news is that a group has now started up in Adelaide and is looking for members. If you are on flashBook you can join us by searching 'Adelaide Flash Mob,' or following this link. If you don't have faceBook then please visit this website and add yourself to our mailing list.

Before you go, please send this email to all the Adelaidians that you know.

See you at the next mob

Adelaide Flash Mob

About Adelaide Flash Mob

This blog is an extension of our facebook group of the same name so that people without facebook can join in too. If you are one of these people and want to be kept updated, email us on the address below with the words 'let me in' in the subject line.


Flash Mob definition:

"A flash mob is a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, do something unusual for a brief period of time, then quickly disperse."

Read more about flash mobs in Wikipedia.

The Adelaide Flash Mob is for assembling and organsing people who want to participate in flash mobs in Adelaide.

If you have FaceBook you can find our group there by searching for 'Adelaide Flash Mob.' If you don't have FaceBook but would still like to be involved, email us on the details below with the words 'let me in' in the subject line and we will add you to the mailing list and send you updates. Invite all of your friends because the more people we get, the better!

Check out these videos for examples of flash mobs from around the world:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj0Ma2CsHME

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8FLiAuNTqs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBdIHZ4TP4Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwWPywVlpug

Contact Info

City: Adelaide, Australia
Organiser: Nick Morris
Facebook Group
Email: adelflashmob (at) hotmail (dot) com
City: Adelaide, Australia