Email Mobs

My personal opinion regrading flash mobs is that they are trivial and somewhat passé. Most I've read about seem pointless and are created for spectacle and amusement. When they first appeared, it was interesting and somewhat exciting to see large crowds gathered and doing inane things, but now it just seems pointless. On Monday, an email mob appeared on the CU campus to worship the buffalo in front of the stadium. As many observers noted, there seemed to be more press and observers tham people actually taking part in the mob. It's not the first time Boulder has seen a flash mob either. In Aug. of 2003, a group met in downtown Boulder, pointed to the sky and proclaimed "It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!" This mob saw a turn out of more media reporters than actual participants. With so many more people observing and reporting on the event than actually participating, it becomes less exctiting. Email mobs are supposed to be fun and spontanious, but when they become more of a media spetical than a fun stunt, it takes away any charm they might have had.

I predict email mobs will not last long the way they are currently run and operated. It's amusing to see a large group of people doing random and unusual things, but after so many, they become less entertaing. In order to keep things interesting, different types of stunts which are more creative in nature are necessary if the mobs are to survive. If I were to personaly put together a email mob, instead of performing a useless stunt, I would try to have the mob perform some sort of civil service. For example, the mob could meet at a local park, pick up trash for a few minutes, and leave.