Flash Mobs Eye Mall of America and San Francisco

Trusted sources in Minnesota slipped cheesebikini an invitation to the first Minneapolis flash mob, and now you're invited too. It's scheduled to begin next Tuesday, July 22 at 6:25 pm Central Standard Time. And it looks like it will happen in the infamous Mall of America. I've pasted the announcement below; if you attend, please send us links to your photos and other coverage.

PLEASE NOTE: Don't be a sucker! Large corporations might try to organize their own flash mobs to increase consumption of their goods and services. Keep this in mind during any flash mob. If you participate in this event, please don't purchase a single item within the Mall of America during the flash mob, or while traveling to or from the event. If we all adopt this policy it will prevent transformation of the flash mob movement into a series of crass corporate marketing ploys. (The organizers of the Minnesota flash mob emphasize they are not affiliated with the Mall and do not intend this to be an event supporting the Mall; nonetheless this is a good policy to keep in mind.)

Rumor has it that the first San Francisco flash mob will happen this Wednesday night, July 16th, although the invitation has not yet been distributed. Stay tuned. (That's right, it's scheduled to take place on the same night as the next New York city flash mob.)

(If you’re wondering what a flash mob is, see this entry for an explanation.)

Here's the announcement for the first Minneapolis flash mob:

You are invited to take part in MOB, the project that creates an inexplicable mob of people in Twin Cities Area for 10 minutes or less. Please forward this to other people you know who might like to join.  If you don't want to participate, you can just observe the results by visiting the web site. If you don't participate, please forward it to a friend anyways! -- Minneapolis Mob Event #1: "Mob Of America" or "MOB the MOA"   INSTRUCTIONS - MOB #1 Location: ??????? Start time: Tuesday, July 22nd, 6:25 pm Duration: 10 minutes   (1) At some point during the day on July 22nd, synchronize your watch to http://www.time.gov/timezone.cgi?Central/d/-6/java/jaVa. (If that site doesn^Òt work for you, try http://www.time.gov/timezone.cgi?Central/d/-6.)   (2)The day of the event, you can get detailed plans for the event by meeting at the following locations at 6:00 PM based on the month of your birthday. NOTE: if you are attending the MOB with friends, you may all meet in the same bar, so long as at least one of you has the correct birth month for that location.   Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.: Original Sports Bar, Mall of America May  Jun. Jul. Aug.: Gators, Mall of America Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.: Players Bar and Grill, Mall of America   (3)Then or soon thereafter, a MOB representative will appear in the bar. Look for this individual with the broad rimmed hat at 6:00 PM.  Details will be disseminated to attendees at 6:00 PM at these locations when you say ^ÓCheck out this MOB!^Ô or some remark in regards to a mob. This person will then provide you details. He or she will provide you a slip of paper, on which two important pieces of information will be printed: (a) the MOB site, and (b) secret event details.  Commit these details to memory and put the slip in your pocket. ONCE YOU ARE AT THE MOB SITE, NONE OF THESE SLIPS OF PAPER SHOULD BE VISIBLE.

 
(4) Leave the bar and walk to the MOB site as quickly as possible. It will take you
longer to get there than you think. If you arrive near the final MOB destination
before 6:25, stall nearby. NO ONE SHOULD ARRIVE AT THE FINAL MOB DESTINATION UNTIL
6:22.
 
(5) Find the site and begin the objective.  Be animated and follow the intended
script.

(6) [Step 6 removed 7/7/2003 by MinneapolisMob@yahoo.com ]
 
(7) At 6:35 you should disperse. NO ONE SHOULD REMAIN AT THE MOB SITE AFTER 6:37.
 
(8) Return to what you would otherwise have been doing. After the event, come back
to the Minneapolis Mob forum and discuss your experiences. Minneapolis Mob site is
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/minneapolismob/ or
http://www.geocities.com/minneapolismob/ or you can email your remarks back to me
and I can post them as anonymous feedback on the site for all to see. Share your
comments by posting a subject of ^ÓShare my comments^Ô to minneapolismob@yahoo.com.
 
 
Have fun,
-Minneapolis Mob
minneapolismob@yahoo.com
----
Please forward this email to friends you think would enjoy participating in this
event! Please remove the original sender from the email so to keep other people^Òs
email private. You may also blind carbon copy (bcc) individuals so to keep
participants anonymous. FAQ and details available in Yahoo group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/minneapolismob/

 
Posted by sean at July 13, 2003 07:57 PM | TrackBack (1)