I'm seeing new mass-mailing behavior modification potential written all over this. The best way to control people is for them to believe they are having "fun".
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E-Mail Mob Takes Manhattan
Story location:
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,59297,00.html
Jun. 19, 2003
NEW YORK -- There were no peasants waving torches or pitchforks in this crowd, no procession up a winding, eerie mountain road to flush out the monster who'd been terrorizing their town.
The mob that gathered in Manhattan on Tuesday night was looking for something they referred to (without explanation) as a "Love Rug." Or at least that's what the couple of hundred people who gathered in Macy's department store told a bemused salesman, who may or may not have believed he was dealing with a commune of carpet-craving eccentrics.
The crowd of people was participating in the Mob Project, an e-mail-driven experiment in organizing groups of people who suddenly materialize in public places, interact with others according to a loose script and then dissipate just as suddenly as they appeared.
The idea of premeditated mobs isn't new -- San Francisco has its mobs of drunken, scary Santas and anti-car bicycle riders. Protesters in Washington, D.C., and Seattle have used the instant on-and-off mob concept to get people to swarm political events.
But the Mob Project has a particular New York twist -- you have to know someone to get invited. There's no website to go to for information, no ads in local papers -- the mob forms from e-mails that are forwarded from person to person.
"Everyone loves a mindless mob!" said Merilyn Synder. "I was so stoked when I got my invitation -- no action, no protest, no needing to review my political stance on a particular issue. Just be there or be square."
The Mob Project is the brainchild of a man publicly known only as Bill, who says he works in the "culture industry."
"The idea is mine, and I write the e-mails, but I don't think of myself as the leader of the mob," Bill wrote in an e-mail. "In my mind (the mob) is led by whoever forwards the e-mail around. People make the mob through whoever they know."
Bill has become more secretive about Mob Project plans since the first mob event was held in May.
That event drew six police officers and one paddy wagon, after one of the e-mail recipients (now officially known to the mob as "Squealy") alerted authorities to the impending arrival of the mob.
Due to that unwanted attention from law enforcement officials, Bill opted to keep the details of the second mob action a secret until the very last possible moment.
The e-mail invite instructed participants to synchronize their watches and be waiting at 7 p.m. in one of four specified bars at a particular spot (for example, near the framed prints of the elephant and the leopard in the midtown Holiday Inn's bar).
That evening, mob representatives sporting stylish headgear appeared in the bars and passed out slips of paper containing information on where the mob was to convene and what to do once they got there.
About 200 people then proceeded to Macy's. They rode the escalators to the ninth floor rug department, where they gathered around a large carpet on display.
"We were told to say we all lived together in a big old warehouse in the suburbs," said Jenni Valton, a participant. "We all explained to the salesman that we were looking for a love rug to play on, and that we only make purchases as a group."
After discussing the merits and drawbacks of the selected carpet for 10 minutes, the mob dispersed.
"It was all perfect," Bill said of the activity.
He refused to comment on plans for the next mob event, beyond confirming that there will be another action in July.
Some mob members said they believed the project could serve as an excellent trial run for political protests.
But most said they hoped the Mob Project didn't turn political.
"I've always wanted to be able to say 'I'm a member of the mob' and now I can," said Valton. "In this city, where people seem to need a logical reason for doing anything, it's great to just have some stupid fun."
Bill said he's received e-mails from people in San Francisco and Chicago, telling him of their desire to launch their own mob projects.
"I hope they do it," said Bill. "One of them asked if they could 'steal' the idea, but it's not stealing at all. It's hardly even an idea at all: a mob, for no reason. That's it."
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Mindless things don't stay mindless for long - at least for the people pulling the puppet strings. The control game is too tempting for those who find new ways to shove people around...especially in the name of "fun".